By: Michael Love
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 | 8:27 PM
Riverview’s Carter Loughren stretches for the throw on Burgettstown’s Matthew Bredel during the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals.
Carter Loughren put on the Riverview uniform one final time Monday afternoon when he and his Raiders teammates battled District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A baseball playoffs.
He hoped the Raiders would keep going in the state tournament, but the Lakers had other ideas and prevailed 5-3 under sunny skies at Mercyhurst University.
A four-run first inning for Mercyhurst Prep turned out to be all the runs it needed, but Riverview forced the Lakers into some uncomfortable situations down the stretch.
“It was definitely emotional because for a couple of the seniors, myself included, it was the last competitive baseball game we’ll ever play,” said Loughren about the talk in the post-game huddle that lasted some 10 to 15 minutes after the handshake lines dispersed.
“There was a positive sense because we really went down fighting. We could’ve easily given up after giving up four runs in the first inning and going down on four pitches our first time at the plate. We got back in the game, scored three times and we had fight left in us all the way to the seventh inning.”
Riverview wrapped its season at 15-8, and the players and coaches had some time on the two-hour ride home to sit back and begin to take stock of the season that was.
“We were a little disappointed the season had ended, but we also had the chance to reflect on how much we bonded as a family,” Loughren said.
“It was big to get to the state tournament, especially showing the younger kids what that is like and what it takes to get there. That helps to continue building the program.”
Riverview finished tied for the runner-up spot in Section 3 behind Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In the Raiders’ four WPIAL playoff games, the pitching of senior Johnny Bertucci and sophomore Lukas Duncan along with the Riverview defense gave up six runs. The Raiders scored 11.
They had their backs against the wall after a 3-1 semifinal loss to OLSH, but Riverview bounced back with its season on the line and topped Laurel, 2-0, to clinch a trip to states.
“We went into that game loose and looking to have fun,” Loughren said. “We were making jokes in warmups and were pretty relaxed getting ready. That helped us play the way we did. We didn’t go in thinking it could be our last game. We went in ready to win and confident we would play again (in the PIAA first round).”
Mercyhurst Prep will face District 5 champion Tussey Mountain in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Tussey defeated OLSH in the first round.
In addition to Loughren and Bertucci, Eli DeVita, Rece Stempfer and Tyler Aftanas will bid farewell to the team as they graduated this past week. Aftanas (St. Vincent), DeVita (Point Park), and Bertucci (Point Park) will continue their baseball careers in college.
“That group is what made us go, and we’re going to miss them,” coach Bill Gras said.
“I just met with the team (Wednesday), and I was talking with the Duncan boys about how it is going to be a little tougher next year and what we are going to need to do to be successful. We might not have that bats we had this year. It might be small ball and station-to-station offense where we bunt and are scrappy. But I think we will be all right with what we have coming back and coming up to varsity.”
DeVita led the way in several offensive categories this season.
He batted a team-best .512 (41 of 80) with 28 RBIs and 37 runs scored. He went 2 for 4 on Monday against Prep.
A piece of the future, sophomore catcher Miles Duncan, paced the offense against the Lakers with three hits and an RBI.
Stempfer had the other RBI for the Raiders, giving him 23 for the season.
Bertucci (.389), sophomore Rex Roberts (.347) and Miles Duncan (.342) also helped pace the offense.
Lukas Duncan finished 7-1 on the mound with 92 strikeouts and a 0.97 ERA over 65 innings.
Bertucci also won seven games, threw 65 innings, fashioned a 1.97 ERA and tossed 68 strikeouts.
The Duncan brothers, Roberts and sophomore Ashton Saunders are starters who will return to form the nucleus. Sophomores Owen Metz and Ian Stempfer also expect to have bigger roles next year.
All of the underclassmen except Roberts, Gras said, will be playing baseball with some travel club this summer. Roberts’ No. 1 sport is golf, and he will be concentrating on his golf game on various area courses.
“We talked with the returning guys about what they need to do for next year,” Gras said. “A lot of it comes down to getting stronger. It’s a long season, and if you get stronger, the ball is going to go a lot further.”
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
Tags: Riverview