Trib HSSN baseball team of the week – Indiana Little Indians
Coach – Dan Petroff (third year)
Records – Indiana finished as co-champions in Section 3-4A along with Valley with a record of 8-2. After winning back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A championships, the Little Indians’ final record for the 2026 season was 22-4.
#Earned – If Dan Petroff was an actor, he could play the role of King Midas perfectly since both of them seem to have the golden touch.
Petroff took over the Indiana baseball program before the 2024 season and let the program to a first trip to both the WPIAL and PIAA championship games, settling for runner-up silver in both.
Since then, all the former professional pitcher has done is led the Little Indians to back-to-back district and state titles.
With a bull’s-eye on their chest as defending champions, Indiana won five straight postseason games via shutout, outscoring their three WPIAL and two PIAA opponents by a combined 28-0.
In the state semifinals last Monday, District 12 runner-up Archbishop Wood broke that scoreless streak with two runs in the first inning.
It remained 2-0 Vikings until the Little Indians tied the game with two runs in the fifth inning.
An inning later, Indiana took control with eight runs in the sixth and added three more runs in the seventh inning to cruise to a 13-4 triumph, clinching a third straight trip to the state championship game at Penn State.
In their way from a repeat was District 1 champion Holy Ghost Prep, the same team that knocked off Indiana in the state title game two years earlier.
The Little Indians jumped on top with two runs in the first inning and three more in the second.
With Indiana leading 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Holy Ghost Prep rallied with a hit batter and back-to-back extra-base hits that made the score 6-5 with the tying run at second base and nobody out.
After a near miss on a deep fly ball that just missed the foul pole and landed foul, the Firebirds’ rally flamed out and the Little Indians celebrated a second consecutive state championship.
Indiana became the fourth WPIAL school (Moon, Riverside, Bethel Park) to repeat as PIAA baseball champions.
Standout performers – In the semifinal win over Archbishop Wood, senior Charlie Manzi had a double and drove in three runs, plus he was the winning pitcher with 4⅔ innings, allowing four hits and striking out five.
Junior Brady Oakes was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs, while both senior Sully Vanhoose and junior Dylan Shank also contributed a pair of hits and an RBI.
At Medlar Field at Penn State in the state finals, Manzi continued his big-game reputation with three hits, including a double and home run with three RBIs, plus he finished the game on the mound to register the save.
Vanhoose had a hit and two RBIs, senior Ethan Shank had a hit and an RBI and Oakes got the start and picked up the victory.
2026 Trib HSSN Diamond Teams of the Week
Week 11 – Hempfield Spartans softball, Shaler Titans softball, Laurel Spartans softball, Union Scotties softball
Week 10 – Blackhawk Cougars softball
Week 9 – Upper St. Clair Panthers baseball
Week 9 – South Park Eagles softball
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