BASEBALL
ERIE – Junior starter Mike Moyer and sophomore closer Chad Zurat of Clearfield added to their win totals as Penn State Behrend (25-11-1) swept a twinbill from Medaille (N.Y.) and split with St. Vincent last week.
Moyer remained unbeaten and helped the Lions lock up second place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and a first-round bye for the championship tournament by firing a five-hitter in a complete-game 7 -1 victory over Medaille on Wednesday.
The right-hander (5-0) struck out two and walked none in his second complete game of the season. The Medaille run was unearned as Moyer lowered his earned run average to 2.82.
He was among 10 players receiving “Best of the Rest” recognition for AMCC Player of the Week honors.
Penn State Behrend followed up with a 9-2 win over Medaille for a 12-3-1 finish in the AMCC. LaRoche claimed the regular season title with a 13-3 record.
Zurat picked up his second win in four decisions as the Lions defeated St. Vincenct 9-2 after dropping the opener 6-5 at Greensburg Saturday.
He entered the game with the score tied 2-2 in the fifth inning and worked 2-1/3 innings, giving up two hits and three walks. He also hit one batter and struck out three.
In AMCC statistics, Moyer is tied for first in wins and second in ERA among pitchers with a minimum of one inning per the number of their team’s games.
He is tied for second in runs allowed (19), earned runs allowed (14) and walks allowed (9), sixth in opponents’ batting average (.272), eighth in hits allowed (46) and 10th in innings pitched (44-2/3).
Moyer has struck out 26 in his nine appearances, eight of them starts.
Zurat ranks second among the AMCC closers with six saves and games finished (12) and is tied for second in games in relief (14).
He owns a 1.37 ERA that would top the AMCC if he had the minimum innings.
Zurat has surrendered only four earned runs and 14 hits in 26-1/3 innings while striking out 37 and walking only 12 and hitting three.
Penn State Behrend will travel to LaRoche in Pittsburgh for the AMCC Tournament championship round May 10-12.
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LEWISTOWN, N.Y. – Freshman infielder Derek Danver of Clearfield cracked six hits, including his first home run, and drove in five runs as Saturday Penn State Altoona (17-20) took both ends of a doubleheader from D’Youville, 20-4 and 7-1, to clinch the fourth seed for the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament.
Danver enjoyed his first four-hit game in the opener, clubbing a two-run homer for the Lions’ first runs and adding three singles to drive in two more runs. He scored four times.
In the nightcap, the Lions’ designated hitter singled twice, drove in a run and scored one.
Penn State Altoona, which finished in a tie with Pitt-Bradford at 9-7, gained home field advantage for Saturday’s first-round best-of-three series by virtue of its win over regular season champion LaRoche on April 17.
Danver leads the Lions in RBIs with 36 and is third in hits with 46 and batting average at .357 for 37 games. He tied for third in doubles (8) and tied for fourth in runs (25).
In the AMCC, he is sixth in RBIs and tied for ninth in hits. His batting average ranks 16th.
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BRADFORD – Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Sam Gardner of Curwensville had one double in seven at-bats for Pitt-Bradford (16-17) in Satuurday’s 5-4 and 3-1 sweep of visiting Mount Aloysius that gave the Panthers a share of fourth place with Penn State Altoona at 9-7 in the final Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference regular season standings.
Penn State Altoona holds the tie-breaker advantage for the home field advantage in the first round of the AMCC Tournament and will host Pitt-Bradford Saturday.
Gardner has 12 hits and a .293 batting average for 18 games, including 12 starts.
He has driven in eight runs and scored nine.
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SOFTBALL
ANNVILLE – Despite going hitless in Lycoming’s season-ending 5-0 and 8-1 losses to Commonwealth Conference runner-up Lebanon Valley Saturday, junior pitcher/outfielder Holly Lansberry of Curwensville wound up leading the Lady Warriors in hits with 34 and batting average at .358.
She had a team-high 34 hits in 95 at-bats in 28 games with 27 starts, was second in doubles with five and drove in nine runs. Her on-base average as the leadoff batter was .411, second best on the team.
Lansberry, who drew six walks and was hit three times, struck out only three times in 105 trips to the plate.
She also stole four bases in five attempts.
In the circle, Lansberry made 13 starts in14 appearances and posted a 3.87 earned run average, though notching only four wins in 14 decisions. Her ERA and nine complete games were tops for the Lady Warriors .
The right-hander ranked among the conference leaders in strikeouts (61) as well as ERA.
She pitched 81-1/3 innings and allowed 100 hits and 59 runs, 45 earned. She walked 30 batters and hit seven.
Lycoming finished 10-23 with a 3-11 conference recored.