Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill baseball's pitching staff among nation's best

Seton Hill baseball has put together outstanding pitching rotations before, so it’s not exactly a surprise the Griffins have another first-rate band of arms.

From the starters to the bullpen, they have been a stingy bunch.

The Griffins (17-4), ranked No. 12 in the NCBWA Division II Top 25, boasted the lowest team ERA in NCAA Division II at 2.62 heading into Friday’s PSAC action.

The staff begins with fifth-year starter Jon McCullough, who had a 6-1 record, 1.43 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 372⁄3 innings.

Redshirt junior Ian Korn was close behind with a 5-0 mark, 1.29 ERA and 0.71 WHIP.

Depth marches on, with 16 pitchers working at least one inning. Redshirt freshman Peter Janoski was 2-0, and redshirt sophomore Luke Deschenes, sophomore Zach Herb and grad student Julian Minaya were 1-1.

Deschenes, Herb, Evan Rossi and senior Christian Zilli (Hempfield) had one save each.

“We don’t really have one (closer),” coach Marc Marizzaldi said. “We have three.”

Opponents were hitting just .224 against the Griffins.

“We have one of the best pitching staffs in the country because we have one of the best pitching coaches in the country,” Marizzaldi told D2 Baseball, referring to assistant Clay Martin. “What he’s done to develop a lot of these young arms has been tremendous. You’re seeing the results of the relationships built with our pitching staff, and the trust they have in him.”

Gannon: Redshirt sophomore Ryan Hood (Derry) is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA in five appearances this season. He is second on the team with 22 strikeouts.

Freshman Blake Bertucci (Franklin Regional) is 1-0 in one relief appearance for the Golden Knights, who are coached by former Seton Hill assistant D.J. Cannon.

IUP: Junior Elijah Dunn (Norwin) homered in a pair of games against Slippery Rock, giving him six homers for the season.

Mercyhurst: Sophomore outfielder Eric Chorba (Norwin) delivered in the clutch for the Lakers, blasting a walk-off solo home run in the 10th inning for a 6-5 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore.

Sophomore first baseman Jaden Walker (Norwin) had a career-high four hits and four RBIs and was a triple away from the cycle in the win.

Senior Jake Bazala (Norwin) worked two innings of relief and earned the win.

Bazala went on to earn all three wins in the series, and Norwin alums accounted for seven homers.

Walker and Chorba hit two homers each, and Landon DiBeradin added one, while Bazala was the winner after five strong innings, in a 10-4 win on the third game.

The Lakers took Game 2, 7-6.

Saint Vincent: Freshman outfielder Nathan Whiteman was named PAC Newcomer of the Week. He went 6 for 14 with six RBIs over four games.

Waynesburg: Junior pitcher Ethan Erhard (Hempfield) struck out six and gave up four earned runs in five innings in a 6-2 loss to Washington & Jefferson.

Yale: Senior Jake Williams (Franklin Regional) is hitting .362 with 15 RBIs and 16 runs for the Bulldogs. Williams has flourished after taking a gap year and resuming play in college. He has 121 career hits in 119 games.

Softball

Clarion: Junior Angelina Pepe (Norwin) pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief and earned her second win of the season as the Golden Eagles beat Slippery Rock, 13-9. Pepe allowed six hits and one run.

Clarion won despite getting outhit 13-5.

Lock Haven: Freshman Talia Ross (Belle Vernon) has returned fully from a season-ending injury last spring to lead the pitching staff in wins.

Ross was 4-4 with a 3.82 ERA in 11 starts and has a team-high 29 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings.

She struck out 10 in a loss to Millersville.

Marist: Grad student Kiley Myers (Latrobe) is having a career season.

In fact, the fast-throwing right-hander had the lowest ERA in NCAA Division I going into the weekend.

Myers’ stat line showed a micro-sized 0.54 ERA through 13 appearances. She was 11-0 with a 0.73 WHIP, 39 strikeouts, seven walks and eight complete games.

And don’t forget her one save.

Opponents were batting .171 against her.

Penn State: Senior Haylie Brunson (Mt. Pleasant) bashed her eighth home run of the season — 19th of her career — but the Nittany Lions lost to Oklahoma State, 10-2.

Robert Morris: Redshirt junior right fielder Courtney Poulich (Mt. Pleasant) went 3 for 4 with a double, two home runs and four RBIs as the Colonials defeated IU Indianapolis, 14-3.

In 23 games, Poulich is hitting .368 with a team-leading eight home runs and 28 RBIs. She is a Liberty transfer.

Saint Vincent: Freshman Dakota Hershberger was named the PAC Newcomer of the Week after going 8 for 17 with nine RBIs and six runs across four games.

Seton Hill: Senior Brooklyn Fukushima is on a significant watch list. The infielder was added to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year Watch List.

Fukushima is one of 15 players selected from the Atlantic Region, including 10 from the PSAC.

