BASEBALL
AUBERNDALE, Fla. – Freshman middle infielder Derek Danver of Clearfield collected six hits and drove in four runs as Penn State Altoona closed out the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with two wins in six games last week.
Three of the safeties, including a run-scoring double, came in a 16-6 loss to Thomas More (Ky.) at Babson Park, Thursday.
After being swept by Gwynedd Mercy and Thomas More, the Lions (2-8) broke into the win column by defeating Brockport (N.Y.) State 7-4 and 3-2.
In the first game, Danver put the Lions in front 3-2 with a double in the fifth inning and later scored twice, getting aboard the second time when he was hit by a pitch.
Danver, who was switched from shortstop to second base and moved into the clean-up spot in the batting order last week, leads the Lions in RBIs with nine and is second in hitting with a .321 average.
He is 9-for-28 with three doubles and three runs scored. He’s walked twice and been hit by a pitch twice for a .409 on-base average that also ranks second on the team.
In the field, Danver’s 22 assists and four double plays top the Lions.
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FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Junior right-hander Mike Moyer of Clearfield notched his second win in as many decisions for Penn State Behrend in a 9-3 victory over Northwestern (Minn.) at the Lawnwood Complex Thursday afternoon.
Moyer pitched five innings, striking out five, walking one batter and hitting one. He gave up four hits and three runs, all in the fifth.
Sophomore reliever Chad Zurat of Clearfield made two appearances for the Lions last week.
He was called into a bases-loaded, no-out situation with the score tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning against Elizabethtown on March 5. The winning run scored on a groundout, and Zurat surrendered an RBI-single before getting out of the jam.
On Saturday, Zurat was tagged with the loss against Lebanon Valley. He relieved in the bottom of the 12th inning of another 3-3 tie game and retired six of seven batters before the Flying Dutchmen finally ended it with a triple and a sacrifice fly in the 14th.
Moyer sports a 2.53 earned run average for 10.2 innings. He’s recorded 12 strikeouts and given up four walks, six hits and four runs, three of them earned.
Zurat, who owns one save, has a 2.45 ERA after three appearances. The right-hander’s stat line shows 3.2 innings, four strikeouts, one walk, three hits and one run.
Penn State Behrend split eight games on the annual Spring Break Trip.
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CHANDLER, Ariz. – Sophomore pitcher/outfielder Sam Gardner of Curwensville pitched in two of Pitt-Bradford’s final four games on the annual Spring Trip to the Southwest last week.
The right-hander worked one scoreless inning with one strikeout and one hit batsman in a 9-7 loss to Bethany (Minn.) Lutheran at Tucson Thursday and faced four batters in a 13-8 loss to Swarthmore at the Keno Sports Complex Friday.
Gardner entered the latter game after the Panthers (3-7) had blown an 8-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning and gave up three hits, two of them home runs, and one walk.
The rough outing left Gardner with a 12.27 earned run average for four appearances. He has pitched in 3.2 innings, striking out four, walking three and allowing six hits and five runs.
He has gone to the plate in three games, walking twice in three at-bats and scoring one run.
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MEN’S GYMNASTICS
HUMACAO, P.R. – Junior Scott Rosenthal of Clearfield received a season-low 14.900 to place second on the still rings for No. 2-ranked Penn State in a 339.200-337.300 win over the Puerto Rico National Team at the Puerto Rico University Humacao Campus Sports Complex Friday night.
Former Nittany Lion Tommy Ramos, whose Penn State record Rosenthal erased in the season opener, won the event with a 15.450. Ramos was a standout on Penn State’s national championship team in 2007 and Big 10 Conference title team in 2008.
With Rosenthal leading the way, the Nittany Lions scored 58.650 to prevail on the still rings, one of three events they won in raising their record to 5-1.
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WOMEN’S SWIMMING
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Sophomore Brandie Centi of Clearfield placed 20th in two freestyle events to pick up points for Lincoln (Ill.) College at the 2012 National Junior College Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championships hosted by Indian River State College last week.
Centi touched the wall at the Anne Wilder Aquatic Complex wall in 57.76 seconds in the 100 free and 2:12.67 in the 200 free.
Both established new personal records, bettering her times of 59.34 and 2:12.87 set during her freshman season.
Lincoln amassed 915 points to finish third behind Indian River (1,724) and Daytona (Fla.) State College (1,195.5) in the 16-team field.