Five college baseball players from the area will be competing in national tournaments this weekend.
Four are members of the sixth-ranked Allegany College of Maryland team that begins play in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Championships Saturday in Millington, TN.
Former Clearfield Area High School standout Scott Hugney of Frenchville is the slugging star for the Trojans, who won the Maryland Junior College Conference, Region 20 and Northeast District championships to earn the school\’s first trip to the nationals.
Hugney led ACM in home runs (12), triples (8) and runs batted in (66) and takes a .371 batting average into the 7:30 p.m. nightcap of opening day at USA Stadium. The 47-9 Trojans are paired against fifth-ranked Brookdale, N.J., Community College (40-8).
Hugney, a sophomore, has 69 hits in 54 games and earned All-Maryland JuCo Conference honors as first baseman. The league has 18 schools.
Jim Collins of Clearfield provided punch at the top of the ACM lineup. The sophomore outfielder has 61 hits, including 6 doubles, for a .328 batting average. He drove in 21 runs.
Philipsburg Osceola Area High School grad Jeremy Potter pounded out 58 hits for a .379 average in 47 games. The sophomore third baseman, named to the all-conference second team, tied for ACM lead in the doubles with 14 and drove in 46 runs.
Pitcher Matt Godin of Ramey appeared in 11 games and posted a 6-2 record. The Moshannon Valley High School grad worked 38.1 innings with a 5.17 earned run average.
Seven of the eight teams in the tournament were ranked in the top 10 of the final NJCAA Division II Poll.
Andrew Kirsch of Clearfield is a utility infielder-outfielder for Seton Hill College, which has advanced to the 50th Annual NAIA National Championships at Lewistown, Idaho.
The Griffins, who won the American Mideast Conference title in only their third season, carry the Region IX banner into the tourney opener against Concordia, CA, Friday at 3 p.m.
Kirsch, a sophomore who also has been used as a designated hitter, appeared in 15 games and has a .294 batting average with four runs batted in.
