SOFTBALL
CRESSON — Freshman pitcher Heather Picard (Clearfield) won three of four decisions and closed out another victory last week as Mount Aloysius remained in the thick of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoff chase with a sweep at Franciscan (Ohio) and splits against Penn State Behrend and Pitt-Bradford.
She gave up only three runs in her wins, 19-1 over Franciscan in five innings Wednesday, 7-0 in a combined shutout with Bridgit Yothers against non-conference foe Geneva Thursday and 11-2 over Penn State Behrend Saturday.
Picard pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts against Franciscan, allowed three hits in four innings against Geneva and scattered nine hits and gave up one earned run against Penn State Behrend.
In the first-game, a 6-3 victory over Pitt-Bradford, Picard relieved winner Kelsey Ickes with one on and no outs in the seventh inning and issued a walk and gave up a two-run double before retiring the Panthers.
Picard came back to pitched a six-hitter in the nightcap, but the Mounties were edged 4-3 with two of the Panthers runs being unearned.
Picard is 7-5, tied for third in the AMCC in wins, with a season-low 3.06 earned run average for 66.1 innings. Her 51 strikeouts rank seventh in the AMCC.
Mount Aloysius is 15-9 with a 6-4 start in the AMCC.
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WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
NEW WILMINGTON — Freshman Jessica Shomo (Clearfield) chalked up her first win of the outdoor season for Clarion with a long jump of 5.11 meters (16 feet, 9¼ inches) in the Westminster Invitational at Harold Burry Stadium Saturday.
She bested 23 other jumpers from eight teams.
Shomo also tied for fifth in the triple jump at 9.95 meters (32-6¾) and placed eighth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.71 seconds.
In addition, Shomo carried the baton on the leadoff leg for the Golden Eagle 4×100 relay team that claimed fourth place in a field of nine teams with a season-best 49.68 clocking.
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LEWISBURG — Senior Gwenn Porter (Clearfield) finished 18th among 76 starters in the 1,500-meter unseeded run on the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium oval at the Bucknell Outdoor Classic Saturday.
Her time was 4:48.05, good for fifth place in her heat.
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BASEBALL
CLARION — Junior second baseman Derek Danver (Clearfield) figured prominently in Clarion’s 7-6 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division squeaker over Gannon at Memorial Field Sunday.
Danver was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Golden Eagles a walk-off victory and their third doubleheader split of the week.
He also enjoyed his first three-hit game of the season while driving in one run and scoring another.
Danver was key in a 3-2 PSAC cross-over win over Bloomsburg in Clarion’s first home appearance Wednesday, too, cutting down the tying run at the plate after fielding a sharp grounder with one out in the seventh inning.
Earlier, he doubled and scored the go-ahead run for the Golden Eagles (7-21, 4-14 PSAC West).
On Friday, Danver singled across a run in Clarion’s 3-0 win over Gannon at Erie.
The 6-for-18 week lifted his average to .276, fourth on the team.
He is second in hits (34) and tied for third in RBIs (8) and runs (10).
He’s been hit by a pitch seven times, which is tied for third highest in the PSAC.
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ALTOONA — Freshman right-hander Kurtis Krise (Woodland/Clearfield Area H.S.) pitched six innings against Hilbert (N.Y.) to pick up his first victory in three decisions as Penn State Altoona snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 9-5 win at the Stewart Athletic Field Saturday.
The Lions broke up a 5-5 deadlock with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Nate Bennett closed out the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game.
Krise surrendered nine hits and two walks but gave up only two earned runs. He struck out two batters and hit one.
In six appearances, including four starts with two complete games, Krise has compiled a 4.74 earned run average that is second on the team. He has worked 24.2 innings with 14 strikeouts and seven walks.
Penn State Altoona is 9-19 with a 4-6 AMCC record.
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CRESSON — Senior right-hander Chad Zurat (Clearfield) turned in a quality start for Penn State Behrend Saturday but got no offensive support in a 2-0 loss to host Mount Aloysius on the Calandra-Smith Field at the Ray S. and Louise S. Walker Athletic Complex.
Zurat’s first complete game after three seasons as a closer included four strikeouts, two walks and one hit batsman in six innings. He allowed five hits and one earned run.
The Lions won the nightcap 8-2 for a 3-3 record in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. They are 12-9 overall.
Zurat (3-2) has appeared in six games with five starts.
He had pitched 28.2 innings with a 3.77 earned run average, giving up 27 hits while striking out 19 and walking 17.
