Trib HSSN baseball team of the week – Upper St. Clair Panthers
Coach – Jeff Donati (fifth year)
Records – Upper St. Clair finished in a three-way tie for third place in Section 2-5A with Bethel Park and Peters Township and, after all the head-to-head tiebreakers were applied, was the fourth-place qualifier for the district playoffs. The Panthers are 15-9 overall this season.
#Earned – There has been nothing normal about the 2026 season for the Upper St. Clair baseball team.
USC lost its ace pitcher before the season as an arm injury relegated Nolan Wilson to DH duties all year.
The Panthers qualified for the WPIAL playoffs even though they were swept by three in their section, thanks in part to the fact that they swept the other three teams to finish 6-6.
In the first three district 5A postseason games, the Panthers averaged exactly 13 runs, which is the total they scored in the wildest playoff game in District 7 history. When leading 10-1, they watched Montour scored nine runs in the bottom of the seventh, then countered with three runs in the eighth inning to win 13-10.
Yet after that game, Upper St. Clair coach Jeff Donati said of his run-scoring machine: “eventually we’re going to have to win a game, 3-2.”
They did just that in the Class 5A title game against section foe South Fayette.
Trailing the Lions, 1-0, in the fifth inning without getting one single baserunner against Trey Skeen, the offense plated two to lead, 2-1.
South Fayette tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, setting the stage for a dramatic seventh inning in which USC plated the go-ahead run.
The Lions tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, but the Panthers got out of a jam and celebrated the program’s second WPIAL baseball championship and first since 1992.
Standout performers – When you score 39 runs in three playoff games like Upper St. Clair did, you are getting contributions from everybody.
In the first round, sophomore Evan Smirniw was 4 for 4 against Plum. In the quarterfinals, senior Nico D’Orazio had four hits in a victory over Moon. And in the semifinals, it was sophomore Brooks York who answered the Montour rally with a two-run homer two batters into the eighth inning.
While the Panthers were limited to only six hits, junior Tanner Schroeck stepped up with two big singles.
His first base hit in the fifth inning chased home Cooper Stutzman with the game-tying run, then Schroeck would score on a Finn Baird single to give Upper St. Clair a short-lived lead.
After South Fayette tied the game, York led off the top of the seventh with a double, and then courtesy runner Austin Chambers scored on Schroeck’s second run-producing hit.
Senior pitcher Max Dietrick went the distance on the mound for the USC victory.
He allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts to lift the Panthers to a wild and incredible title run.
2026 Trib HSSN Diamond Teams of the Week
Week 8 – Butler Golden Tornado baseball
Week 7 – Riverside Panthers softball
Week 6 – Indiana Little Indians baseball
Week 5 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors baseball
Week 4 – Thomas Jefferson Jaguars softball
Week 3 – Thomas Jefferson Jaguars baseball
Week 2 – North Allegheny Tigers softball
Week 1 – Eden Christian Academy Warriors baseball