BASEBALL
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – A walk-off home run in the eighth inning against Lock Haven Sunday highlighted another productive week for sophomore Adam Jury of Frenchville as the Slippery Rock junior extended his career-best hitting streak to nine games.
The former Clearfield Area High School standout was hitless before whacking his game-winner after Matt Adams of Philipsburg reached base on an error in the first extra inning, giving The Rock a 5-3 win.
A 13-2 triumph in the nightcap gave The Rock (25-9) six wins in five days.
In road games, Slippery Rock defeated West Liberty (W.Va.) State 6-3 and 10-8 in 12 innings Wednesday and Lock Haven 17-3 and 9-3 Saturday.
Sweeping the home-and-home series with Lock Haven lifted The Rock from fourth to second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference at 11-5, two games behind California (10-2).
Despite collecting seven hits during the week, Jury saw his average dip eight points to .406, which ranks No. 7 in the PSAC.
He is 43-for-106 with eight doubles, three home runs and 34 runs batted in. He has scored 30 runs and drawn 15 walks.
Adams continues to terrorize opposing pitchers, leading the PSAC in hits (62), average (.484), total bases (108), slugging average (.844), runs batted in (48) and runs (46) and tied for first in doubles (16).
In the NCAA Division II national statistics, Adams is seventh in hitting, 13th in slugging and in the top 30 in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs.
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ALTOONA, Pa. – Sophomore infielder Kyle Kline of Clearfield broke into the hit and run batted in columns for the first time in his Penn State-Behrend career last week.
His first college hit was a two-out pinch-hit double in the seventh inning of a 10-9 loss at Pitt-Bradford after the Lions extended their winning streak to five with an 11-8 victory in the opener Thursday.
At Penn State-Altoona Sunday, Kline pinch-hit in the fifth inning and capped a 10-run outburst with a double for two RBIs. He stayed in the game as the first baseman and singled in the seventh.
The Lions won by the football-like score of 26-14 before being edged 6-5 in the nightcap.
Kline has played in five games and now owns a .500 batting average.
Penn State-Behrend (15-4) leads the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference at 8-2.
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BRADFORD, Pa. – Rapping six hits in four games last week spiked Bart McGary\’s average from .265 to .313, fourth-best among the Pitt-Bradford regulars.
The junior right fielder from Curwensville had two-hit performances against both Penn State-Behrend and Frostburg (Md.) State.
The Panthers (7-10) salvaged only one win and tumbled to 3-5 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. They nipped Penn State Behrend 10-9 after losing 11-8 and then were bounced 12-8 and 9-4 by Frostburg State.
Junior catcher Phil Solley of Grampian (Curwensville Area H.S.) had a run-scoring single and scored a run in the victory, but his averaged slipped to .239.
Solley is 11-for-47 with six RBIs, while McGary is 15-for-48 with one double, one homer and four RBIs. The latter is second on the team in walks with nine.
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SOFTBALL
ERIE, Pa. – Penn State-Altoona freshman second baseman Alanna Luzier of Frenchville (Clearfield Area H.S.) recorded the second three-hit game of the season in a 3-1 loss at Penn State-Behrend Sunday.
She led off the first inning with a double and scored the Lady Lions\’ lone run on a wild pitch.
The Lady Lions also dropped the opener, 5-4, and now are 2-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and 3-13 overall.
Luzier, who had a stolen base in both games and now is tied for the AMCC lead with eight steals, was hitless in five official-at bats Tuesday in 10-0 and 9-2 AMCC losses at Frostburg (Md.) State.
She has started every game and is fourth on the team in hitting with a .313 average.
Luzier is second in hits, 15, and runs, 11, and leads in doubles with four.
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Sophomore Brittany Pataky of Clearfield made one pinch-hitting appearance for Lock Haven last week, reaching base on a fielder\’s choice and scoring a run in an 11-1 win at Clarion.
The Lady Eagles (28-5), who were ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II, won nine of 10 games to emerge atop the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Central Division at 7-1.
They swept Clarion 11-0 and 11-1 in five-inning games Wednesday and Indiana 5-0 and 5-0 Thursday and split with Bloomsburg Sunday, winning 1-0 before the Lady Huskies ended their 22-game winning streak 2-1.
In addition, the Lady Eagles downed California 1-0 in eight innings and 3-0 and West Chester 2-0 and 6-2.
Kristen Erb logged every decision, striking out 73 and allowing only four runs, three earned, in 65.2 innings. She was named PSAC-Central Pitcher of the Week for the fourth consecutive week.
The senior from Reading made history with the twin one-hit shutouts against IUP that boosted her career win total to 142, surpassing the Division II national record of 141 set by California\’s Danielle Penner from 1995 through 1998.
Erb, now 145-17 for her career, is 27-4 with a 0.49 earned run average and 215 strikeouts in 201 innings this season.
Pataky has played in 13 games, three as a starter, and has a two hits for a .125 average. She\’s walked twice, been hit by a pitch twice and scored three runs.
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WOMEN\’S TRACK & FIELD
CANTON, Ohio – Westminster senior Rebecca Shiner of Clearfield ran 800 meters in 2:26.99 to claim third place in her specialty at the 11-team Jack Hazen Open on the Malone University campus Saturday.
She also anchored the 4×400 relay foursome to a third-place finish in 4:14.99.
The Titans wound up sixth with 66.5 points.
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MEN\’S TRACK & FIELD
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomores Michael Johnson and John Bowman of Clearfield helped Penn State-Behrend win the fourth annual Washington & Jefferson Invitational Saturday.
The Titans topped the 13-team field with 128.5 points.
Johnson cleared 1.73 meters (5\’-8\”) to place fifth in the high jump and was 10th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.73. He also carried the baton on the second left for the 4×400 relay team that placed sixth in 3:37.92.
Bowman hurled the javelin 48.47 meters (159\’) for fifth place and spun the discus 32.49 meters (106\’-7\”) to tie for 20th.
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CANTON, Ohio – Freshman Ryan Jones of Clearfield ran the third leg for the Westminster 4×400-meter relay team that finished fourth among the six foursomes competing in the Jack Hazen Open hosted by Malone University Saturday.
