Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg coaches honored by AMCC

Brody Jackson led Pitt-Greensburg to one of the best regular seasons in the history of the men’s basketball program. He was recognized for the accomplishment by being named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year.

His counterpart, Hayley Schaetzle, received the same conference honor on the women’s side as coach.

In addition, UPG junior point guard Matt Johnson was picked for the All-AMCC First Team, junior guard Cam Seigfreid (Penn-Trafford) was a second-team selection and sophomore Jojo France made the third team.

UPG’s men won 13 more games than it did a year ago, finishing 20-6 after falling in the AMCC semifinals.

Jackson, in his third season, led the Bobcats to a 20-win season for the first time since 2000. The team finished 12-1 at home and went on to earn the No. 2 seed in the conference playoffs.

Johnson, despite a late-season injury that cost him his final three games, led the team with 15.8 points.

UPG reached the AMCC semifinals. The team allowed theh fewest points in the AMCC (55.5).

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Men’s basketball

Grove City: Junior guard Justice Rice (Monessen) was named to the All-PAC second team. Rice ranked second in the conference in assists (81), was fifth in field-goal percentage (50.6) and 10th in scoring (12.9 ppg). He had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 67-62 upset over Wooster in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Wolverines’ season ended with an 84-66 loss to Elmhurst in the second round.

Saint Vincent: Junior guard David Stephen was named second-team All-PAC. Stephen led the team in scoring at 16.1 points and steals (50), and also pulled down 5.3 rebounds. He topped the 1,000-point mark for his career this season.

West Liberty: Freshman Bryce Butler (Latrobe) is headed to the NCAA Division II Tournament with the Hilltoppers (27-4), who won the Mountain East Conference Tournament with a 73-60 win over Charleston. Butler is averaging 8.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 31 games. West Liberty, which has won 10 straight, averages 102 points per game. It will host Virginia State in the Atlantic Regional.

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Women’s basketball

La Roche: Senior forward Jenna Cole (Norwin) was named first-team All-AMCC. Cole averaged 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds overall and shot 53% from the field against conference opponents.

A 1,000-point career scorer in three years at La Roche after transferring from Pitt-Greensburg, she made 77 of 88 free throws this season for 87.5%.

Seton Hill: Junior forward Katie Nolan and junior guard Cheyenne Trest were named second-team All-PSAC. Nolan led the Griffins in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg), and Trest averaged 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and led Seton Hill in minutes (31.2), assists (106) and 3-pointers (39).

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Baseball

Kansas State: Junior Zach Kokoska (Latrobe) was hitting .327 with three doubles, 14 runs scored and seven RBIs for the Wildcats. Kokoska was an All-Big 12 honorable mention last season.

Pitt-Greensburg: Behind 17 hits, the Bobcats (1-2) won their first game of the season with a 10-3 victory over Curry at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Fla. Sophomore Brody Bonadio, freshman Abram King and junior Jordan Cavanaugh had three hits each and winning pitcher Will Thorp, a freshman, settled in after the first inning to toss six scoreless in a five-hitter.

Seton Hill: Redshirt freshman Tanner Froehlich homered, freshman Jack Oberdorf (Greensburg Salem) went 3 for 4, and senior Tommy Pellis (Greensburg Central Catholic) and freshman Owen Sabol (Norwin) had two hits each as the Griffins rallied past Winona State, 8-6, in Auburndale, Fla. Seton Hill trailed 5-1 early.

Thiel: Senior Andrew Giesey (Penn-Trafford) went 2 for 4 with two RBIs in a 9-8 victory over Otterbein at the Gene Cusic Classic.

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Softball

Marist: Freshman pitcher Kiley Myers (Latrobe) was 3-4 with a 2.38 ERA with 25 strikeouts and eight walks in eight games. She started six games and posted two shutouts and also earned a save. Redshirt senior Claire Oberdorf (Greensburg Salem) was leading the team with a .364 batting average, three home runs, 14 runs and 12 RBIs.

Morehead State: Freshman pitcher Carolyn Alincic (Mt. Pleasant) earned her first college win in dominating fashion. She tossed a five-inning no-hitter as Morehead blanked Ohio-Chillicothe, 14-0. Alincic struck out 11 and walked one of the 16 batters she faced.

Penn State: Sophomore pitcher Bailey Parshall (Belle Vernon) struck out a season-high 14 for the Nittany Lions in a 2-0 victory over Yale. She holds the program’s single-game mark for K’s with 15. Parshall followed that performance with 12 strikeouts and no walks in a three-hit shutout of Western Michigan, 3-0.

Pitt-Johnstown: Junior Olivia Porter (Southmoreland) had two hits, and junior Ali Belgiovane (Hempfield) drove in a run as the Mountain Cats opened the season with a 4-0 victory over Minnesota State-Moorhead.

Robert Morris: Senior Briana Bunner (Southmoreland) went 3 for 3 with a run, and sophomore pitcher Dana Vatakis (Monessen) tossed a complete game without a walk as the Colonials defeated Western Michigan, 4-3, in the first game of a doubleheader. In the second game, Bunner went 2 for 3 with a run and a RBI. She had hit safely in 9 of her previous 13 at-bats through that series and was hitting .385 with a team-high-tying 10 runs.

Seton Hill: Alexis Vargas, Jenna Osikowicz (Hempfield) and Sam Estupinian had two hits each, and Shaelynn Myers struck out five in a complete game as the Griffins defeated St. Cloud State, 5-4, in Winter Haven, Fla. Seton Hill (7-10) will return to its home field to take on West Chester on March 13.