Westmoreland County campus clippings: Mt. Pleasant's Hutter named MAC Player of the Week

College softball, meet Katie Hutter.

A freshman from Mt. Pleasant, Hutter has jumped on Division I pitching early on at Bowling Green.

She was lauded with the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week award after a big weekend at the plate.

Hutter, an outfielder, reached base 10 times in 17 at-bats and had six hits over five games at the Evansville Invitational II in Indiana.

She went 2 for 2 with a home run and four RBIs in a 10-9 loss to Evansville. She added a 2-for-2 performance with a double and two RBIs in a 7-6 win over St. Thomas in 8 innings for the Falcons (5-9).

For the season, Hutter is batting a team-best .381 with seven RBIs.

Softball

Cal (Pa.) Junior outfielder Charity Henderson (Southmoreland) was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division Athlete of the Week.

She hit .579 with 12 RBIs and seven runs scored as Cal opened with four wins in six games at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic in Georgia. Henderson had at least one hit in all six games and went 2 for 2 with two RBIs and three runs in a 10-2 win over Hillsdale (Mich.).

A third-year starter, she had two hits and three RBIs in a 6-4 win over Georgia Southwestern, and then went 3 for 3 with two doubles and four RBIs in an 11-3 victory against Shaw (N.C.).

Clarion: Freshman Angelina Pepe (Norwin) had a two-out RBI single in the 10th inning, but the Golden Eagles fell to West Virginia Wesleyan, 8-7.

She also pitched 5.1 innings.

Seton Hill: Junior Lauren Dellett was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week after posting two wins at the Glenville State Tournament.

Dellett gave up one run in 15 innings and struck out 13.

Baseball

Cal (Pa.): Freshman Jake Kramer (Hempfield) pitched two scoreless innings in relief as the Vulcans edged Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 4-3, to cap a three-game series at Wild Things Park in Washington.

Washington & Jefferson: Senior Tyler Horvat (Penn-Trafford) doubled and drove in a run, and junior reliever Ethan Boring picked up a save, as the Presidents edged Pitt-Greensburg, 3-2.

Men’s basketball

Saint Vincent: A highlight-filled debut season landed Jaden Gales a key conference award.

Gales, a freshman forward, was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year. He is the first Bearcats player to receive the honor.

Gales averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds over 26 games for the Bearcats (15-11).

He had nine 20-point games, including 35 against Washington & Jefferson, and 32 when SVC played Grove City.

Gales also was an All-PAC first-team selection.

Grad student forward Shemar Bennett (16.6 ppg/10.3 rpg) was a second-team pick.

West Liberty: Another productive season earned Bryce Butler (Latrobe) another piece of hardware.

A junior guard, Butler was a repeat winner as the Mountain East Conference Player of the Year. One of the top Division II players in the country, Butler is averaging a conference-best 22.5 points and 7.3 rebounds, and is shooting 59.2% from the field.

The owner of seven double-doubles this year, he also averages 3.6 assists.

The Hilltoppers (25-3, 20-2) are ranked No. 8 in the country and will be the No. 1 seed in the MEC tournament.

They went 14-0 at home this season.

Women’s basketball

Chatham: After leading all freshmen in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in scoring, Alyssa Laukus (Norwin) was tabbed the PAC Newcomer of the Year.

Laukus averaged 11.4 points and ranked second in the conference with 35 blocks, while also averaging 5.9 rebounds.

She also was an All-PAC honorable mention pick.

Chatham finished 19-8 after reaching the conference championship and falling to Saint Vincent, 68-52.

That game followed an impressive upset of No. 1 Washington Jefferson in the semifinals.

Laukus had 12 points, four rebounds and three blocks in the upset win, and added 15 points and four rebounds in 37 minutes at Saint Vincent.

Laukus scored in double figures 16 times, including a 20-point game against Grove City.

Against Allegheny, she had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Grove City: Senior Megan Kallock (Greensburg Salem) capped her final college season with an All-PAC First Team selection. Kallock averaged 17.6 points and was second on her team in steals (54) and assists (40).

She had 10 games of 20 or more points, including a regular-season school-record 35 against Geneva. Her 458 points rank eighth all time at Grove City for one season.

Saint Vincent: Several Bearcats received postseason recognition on the way to a Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship.

Junior guard Alana Winkler was named the PAC Defensive Player of the Year, while junior guard Emily Cavacini made the all-conference first team, and senior forward Madison Weber was a second-team pick.

Winkler had 37 steals and 22 blocks, while Cavacini averaged 12.4 points and 2.9 assists.

Cavacini was the PAC Tournament MVP.

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Men’s indoor track & field

Grove City: Junior Gabe Dunlap (Penn-Trafford) will compete in the All-Atlantic Region Championships this weekend at the Armory in New York City.

His top event is the long jump. Dunlap posted a season-best distance of 21 feet, 2.5 inches at the PAC championships.