If they make a highlight film about the 2026 Upper St. Clair baseball team, they can title it, “Sweep or be Swept.”
The Panthers took a unique path to the district playoffs by finishing 6-6 in Section 2-5A, sweeping three series and being swept in the other three.
With an 11-2 victory over Chartiers Valley on Tuesday, Upper St. Clair once again brought out the brooms as the Panthers not only earned a playoff berth but also swept both Trinity and Peters Township out of the postseason chase.
“Do you know how hard that is, to sweep or get swept?” Upper St. Clair coach Jeff Donati said.
Asked if he recommends that path to the playoffs, Donati quickly quipped, “Not for blood pressure, that’s for sure.”
Upper St. Clair lost both games of its section series against Bethel Park, South Fayette and Moon, but won the two games against Trinity, Peters Township and finished with a sweep of Chartiers Valley.
After beating the Colts on Monday, 4-1, the Panthers knew coming into Tuesday’s section finale that they controlled their own destiny. Win and you’re in, but lose and that would open the door for both Trinity and Peters Township to win and get in.
“A lot of pressure coming into this one (Tuesday) and it was must win,” Donati said. “We’ve been in this situation all year where we would lose two and then you gotta go get two. This was big, coming on the road for a 4 o’clock game, which is something we aren’t really used to.”
If there were any nerves on the Panthers’ side, they were washed away quickly when USC scored six runs in the top of the second inning.
Tanner Schroeck drove home the first run with an RBI double, followed by a Luke Marchinsky bunt single that scored Grayson Valancius.
Finn Baird walked to load the bases, followed by a walk to Nico D’Orazio to make it 3-0.
Evan Smirniw cleared the bases with a triple to put USC up big, 6-0.
Chartiers Valley made things interesting for Trinity and Peters Township fans in the bottom of the third inning when Colton Properi hit a two-run single to center field to score John Papareilla and Tyler Hughes.
The damage could have been worse had it not been for a spectacular play by D’Orazio at shortstop when he charged a slow grounder, bare handed it and gunned to first in one motion to rob Owen Weagraff of a single before the Prosperi single.
“That was huge,” Donati said. “Nico doesn’t want his senior year to be over and none of my seniors do. You can sense it in BP. You can sense it in practice. You can sense it here (Tuesday).”
Upper St. Clair responded with the long ball.
In the top of the fourth inning, D’Orazio went yard over the right center field fence for a two-run shot, then in the fifth, Schroeck launched a two-run homer over the center field fence at Chartiers Valley to put the Panthers up, 10-2.
The final run came in the sixth inning when Nolan Wilson singled home D’Orazio.
The icing on the cake came in the seventh when D’Orazio capped off a perfect day at the plate by batting left-handed for the second time this season and looping a single to left center field.
The Brown football commit finished 3 for 3 with two walks, three runs scored, three RBIs and a double to go along with his home run.
“It felt great getting that hit as a team,” D’Orazio said. “I was definitely confident at the plate and seeing the ball very well. Give credit to Grayson for going the full game and letting us play good defense in the field.”
The sophomore Valancius got the victory on the hill, allowing two earned runs on only three hits with three walks a no strikeouts.
Chartiers Valley finished 3-9 in the section and 5-13 overall.
Upper St. Clair is 6-6 and will finish in fourth place in Section 2-5A behind Moon, South Fayette and Bethel Park. The Panthers are now 12-7 with wins in six of their last eight games.
“It’s good to be back in the playoffs,” D’Orazio said. “We are looking to make some noise.”