BASEBALL
WEST SENECA, N.Y. — Senior Chad Zurat (Clearfield) logged the first shutout of his brief career as a starter for Penn State Behrend with a five-hitter against host D’Youville at Hueiusinger Field in Veterans Memorial Park Friday.
The hard-throwing right-hander struck out a season-high nine, walked two and hit two in the 12-0 victory that fronted a sweep for the Lions, who upped their Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference record to 5-3. They ended the week at 16-11 overall.
Zurat (4-2), a closer in his first three seasons, lowered his earned run average to 3.03 in his sixth start.
He has worked 35.3 innings in seven appearances with 28 strikeouts, nine walks and four hit batsmen. He has given up 32 hits and at 15 runs, 12 earned.
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BRADFORD — Senior outfielder Sam Gardner (Curwensville) returned to the Pitt-Bradford lineup last week after missing six games because of an injury and was 4-for-13 at the plate as the Panthers split six Allegheny Mountain League Conference games at the Kessel Athletic Complex.
He had a two-run single in a 9-1 win over Hilbert (N.Y.) Thursday and three doubles in 16-3 and 16-1 losses to LaRoche Saturday with the conference lead at stake.
Pitt-Bradford entered this week tied for second place at 8-4 with Mount Aloysius and Pitt-Greensburg behind LaRoche (11-1).
Gardner has played in 21 games, all but one as a starter, and is hitting .315, which ranks third on the team. With seven doubles and one home run among his 17 hits, he’s tied for the lead in slugging average at .500.
He has 13 runs batted in and 11 runs scored.
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WASHINGTON, Pa. — Junior second baseman Derek Danver (Clearfield) had three hits as Clarion split a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader with California at Consol Energy Field Saturday.
His run-scoring triple to deep center field was the game-winning hit in the 6-4 opener. He then scored the insurance run on a squeeze bunt.
Danver had one hit in 6-0 and 6-1 home losses to California Friday.
The Golden Eagles are 5-17 in the PSAC West and 8-24 for the season.
Danver has started every game and is second on the team in hits (28) and third in average (.280). He has driven in nine runs and scored 10.
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SOFTBALL
CRESSON — Freshman Heather Picard (Clearfield) chalked up one win in relief and another with a route-going three-hitter as Mount Aloysius climbed into a tie for third place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference by sweeping two twinbills last week.
Picard pitched three perfect innings in relief, striking out five of the nine batters she faced, in the Mounties’ first-game 7-2 victory over Pitt-Greensburg at the Ray S. and Louise S. Walker Field Complex Thursday.
She started the nightcap, a 10-8 win, but was not involved in the decision, giving up seven hits and six runs, four earned, while fanning four and walking one in four innings.
On Saturday, Picard whiffed seven and walked one in a 3-1 victory over Hilbert at Hamburg, N.Y.
She took a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning of her seventh complete game in 14 starts.
Mount Aloysius (19-9) triumphed 11-3 in the second game for a 10-4 AMCC record.
Picard (9-5) stood third in wins in the AMCC as well as seventh in earned run average (2.96) and seventh in strikeouts (67).
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WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
SLIPPERY ROCK — Freshman Jessica Shomo (Clearfield) carried the baton on the second leg for the Clarion 4×100 relay quartet that set a school record at Slippery Rock Open in Mihalik-Thompson Stadium Thursday.
Courtney Corban, Shomo, Jessica Vitous and Anna Pfingstler (DuBois) circled the Bill Lennox Track in 49.21 seconds to better the previous mark of 49.57 set in 2012.
Shomo also placed 12th in the long jump with a leap of 4.74 meters (15 feet, 6½ inches).
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LEWISBURG — Penn State senior Gwenn Porter (Clearfield) and St. Francis freshman Rebecca Johnson (Grampian/Curwensville Area H.S.) placed 15th and 25th, respectively, in the 1,500-meter run at the Bucknell Team Challenge Saturday.
Porter’s time for her second race on the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium track in as many weeks was 4:51.64, while Johnson was clocked in 5:34.10.