Trib HSSN baseball player of the week – Nico D’Orazio

School – Upper St. Clair

Class – Senior

Position – Shortstop

#Earned – Last Monday, when a steady wind made the temperature feel like it was below freezing, Upper St. Clair shortstop Nico D’Orazio wanted to prove a point to his teammates before a crucial section game against visiting Peters Township.

So he took off his shirt and did a lap all the way around the Boyce-Mayview Park field.

“The cold is just as mindset,” he said afterward.

Driving a baseball into the gap must be a mindset as well, something D’Orazio did a lot of this week as the Panthers took two games from the Indians to move into third place in a very crowded Section 2-5A.

In the cold Monday at home, D’Orazio went 3 for 4 with a walk, double, triple, three runs scored and two RBIs with most of the damage coming against Peters Township ace David Oberschelp.

The Panthers won the game 13-5 to move into a tie for fourth place with the Indians.

The next night at Joe Maize Field in Peterswood Park, D’Orazio was leading the offense again from his leadoff position, going 2 for 3 with another double as USC defeated Peters Township, 6-3.

The sweep keeps the 2026 routine going for Upper St. Clair.

They were swept by Bethel Park to start section play, took two from Trinity and lost both games against South Fayette before sweeping Peters Township.

The Panthers are 10-5 for the season and sit in third place in the section with a 4-4 record.

They are two games behind first-place Moon in the loss column and have a key section series against the Tigers starting Monday at Boyce-Mayview.

For the season, D’Orazio is batting .442 (19 for 43) with seven double and two triples. He has a team-high 17 runs scored and 18 RBIs and is tied for the team lead with 10 stolen bases.

The senior shortstop has a .529 on base percentage, a .698 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.227.

D’Orazio is a two-sport star at Upper St. Clair having had great success with the Panthers on the football field.

This past fall, he helped the Panthers finish in third place in the Class 5A Allegheny 6 Conference with a record of 8-2.

For the second straight year, USC reached the 5A semifinals and for the second straight season lost to the rival Indians in the final four.

D’Orazio led the team with 37 receptions for 697 yards for an average of 18.8 yards per catch.

He was second on the Panthers in touchdowns with 11.

D’Orazio plans to continue his academic and football career at Brown University in the Ivy League.

2026 Trib HSSN Baseball Players of the Week

Week 3 – Cody Bungert, South Fayette

Week 2 – James “Booboo” Armstrong, Hopewell

Week 1 – Logan Plummer, Pine-Richland