WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Junior Jessica Shomo (Clearfield) got off to a great outdoor season start by breaking the Clarion long jump record at the Coach O Coastal Carolina Invitational in Doug Shaw Stadium Saturday.
Shomo’s leap of 5.47 meters (17 feet, 11¼ inches) in the long jump seeded event bettered her personal mark by more than a foot and erased the previous Golden Eagle standard of 5.45 meters set by Chinonyelum Nwokedi in 2008. She bested 22 competitors from 15 schools.
Shomo also sprinted the first leg for Clarion’s 4×200-meter relay team that placed sixth in 1:47.05.
On Saturday, she finished 17th among 58 sprinters in the 100-meter seeded dash in 12.84 seconds and 36th among 45 entries in the 200-meter seeded dash in a personal-best 27.18 seconds.
* * * * * * * * * *
SOFTBALL
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Sophomore pitcher Rachel Hoffman (Clearfield) suffered a tough loss in the Fastpitch Dreams Springs Classic last Thursday when an unearned run in the second inning gave Millersville a 1-0 win over Clarion.
Hoffman, who owns the Golden Eagles’ only two wins, surrendered just one hit in her third complete game. She struck out seven Marauders, walked four and hit one.
In a 3-1 loss to Malone (Ohio) the previous day, Hoffman played first base and cracked three consecutive doubles and drove in the lone Clarion run.
The Golden Eagles moved on to Salem, Va., for the three-day West Virginia Wesleyan Tournament, where their losing streak was extended to seven games by No. 13-ranked West Virginia Wesleyan, Lemoyne (N.Y), Davis & Elkins (W.Va.), East Stroudsburg and Ursuline (Ohio).
Hoffman was the starter in the 7-2 loss to LeMoyne, giving up seven hits and five runs in six innings.
She came on in relief Sunday and was in line for a victory after three scoreless innings, but Ursuline rallied for three runs, one unearned, in the seventh to pull out a 4-3 win. Hoffman allowed four hits, struck out one and walked one in the four-inning stint.
Redshirt freshman Tierra Shope (Curwensville) appeared in four games, including starts in right field against Millersville and West Virginia Wesleyan.
She’s still searching for her first hit after playing in nine games.
Hoffman was unable to maintain her early-season hot hitting as her average dipped to .265. Seven of her nine hits have been for extra bases with a team-leading six doubles and the only triple. She’s driven in three runs.
In the circle, Hoffman is 2-4 with a 4.34 earned run average that is second for the Golden Eagles. She leads in innings pitched (30.2) and strikeouts (23).
* * * * *
WINCHESTER, Va. — Sophomore shortstop Megan Vanderburgh (Clearfield) singled and also had a run-scoring groundout for Shenandoah (Va.) in a 4-1 win over Mary Washington at Henkel-Harris Stadium Thursday.
The Hornets lifted their record to .500 again at 6-6 after losing the opener 3-2.
Vanderburgh has started every game and is hitting .211 with eight singles and two RBIs.
* * * * * * * * * *
BASEBALL
LEXINGTON, Va. — Freshman pitcher/outfielder Thomas Summers (Clearfield) belted his first home run for Maryland-Eastern Shore, though in a losing cause against Virginia Military Institute Saturday.
The Hawks were down 7-2 when he connected in the top of the ninth inning.
Earlier in the week, Summers made his first start against Navy at Annapolis and pitched three innings, allowing three hits and three runs, two earned, while walking two Middies.
The left-hander’s earned run average for 6.1 innings in four appearances is 4.26, second best for the 4-11 Hawks. He has given up 10 hits and five runs, three earned, with four strikeouts and five walks.
He has three hits, including one double, for a .188 batting average.
* * * * *
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Sophomore infielder Jarrett Fulmer (Clearfield) had a pair of hits and one run batted in while junior pitcher Kurtis Krise (Clearfield) made his first start of the season as Penn State Altoona closed out its spring break trip to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational by splitting six games last week.
The Lions halted a 10-game losing streak by sweeping Wentworth (Mass.) Institute of Technology 7-1 and 8-7 Friday and then bounced Wittenberg (Ohio) 15-9 Saturday.
Krise (0-1) worked 3.1 innings in a 9-0 loss to Cazenovia (N.Y.) March 8 in his third appearance and gave up seven hits and seven runs, with four unearned. He struck out one and walked two.
The right-hander has yielded 15 hits and 10 unearned runs in seven innings.
Fulmer is batting .124 with four singles and two RBIs. He’s drawn nine walks in 40 at-bats.
After scoring just 18 runs in their first seven games (all losses) in Florida, the Lions (4-11) ended the week on a high note by putting up 30 runs in their final three games — all wins.
* * * * *
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Sophomore outfielder Curtis Collins (Clearfield) made his debut for Mansfield as a pinch-runner and immediate recorded a stolen base against Missouri-St. Louis in a Clearwater Invitational 5-3 loss March 8.
He made his first appearance in right field Thursday when the Mounties (8-6) nipped Rockhurst (Mo.) 12-11 in 11 innings.
* * * * *
HOUGHTON, N.Y. — Freshman catcher/infielder Josh Sorbera (Clearfield) had one hit in the first game of Penn State DuBois’ season-opening 6-4 and 4-2 losses to Houghton Saturday.
Sorbera played third base for the Lions, who are returning to the diamond scene for the first time since the mid-1980s.
They will join 10 other teams in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference.
