BASEBALL
ERIE – Pitchers Chad Zurat and Mike Moyer of Clearfield turned in contrasting outings in weekend games against two nationally-ranked opponents added to the Penn State Behrend schedule as tune-up action for the championship round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament.
Zurat, the bullpen ace for the Lions (25-13-1), received “Best of the Rest” recognition in AMCC Player of the Week consideration after working a 1-2-3 inning in a 3-1 loss to Seton Hill at Greensburg Saturday and two scoreless frames in a 4-3, 10-inning loss at Marietta (Ohio) Sunday.
He gave up only one hit while striking out three and walking two.
Moyer started against Marietta and allowed five hits and three runs, all earned, in three-plus innings. He logged one strikeout, one walk and three hit batsmen.
Seton Hill (42-8) was ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, while Marietta (34-6) was No. 1 in the d3baseball.com/NCBWA Division III Poll.
Both Lion right-handers are listed in several AMCC statistics.
Moyer (5-0) is second in fewest walks allowed (10), tied for second in wins, third in earned run average (3.21), third in runs allowed (22), tied for earned runs allowed (17) and starts (9) and eighth in opposition’s batting average (.283) among pitchers with a minimum of one inning for every one their teams have played.
He has pitched 47.2 innings in 10 appearances with 52 hits allowed and 27 strikeouts.
Zurat (2-2) is second in the conference in saves (6), games in relief (16) and games finished (12) and tied for second in appearances (16) and games in relief (16) and ninth in strikeouts (40).
In 29.1 innings, he has surrendered only 15 hits and four runs, all earned, for a 1.23 ERA that doesn’t show in the AMCC stats because he doesn’t have enough innings pitched.
No. 2 seed Penn State Behrend, which had a first-round bye for the AMCC tourney, opens the double-elimination championship round against No. 6 Mount Aloysius (17-25-1) Thursday morning at Pittsburgh. No. 1 seed and host LaRoche (21-17) and No. 5 Pitt-Bradford (19-18) are the other contenders.
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ALTOONA – Freshman infielder Derek Danver of Clearfield and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Sam Gardner of Curwensville were in opposite dugouts at Stewart Athletic Field Saturday for first-round action in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament.
Danver’s outstanding rookie season for No. 4 seed Penn State Altoona ended in disappointment when the Lions were denied a chance to repeat as AMCC champions by No. 5 seed Pitt-Bradford, which swept the best-of-three series 6-2 and 3-1.
Gardner, the starter in left field for Pitt-Bradford (19-18) since early April, had an infield single for a run batted in and also scored a run as the Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the opener.
Danver, the Lions’ designated hitter, got one run back with a two-out double in the bottom of the frame, but the hosts could do little else with Panther pitchers Johnny Phelps and Aaron Cressley the rest of the day.
In the nightcap, Penn State Altoona (17-22) was held to two hits and was shut out until the seventh inning when Danver reached base on an error and later scored on a balk.
Danver, who started every game for the Lions at shortstop, second base or DH, ended the season as the clean-up batter and wound up 47-for-135, a .348 average that was third on the team.
He led the Lions in RBIs with 37, was third in hits and doubles (9) and tied for third in runs (26).
Danver currently stands sixth in the AMCC in RBIs, tied for 12th in hits, tied for 13th in doubles and 17th in batting average.
He had two sacrifice flies, drew five walks, was hit five times and stole three bases in six attempts.
While Gardner was hitless in Pitt-Bradford’s second game victory, he still had a good week to raise his average to .304.
Earlier in the week, he socked his first career home run and singled twice in a 10-7 loss to Fredonia (N.Y.) State and had a single in a 5-3 win over Allegheny.
In 22 games, 16 of them starts, Gardner is 17-for-56 with two doubles and 10 RBIs.
The Panthers, in the AMCC Final Four for the first time since 2008, will play No. 1 seed and host LaRoche Thursday at noon in Game 2 of the three-day tourney.
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WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State sophomore Gwenn Porter of Clearfield finished ninth in the 1,500-meter run at the Jim Thorpe Open on the Nittany Lion Track Friday.
Her time was 5:07.49.