SOFTBALL
WILLIAMSPORT — Pitcher/outfielder Holly Lansberry (Curwensville) ended her remarkable four-year career at Lycoming with a tough loss and a save in the circle and two hits and a run batted in at the plate against Albright at Reading Saturday.
The right-hander was tagged with the 3-2 loss in the opener though surrendering only three hits and one earned run and then came on to save the 11-6 win in the nightcap of the Commonwealth Conference doubleheader as the Warriors finished 15-19, their most wins since 2005.
Those two appearances gave Lansberry a career total of 75, No. 1 all-time for Lycoming. The previous record was 74 established by Morgan Mantle (2003-06).
And the first-game start padded her all-time record for career starts to 66.
In all, Lansberry’s name will appear among the Top 10 in the Lycoming record book 26 times for career pitching and hitting statistics and 32 times for single-season totals.
She pitched 2-1/3 innings at Albright for her second save of the season, giving up two hits and one earned run.
For the season, Lansberry completed 12 of 15 starts for a 7-7 record with a 2.44 earned run average and an 85-24 strikeout-walk ratio. She worked 97-2/3 innings in 19 appearances and allowed 92 hits and 49 runs, including 34 earned.
As the Warrior leadoff batter, Lansberry collected 28 hits for a .292 average, coaxed a school-record 23 walks from opposing hurlers and scored 18 runs. She had three doubles and five RBIs.
Lansberry started all 34 games, either in the circle or in right field, and registered hits in 24 of them.
Among the Lycoming career rankings Lansberry (32-35) attained for pitching were second place in innings pitched (424.2), strikeouts (336) and most strikeouts per seven innings (5.54), third in complete games (48), fourth in wins (32) and shutouts (7), seventh in lowest ERA (3.07) and lowest opponent batting average (.256) and ninth in fewest walks allowed per seven innings (2.57).
Her career batting average of .314 didn’t qualify for the record book, but she was fourth in hits (109), fifth in at bats (357), seventh in on-base average (.413), eighth in runs scored (63), 10th in total bases (126) and tied for 10th in doubles (13).
She tied for sixth in games played (121) and seventh in starts (114).
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BASEBALL
BRADFORD — Junior outfielder Sam Gardner (Curwensville) boosted his batting average to a season-high .333 with seven hits as Pitt-Bradford (13-15) locked up fourth place and home-field advantage for the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Playoffs with three wins in the final two regular-season twinbills.
The Panthers split with Penn State Altoona, winning 7-6 after losing 7-3, Saturday and then swept D’Youville 8-0 and 8-3 at Buffalo, N.Y., Monday to finish 9-7 in the conference.
They will host fifth-place Pitt-Greensburg (14-21, 8-8 AMCC) in a best-of-three series Saturday, with the first game at 10 a.m. The survivor will advance to the double-elimination championship tourney on regular season champion Penn State Behrend’s home diamond May 9-11.
Gardner had four hits and drove in three runs at D’Youville and now has the third highest batting average for the Panthers.
He is 19-for-57 with four doubles and six RBIs in 22 games, including 19 starts in right field or left field.
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ERIE — Junior reliever Chad Zurat (Clearfield) notched his fifth save with a three-inning stint at Pitt-Greensburg Saturday and senior starter Mike Moyer (Clearfield) had a no-decision in his fifth start against Mount Union (Ohio) April 23 as Penn State Behrend (25-9) geared up for the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Playoffs with five wins last week.
Road sweeps against Medaille (N.Y.) 7-1 and 10-3 Thursday and Pitt-Greensburg 11-2 and 10-3 wrapped up the AMCC regular season title for the Lions at 15-1.
Zurat struck five of the 10 batters he faced and gave up two hits in his longest relief outing of the season to tie for second in the AMCC in saves.
He is second in games finished (10), tied for third in games in relief (11) and tied for sixth in appearances (11).
Zurat (2-1) has not allowed a run in his last seven games to lower his earned run average to 2.37. In 19 innings, he has given up 14 hits and seven runs, five earned, while striking out 26 and walking only six. He’s hit three batters.
Moyer was lifted after 2-2/3 innings against Mount Union. He allowed two hits and two earned runs but struck out four. The Lions came back to win the game 6-2.
Moyer is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA, 19 strikeouts and 15 walks in 23 innings. Opponents have gotten to him for 19 hits but only six runs.
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CLARION — Sophomore second baseman Derek Danver (Clearfield) singled in four games, sophomore utilityman Brett Sutika (Grampian/Curwensville Area H.S.) had one pinch hit and junior left-hander Ben McGary (Curwensville) pitched two complete games last week for Clarion (1-39).
The Golden Eagles dropped doubleheaders to Mercyhurst, for a 1-19 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division record, as well as to PSAC cross-over opponents Mansfield, Shippensburg and Bloomsburg. They’ve lost 24 games in a row.
Danver has played in 32 games, all but one as a starter, and is hitting .200 (16-f0r-80) with two doubles, one home run and four runs batted in. He has been hit a team-high eight times.
Sutika shows a .143 average (6-for-42) with one double and two RBIs in 21 games. He has started 13 games at either second base, third base or designated hitter.
McGary’s record fell to 1-8 after losses to Mercyhurst 5-1 and at Bloomsburg 11-1. He gave up eight hits and four earned runs in seven innings against the Lakers and 11 hits and just four earned runs against the Huskies.
McGary leads Clarion in innings pitched (47.1) and strikeouts (26) and has completed five of his nine starts. His 6.28 earned run average is second best for a team that has a 10.64 ERA.