SOFTBALL
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sophomore Rachel Hoffman (Clearfield) was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Central Division Pitcher of the Week after recording both of Clarion’s wins at the season-opening Shaw (N.C.) University Challenge.
The Golden Eagle right-hander, who transferred from Pitt-Johnstown after logging four of the first-year team’s seven wins last spring, hurled complete-game victories over Bowie (Md.) State 4-1 last Thursday and Elizabeth City (N.C.) State 6-5 Sunday at the Walnut Street Softball Complex.
In her first outing, Hoffman fired a four-hitter with four strikeouts and two walks.
She closed out Clarion’s 2-4 weekend by striking out five and walking one while giving up five hits.
Hoffman was tagged with the 8-0 loss to Virginia Union Saturday when she surrendered four hits and six runs, five earned, in 1.2 innings.
Redshirt freshman pitcher/outfielder Tierra Shope (Curwensville) appeared in five games, including two as a pinch-hitter and two as a pinch-runner.
She had the game-winning run batted in against Elizabeth City State with a fifth-inning groundout.
Hoffman’s earned run average is 4.91 for the 15.2 innings. She’s racked up 13 strikeouts, walked six batters and hit two.
Hoffman, who is playing first base when not in the circle, also is off to a very good start at the plate with a .429 average on two-hit games against Winston-Salem (N.C.) State in an 8-6 loss, Bowie State and Fairmont (W.Va.) State in a 4-3 loss.
A team-high three doubles and the lone triple push her slugging percentage to .786.
For Pitt-Johnstown last year, Hoffman was 4-13 with a 6.36 ERA in 88 innings and also hit .211 with three extra base blows and five runs batted in.
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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Sophomore shortstop Megan Vanderburgh (Clearfield) came through with a clutch hit that led to Shenandoah’s 4-3 victory over Keuka (N.Y.) in the Virginia Wesleyan Beach Blast at the Princess Anne Athletic Complex Saturday.
The Hornets were trailing 3-2 and down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Vanderburgh drove in the tying run with a single to left field.
A run in the extra inning gave Shenandoah a sweep in the non-league doubleheader after opening with a 5-2 win over Rutgers-Camden.
The Hornets fell to 5-5 Sunday with 8-0 and 9-1 losses, both in five innings, to No. 16-ranked Christopher at Newport News, Va.
Vanderburgh raised her average to .219 with three hits on the trip.
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BASEBALL
RICHMOND, Ky. — Freshman Thomas Summers (Clearfield) delivered one single in two pinch-hit opportunities and pitched 1.1 innings in relief during Maryland-Eastern Shore’s four-game weekend series against Eastern Kentucky.
The Hawks (4-7) managed only one win, 5-4 in Saturday’s nightcap, as their pitching staff was roughed up in 17-1, 20-2 and 14-3 defeats.
Summers still has a 0.00 earned run average after two outings, though giving up an unearned run and two hits in Sunday’s getaway game.
At the plate, he has two hits and a .167 average.
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AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Sophomore Jarrett Fulmer (Clearfield) made starts at designated hitter, third base and second base and junior Kurtis Krise (Clearfield) made his second pitching appearance for Penn State Altoona on the first weekend of the RussMatt Challenge.
The Lions (1-8) were swept by SUNY Polytechnic, 1-0 and 4-1, at Lake Myrtle Park Saturday and Clark (Mass.) University, 10-4 and 15-4, at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg Sunday.
Krise worked one inning, allowing two hits and one earned run, in the last game.
Fulmer walked twice in 10 at-bats as his average slipped to .111.
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WRESTLING
LOCK HAVEN — Redshirt junior Jake Keller (Curwensville) was 1-2 for Clarion in the 2016 Eastern Wrestling League championships at Lock Haven’s Thomas Fieldhouse Saturday.
After being pinned at 2:00 by eventual 157-pound champ Austin Matthews of Edinboro, Keller registered his own 2:00 fall against Chas Busz of Cleveland State in the consolation quarterfinals.
His season ended in the consy semifinals, where Bloomsburg’s Brendon Colbert prevailed 9-4.
Matthews was the EWL champ at 157 in 2014 when he was wrestling for Clarion.
The Golden Eagles were fifth in the seven-team tourney with 41.5 points. Rider reigned with 89 points, while two-time champion Edinboro was second with 79.5.
Keller finished 10-19 in his first season after transferring from Pitt with most of his matches at 149.
