By: Chris Harlan
Monday, May 26, 2025 | 6:51 PM
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Seneca Valley’s Ryan Piekutoski celebrates after scoring against North Allegheny on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Jackson Twp.
WPIAL Class 6A baseball final
No. 3 Seneca Valley vs. No. 4 Norwin
1 p.m. Tuesday, EQT Park, Washington
On the air: Video: NFHS Network
WPIAL titles: Seneca Valley 4 (2014, ’12, ’11, 1994), Norwin 2 (2016, 1960)
Norwin (14-8)
Coach: Craig Spisak
Projected starting lineup
22, Trevor Vitsas, C, 5-11, jr.
21, Jake Knight, 3B, 6-1, jr.
13, Nathan Silberman, SS, 5-10, sr.
2, Ben Geissler, RF, 6-1, sr.
3, Tristan Tavares, 2B, 6-0, jr.
8, Brayden Wardzinski, 1B, 6-3, sr.
11, Jake Sincak, CF, 5-10, sr.
18, Matt O’Neil, DH, 6-0, jr.
(10, Ethen Culberson, P, 5-11, sr.)
9, Ryan Helphenstine, LF, 6-0, jr.
How they got here: Norwin defeated No. 5 Butler, 5-4 (9 innings) in the quarterfinals; and No. 8 Hempfield, 3-1, in the semifinals.
Notable: Norwin was the runner-up in Section 2. … The team has reached the WPIAL finals for the first time since winning a Class 4A title in 2016, a year before the sport expanded to six classifications. The Knights were 4A runners-up in 2015 and ’06. … Silberman (.407 average) and Vitsas (.406) lead an offense that averages 5.5 runs. Vitsas drove in the winning run in the quarterfinals. Silberman had four RBIs in the semifinal win. … The Knights allow 3.6 runs per game. … Three pitchers shared the innings workload in the regular season. Culberson was 5-3 with a 1.66 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 42 innings. Wardzinski was 5-0 with a 2.59 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. Junior Caden Sivrich was 2-1 with a 0.83 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. … Culberson started in the quarterfinals, Sivrich in the semifinals. … This is Spisak’s third season at Norwin, which went 8-12, 11-10 and 14-8 in his three years. He previously coached Yough from 2015-22. … Silberman, Vitsas and Sincak were first-team all-section players.
Seneca Valley (16-6)
Coach: Eric Semega
Projected starting lineup
3, Mason Fisher, 2B, jr.
9, Danny Drennan, CF, jr.
12, Ryan Piekutoski, 3B, sr.
14, Wes Conville, C, sr.
26, Micah Olayer, 1B, jr.
2, Brandon Godleski, DH, jr.
(11, Ryan Rebholz, P, jr./5, Andrew Malichky, P, sr.)
4, Kayden Cahall, SS, jr.
20, Mason Durst, LF, so.
19, Owen Voelp, RF, jr.
How they got here: Seneca Valley defeated No. 6 Mt. Lebanon, 4-3, in the quarterfinals; and No. 2 Canon-McMillan, 4-0, in the semifinals.
Notable: Seneca Valley was the runner-up in Section 1. … The Raiders are in the WPIAL finals for the first time since reaching four in a row in 2011-14. They won WPIAL Class 4A titles in 2011, ’12 and ’14. … Piekutoski batted .481 in the regular season, and Drennan had 23 RBIs. Both earned first-team all-section honors along with Rebholz and Conville. Piekutoski, a Seton Hill recruit, was voted the section player of the year. … The Raiders average 5.9 runs. … Rebholz is 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA. The right-hander has 38 strikeouts and 10 walks in 32 innings. Malichky is 5-3 with a 2.13 ERA, 35 strikeouts and six walks in 42 2/3 innings. … Malichky threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in the semifinals. … Semega has coached Seneca Valley since 2001.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Norwin, Seneca Valley