Westmoreland campus clippings: Mt. Pleasant's Haylie Brunson off to strong start at Pitt

Haylie Brunson did not need a beginner’s manual to play college softball at the Division I level.

Brunson, a freshman at Pitt who was the Trib Westmoreland softball player of the year only eight months ago after leading Mt. Pleasant to WPIAL and PIAA titles, is on an early season tear.

Brunson went 2 for 4 with her first college home run and triple, and drove in four runs, as Pitt blanked Tennessee State, 6-0.

A designated player who started the first 10 games, she was leading the Panthers (6-4) with a .353 average, 12 hits, seven RBIs, four doubles, a .971 on-base percentage, 21 total bases, and a .618 slugging percentage.

Softball

Cal (Pa.): Six games into the season, sophomore Charity Henderson (Southmoreland) is hitting .438 with three RBIs and three runs, while senior teammate Alexa Pastor (Hempfield) has a .417 average with a pair of RBIs for the Vulcans (3-3).

Mercyhurst: Grad outfielder Sarah Koscho (Penn-Trafford) went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs for the Lakers in an 8-5 win over Shepherd. She was hitting .417 through four games.

Penn State: Senior pitcher Bailey Parshall (Belle Vernon) picked up her fourth win of the season, striking out five in a 5-2 win at Kennesaw State (Ga.).

Seton Hill: Grad pitcher Morgan Ryan (Hempfield) made her Seton Hill debut, and it was a good one at the Glenville State Tournament. The former Notre Dame pitcher struck out 10 in a 7-2, complete-game victory over West Virginia State. Her former high school teammate, grad Jenna Osikowicz (Hempfield) went 3 for 4 for the Griffins (3-0).

Sophomore pitcher Lauren Dellett helped her cause in the season opener, going 4 for 4, while Osikowicz and junior Natalia Greco had three hits each in an 11-3, six-inning win over Salem in the season opener. Dellett allowed two earned runs and struck out five to get the win.

Osikowicz was 4 for 4 in a 6-1 win over Lock Haven. She was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week.

Baseball

Allegheny: Junior Bobby Kusinsky (Penn-Trafford) worked six scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out eight, as the Gators (4-2) posted a 4-0 shutout of Alfred State.

Mount St. Mary’s: Freshman Nick Fleming (Norwin) had a run-scoring double in a 5-4 victory over Lehigh, his first collegiate hit.

Penn State Behrend: Senior Ryan Weaver (Norwin) was named the AMCC Pitcher of the Week. Weaver earned his first win of the season as he worked three scoreless innings against Eastern Mennonite, allowing two hits.

Seton Hill: The Griffins (4-1) rebounded from their first loss of the young season with a 3-2 home victory over Walsh. Senior Brandon Kline delivered a walk-off single to cap the victory.

Freshman Drew Garth hit a two-run home run for Seton Hill.

They followed with a 5-2 victory over Walsh as grad student Neal McDermott (Greensburg Central Catholic) delivered a double, and senior Isaiah DiAndreth (Hempfield) and junior Owen Sabol (Norwin) had two hits apiece.

Senior reliever Bryan Nash was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week. Nash earned a win and a save in the series against Walsh.

Men’s basketball

La Roche: Freshman Kadyn Hannah (Franklin Regional) had 10 points and four rebounds to help the Redhawks get past Penn State Altoona, 95-63, in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinals.

La Roche (16-11) was clipped by Penn State Behrend in the championship, 71-70.

Hannah was second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game.

Pitt-Greensburg: Sophomore Reggie Priah had a career-high 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds but the Bobcats fell to Medaille, 64-61, in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament to finish Chris Klimchock’s first season as coach at 10-16.

Priah made the all-tournament team.

Robert Morris: Junior forward Brandon Stone (Southmoreland) had 13 points in 27 minutes, hitting 6 of 11 shots, as the Colonials (7-23) fell to Wright State, 71-61, in the final regular season game of 2021-22.

Shippensburg: Grad guard Jake Biss (Latrobe) had a career game as the Raiders topped Mansfield, 94-82, in PSAC action. Biss scored 36 points, netted 7 of 14 3-pointers, and added five assists, four rebounds and two steals. He made 13 of 25 shots.

The seven 3s were the most in a game for Shippensburg since 2018.

In the final game of the regular season, Biss had 21 points and four assists in a 79-59 win over Kutztown. He made 10 of 10 free throws. The Raiders, coached by Latrobe alum Chris Fite, earned the No. 3 seed in the PSAC playoffs.

He was named the PSAC East Athlete of the Week.

West Liberty: Third-year sophomore guard Bryce Butler (Latrobe) scored his 1,000th career point as the No. 2 Hilltoppers (26-2, 20-2 Mountain East Conference) took care of Wheeling, 109-94.

Butler reached the milestone on a 3-pointer nearing the 11-minute mark of the first half and finished the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

The standout is among the top players in Division II this season. He is averaging 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 64% from the field.

Women’s basketball

Pitt-Greensburg: The third-seeded Bobcats surged into the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship but fell to top-seeded La Roche, 72-59.

Senior Shaquoia McCray had 15 points and 18 rebounds, while junior Sidney McCully had 14 points, freshman Melina Maietta (Greensburg Central Catholic) added 13 and senior Maddie Sitler 10.

UPG was seeking its first conference title since 2008-09.

Maietta connected on a clutch 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in the semifinals to lift UPG to an 80-78 win over No. 2 Penn State Behrend. She finished with 23 points in the victory, while senior Nadege Durand had 22 points and assisted Maietta’s game-winner.

McCray and Durand made the all-tournament team.

Point Park: Grad guard Michelle Burns (Hempfield) was named to the All-River States Athletic Conference First Team after another outstanding season for the Pioneers. Burns averaged 19.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists in her final year in the program. She finished with 1,848 career points.

Seton Hill: Senior Sonia Sarda, who hails from Spain, scored 19 points, and senior Katie Nolan added 13 while also grabbing nine rebounds and blocking six shots, as the Griffins ran past Edinboro, 72-60, in the regular-season finale. Seton Hill (21-10) clinched the No. 3 seed in the PSAC Tournament and was set to host Pitt-Johnstown in the first round of the conference tournament.

Westminster: The rubber match of a college sibling rivalry went to the big sister. Senior Magen Polczynski (Norwin) had 13 points to help the Titans defeat Grove City, and her freshman sister, Mara Polczynski (Norwin), 75-62, in the PAC semifinals.

Mara Polczynski had 10 points in the loss. Westminster won 2 of the 3 meetings.

“It has been such a long ride and it is hard being the only senior,” Magen Polczynski said. “But it feels so good to be with my best friends.”

Mara Polczynski set a freshman program record with 103 career assists.

Freshman Kenzie Powell (Penn-Trafford) added 10 points and four assists for the Titans in the latest victory.

Senior Allison Podkul (Hempfield) scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Grove City.

When Westminster clubbed Geneva, 105-77, in the quarterfinals, Magen Polczynski had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Powell added 15 points for a career high.