The last group of key contributors from Riverside High School's consecutive PIAA Class AA title teams in 2005 and '06 graduated after last season.

What is left at Riverside is a talented group that could end up leaving its own mark.

The Panthers are 12-5 overall, 9-2 in Section 5-AA, after losing to Neshannock, 12-11, Monday. Riverside is ranked No. 4 in Class AA by the Post-Gazette and tied with Neshannock for the section lead with one game to play. The Panthers were at Mohawk last night.

"The thing is, I don't think we have played our best ball yet because we have never had a game where we have had everything come together," veteran coach Dan Oliastro said.

"The offense has almost always been there but the pitching and defense need to get better. If they do, we can make some noise in the playoffs and we have been working on that."

Riverside knows a few things about making long runs in the playoffs. In 2005 the Panthers advanced to the WPIAL title game before losing to North Catholic, then bounced back and won the PIAA title. In 2006 they captured the WPIAL and PIAA titles winning eight consecutive playoff games.

Senior catcher Nico Baldelli is a key returning starter for the Panthers. As of last week he was leading the team in hitting with a .472 batting average and 17 RBIs. Senior Bidwell Main has moved from second base, where he started last year, to shortstop.

Main also bats leadoff for Riverside and is one of the best baserunners on the team. Juniors Nick Wisor and Justin McCanna have split time at third along with freshman Ryan Finegan.

Riverside is without any senior pitchers and has been relying on the arms of Wisor and McCanna for most of the season. Freshman Nick Pollio, a big left-hander, has also worked some innings.

"We don't have anyone who is dominant pitching-wise, but we are using a bunch of people," Oliastro said.

"Sometimes we are using two and three guys a game. We are trying to use them the most effective way we can and Justin and Nick have stepped up."

After missing most of last season, junior right fielder Coulton Bunney, the only left-handed hitter on the team, has been smacking the cover off the ball, according to Oliastro. He was hitting .452 after 31 at-bats.

Junior Shane Rusnock has had a solid season stepping in at second base. Sophomore Brendan McAnallen has been a clutch hitter for the Panthers as a designated hitter. Senior Jordan Boots has been starting at first base in his first year on the varsity. A senior outfielder, Justin King leads the team in runs scored.

The Riverside lineup is mixture of players from every class. Oliastro, a 40-year coaching veteran says this is one of the first times he has relied on players from so many different grades.

"It's been a while since we had such a mixture like this with 9th, 10th, 11th graders and seniors," Oliastro said.

"That was my biggest concern coming into the season ... the mix of different kids. In the past most of our kids have been juniors or seniors, this year we have had some sophomores and freshmen step up and do a good job for us."

Riverside won the section title last year with a 10-2 mark and defeated South Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, then fell to North Catholic, 10-9, in the quarterfinals.

"It was tough last year. All of our pitching was from sophomores and we just played a bad game [against North Catholic]," Oliastro said. "It wasn't that they beat us, we pretty much beat ourselves. Unless you have a guy who can just go out there and shut another team down, you're going to have a game like that once in a while."