May 12, 2026 By Rob Burchianti 4 min read

Rob Dorcan had his team set its sights on one major accomplishment going into his second season as Frazier’s baseball head coach.

“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to make the playoffs,” Dorcan said. “We reached that goal for the first time since 2013.”

The 13th-seeded Commodores were looking for a bonus on Monday when they took on fourth-seeded Riverview in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs but fell just short, falling 5-4 in eight innings at Peterswood Park.

“Going into it I had all the confidence we could win that ball game and we could’ve,” Dorcan said.

Two unfortunate plays involving Frazier freshman Tyler Jerico played important roles in the eighth inning. In the top of the inning with the Commodores’ Brant Alekson and Eli Cernuska on base, Jerico hit a line drive that looked like it might give Frazier the lead, but Riverview shortstop Lukas Duncan snagged the ball and turned it into an inning-ending double play.

“Tyler Jerico hits a shot, we think we’re going to score and then the inning is over,” Dorcan said. “Just bad luck.”

In the bottom of the eighth the Raiders’ Liam Tomlinson singled, took second on Ian Stempfer’s sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on Rex Roberts’ fly out to right and scored the winning run when Miles Duncan hit a fly ball that left fielder Jerico failed to handle.

“The ball hit Tyler in the glove but he couldn’t hang on to it,” said Dorcan. “The kid’s a freshman who’s been playing great for us all year. Right after the play happened I went out on the field and hugged him and told him, ‘Hey, we play tomorrow, you’re my starting left fielder.’ He was tore up about it but at the end of the day, it’s just a game. Things happen like that. That’s baseball.”

It was actually Jerico who pulled Frazier even in the fourth inning after a three-run rally gave Riverview a 3-2 lead in the third. Alekson led off the inning with a walk, went to second on Noah Bachinski’s single, took third on Cernuska’s single and scored on Jerico’s sacrifice fly to center field.

The Commodores took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Alekson doubled, Bachinski tripled and Ceruska singled.

The Raiders (13-6) combined a bunt single, two walks, a catcher’s interference call and a sacrifice fly to produce their three runs in the third.

Frazier took a 4-3 lead in the fifth when Tyler Morrison doubled and scored on Chase Fulmer’s single.

Miles Duncan’s RBI double in the sixth tied it at 4-4 for Riverview.

Alekson started on the mound for the Commodores and gave up two earned runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts in five innings.

Losing pitcher Nick Porter, another freshman, allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks with one strikeout in two innings.

Cernuska and Bachinski each had two hits for Frazier.

Dorcan played three freshmen against Riverview with Cannon Merrill joining Jerico and Porter.

“For them to get that experience is huge,” Dorcan. “They’ll all learn from this.”

Frazier will graduate four senior starters in Morrison, Bachinski, Fulmer and Cernuska.

Dorcan feels his team is headed in the right direction.

“Nobody’s given us a chance for a few years and not many did for this game either,” Dorcan said. “I’ve been with the program since 2009. I was a volunteer assistant and middle school coach and last year was my first year of being the head coach and I told them then we need to change some things up. From day one they bought into it and we’ve been working hard to turn things around.”

The Commodores closed the regular season with three straight wins, knocking off Chartiers-Houston and sweeping a two-game set with Beth-Center, to tie the Bucs for fourth-place in Section 1-2A and finish the regular season at 9-9. Frazier’s sweep of C-H put them into the postseason and left the Bucs out.

“We battled so many injuries this year but were still able to meet out goal,” Dorcan said. “It seemed every game I had two starters out because of injuries. For other kids to step up and battle the way they did to make the playoffs, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”