Fukushima is leading the Griffins with a .463 batting average, 31 hits and six home runs and also has 19 runs, five doubles and 18 RBIs.

Slippery Rock: Freshman Kayla Williams (Latrobe) earned her second save of the season, working three scoreless innings of a 3-2 victory over Seton Hill.

Washington & Jefferson: Junior Hannah Allen (Penn-Trafford) hit a two-run homer, but the Presidents fell to Franciscan, 6-5.

Westminster: Freshman Cheyenne Piper (Ligonier Valley) was named the PAC Pitcher of the Week. Piper went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, including a 12-strikeout performance in a 7-1 win over Chatham.

Wrestling

Pitt-Johnstown: Redshirt junior heavyweight Isaiah Vance (Hempfield) picked up a major award.

Vance was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and Super Region I wrestler of the year.

Also a PSAC first-team selection, Vance finished 26-5 and led the Mountain Cats with 11 pins. He took second at the Super Region I Tournament and was a national runner-up.

Another NCAA qualifier from UPJ, redshirt sophomore Noah Gnibus (Mt. Pleasant) was named to the All-PSAC second team.

Seton Hill: Junior Mike Zacur was named to the All-PSAC first team. The 157-pounder was a regional champion and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament, finishing with a 10-3 mark.

Women’s lacrosse

Saint Vincent: Junior Carolina Walters (Latrobe) scored her 100th career point in a 14-3 win over Geneva.

Seton Hill: Sophomore attacker Mila Udovcic was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week. She had nine points — four goals, five assists — in a win over IUP.

Men’s lacrosse

Seton Hill: Junior midfielder Wade Brunelle last week was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Brunelle had eight goals and nine assists across a pair of wins.

Senior attacker Braedan Lockyer was named the conference offensive player of the Week, while junior goalie Will Cody won the weekley award for defense.

Lockyer had seven goals and five assists in a pair of wins, while Cody went 10-0 and 11 saves in 90 minutes.

Washington & Jefferson: Junior Braden Petrarco (Norwin) and senior Austin Hopkins (Hempfield) had three caused turnovers each as the Presidents cruised past La Roche, 22-1.

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Men’s golf

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Nicholas Thomas (Derry) shot 74 to pace the Bobcats to a second-place finish at the MBA Invitational in Grove City.

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats finished fifth out of 14 teams at Grove City’s MBA Invitational to open the spring season. Sophomore Matt Edwards and freshman David Newsom (Penn-Trafford) shot 76s to lead SVC.

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Women’s track & field

Edinboro: Junior Bernadette Zukina (Norwin) won the 400-meter dash in a school-record time of 55.48 seconds at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational.

She also finished seventh in the 200 in 25.05 seconds.

Saint Vincent: Junior Kristen Prince was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week after she won the Washington & Lee 10K in a school-record time of 38 minutes, 23.81 seconds.

Her teammate, freshman Gabrielle Dove, was tabbed the conference newcomer of the week. She broke the Bearcats’ record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.83 seconds to finish third at the Washington & Lee Carnival.

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Men’s track & field

Saint Vincent: Junior Brady Sundin was named the PAC Runner of the Week. Sundin ran the fastest 10K time in program history at the Washington & Lee Carnival with a mark of 32 minutes, 11.14 seconds. It is the top time in the PAC this season.

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Men’s volleyball

Grove City: Sophomore Andrew Kessler (Penn-Trafford) and freshman Keith Otto (Penn-Trafford) had nine kills each in a 3-1 loss to Thiel. Kessler added three blocks and Otto 11 digs in the setback.

Penn State: Senior Will Kuhns (Hempfield) hit .378 with 21 kills, two blocks and one ace, but the Nittany Lions fell to Charleston, 3-1.

The loss ended PSU’s 22-game winning streak at home.

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Women’s bowling

Saint Vincent: Postseason accolades followed the Bearcats into the NCAA Tournament.

The Bearcats (49-17) will open the tournament 9 a.m. Thursday against Marian (Wis.) in Rochester, N.Y.

Program originator Jeff Zidek was named AMCC co-Coach of the Year, while senior Sabine Strickland and sophomore Skyy Nicholls earned first-team all-conference honors.

Freshmen Mareana Pilyih and Brooke Street made the second team.

Strickland averages 186.7 with a 37.8% strike average, and Nicholls led the team with a 204.1 average in the AMCC finals. She has a 187.4 average for the season and a 42.1 strike percentage.

Pilyih, a Plum grad, led the Bearcats during the regular season with an average of 191.4, and Street was at 178.1.

Pilyih’s makeable-spares average of 84.2% led the team. Street (178.1) converted 71.7% of her makeable spares over 660 frames.

Strickland and Pilyih were All-AMCC Tournament selections.

There are two Westmoreland County bowlers on the SVC roster. Both are freshmen in Shelby Frick (Greensburg Salem) and Vanessa McMichael (Latrobe).