BASEBALL
DUBOIS — Sophomore Brandon Orsich (Clearfield) came off the injury list to pitch seven innings as the sixth-seeded Penn State DuBois Lions bounced No. 2 seed Apprentice School (Va.) 10-2 at Showers Field Thursday afternoon to claim the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Small College World Series championship.
Orsich, who had faced only three batters since March 25 because of a throwing arm ailment, scattered eight hits while striking out four Builders, walking two and hitting one.
The big right-hander gave up both runs in the fourth inning after the Lions had opened a 5-0 lead, thanks to a grand slam home run by freshman catcher Joey Dipietro (Punxsutawney).
John White (Warren) and Bryce Hanley (Central Mountain) finished up with one inning apiece.
Freshman outfielder Thayne Morgan (Clearfield) pinch-ran, stole second base and scored one of the Lions’ two runs that made it 9-2 in the seventh inning.
The Builders, one of the top hitting teams in the USCAA all season, had forced an extra game by scoring a run in the top of the ninth inning to hand the Lions a 4-3 loss earlier in the day.
Penn State DuBois, which finished 31-11, beat No. 3 seed Wright State-Lake Campus 9-1, No. 10 Selma University 7-3 and No. 5 Cleary University 7-6 on the first three days of the tourney.
Morgan pinch-ran in all three wins, stealing two bases and scoring three runs.
Dipietro was named Most Valuable Player for his 11 runs batted in and work behind the plate.
First baseman Dan Bowman (Central Cambria) and left fielder Caleb Butler (Central Mountain) made the all-tourney team.
Penn State DuBois’ title run fulfilled a vision coach Tom Calliari had when he championed the revival of the school’s program three years ago.
And he accomplished his goal this year with a roster featuring 24 of the 30 players from high schools in District 9, District 6 and District 5.
Penn State DuBois is just the second Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) team in any sport win a USCAA national crown. The Penn State Beaver women’s basketball team reigned in 2015.
The Lions, who finished 31-11, had three players receive USCAA All-American honors at a banquet prior to the tournament, with pitcher Caleb Bennett (St. Marys) and third baseman Talon Falls (Central Mountain) on the first team and Bowman on the second team.
For the season, Orsich was 3-0 with a 3.13 earned run average and 14 strikeouts for 23 innings in six appearances, four of them starts.
He surrendered 19 hits and six walks and hit five batters.
Morgan appeared in 33 games, including 12 starts, and collected 14 hits for a .286 average.
He drove in five runs and scored 20 and was second on the team in stolen bases with 14 in 15 attempts.
* * * * * * * * * *
WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
EMMITTSBURG, Md. — Junior Sarah Lash (Clearfield) placed 21st in the hammer throw with a heave of 33.22 meters (119 feet) in the 2018 Northeast Conference Outdoor Championships hosted by Mount St. Marys earlier this month.
