The 1994 WPIAL Class 3A champion Seneca Valley baseball team, Row 1: from left, Steve Franz, Marshall Carey, John Phillips, Shane Young, Brent Ruby, Matt Kohler; Row 2: Carla Riddle, Jen Wolford, Jeff Fisher, Scott Bowman, Shon Norris, Jim Hartz, Jeremy Sharek; Row 3: assistant coach Bill Allen, Tom Rosecki, Matt Koger, Josh Barron, Jim Sinicki, David Kloes, Chuck Hein, Tony Felt, junior varsity coach Bob Rectenwald, head coach Dave Florie, head trainer Stacy Heidrich. Submitted Photo

Seneca Valley’s 1993 baseball team is not mentioned when the program’s banner seasons are discussed. The Raiders earned no hardware that season, but the seed for future success was planted that year.

“We were stacked in ’93. It was one of the better teams we had up to that point, but we didn’t even make the playoffs,” said Jeff Fisher, a junior pitcher and outfielder that season. “We came back the next year and collectively said: ‘That’s not going to happen again.’”

“Our goal every year was to win the WPIAL. About five or six games into 1994, Dave Florie (head coach) could tell how dedicated we were.”

The Raiders made history 31 years ago, becoming the first baseball team in school history to win a district championship and a state playoff game.

The entire squad was inducted into the SV Sports Hall of Fame earlier this school year.

“Almost the entire team was able to make it back for the induction,” Fisher said. “It was an unbelievable night. It’s something I always wanted for the team.”

Following a 15-4-1 regular season, the Raiders’ playoff run included wins over Kiski Area, Franklin Regional and Derry, setting the stage for an epic WPIAL Class 3A championship game against rival North Allegheny at Pullman Park.

The teams had split two meetings in the regular season, though SV’s win came by forfeit after the Tigers had used an ineligible pitcher. Nonetheless, the Raiders felt confident.

“We welcomed the challenge,” Fisher said. “We had all had enough of being knocked around by NA and wanted another chance of taking down the big dog.”

In a game that lasted over three hours, SV plated six runs in the second inning to take a 9-2 lead and held on for a 15-10 win.

Under the lights at Pullman Park, the Raiders celebrated their first district championship 10 years after the program began.

“We’ve had other good hitting teams, but we didn’t have the consistent attitude that we can hit anybody,” Florie said after the game. “(This team) feels it can hit any pitcher.”

The Raiders batted .366 as a team that year. Brent Ruby paced the squad with a .500 average. Jeremy Sharek (.451), Steve Franz (.361), John Phillips (.360), Scott Bowman (.356), Jim Sinicki (.351) and Tony Felt (.342) each helped to make outings difficult for opposing pitchers.

SV’s hitters came to the plate with a common strategy.

“We were aggressive,” Fisher said. “Coach Florie always told us to look fastball until we fell behind in the count.”

Fisher was half of a dominating duo on the mound for the Raiders. He went 8-0 in 1994 while David Kloes was 12-2.

“When we got the ball, it was pretty much a sure thing that we were going the distance,” Fisher said. “We had played together since we were 8 years old, and we fed off each other.”

After defeating District 6 runner-up Laurel Valley in the first round of the state playoffs, SV’s season came to an end with an 8-6 loss to Cathedral Prep in the quarterfinals.

“We were playing with unbelievable confidence, and I was crushed when we lost,” Fisher said. “It took me a few days, but it started to sink in what we had accomplished.”

Future Seneca Valley baseball teams added to the trophy case. In 1995, the Raiders won the program’s first of two state titles (2007 being the other). WPIAL championships followed in 2011, 2012 and 2014. But it was the 1994 team that set the initial standard.

“They did an awful lot for the community,” Florie said shortly after the ’94 campaign ended. “They brought a lot of sports fans together.”