College notebook: Pitzer keeping South Carolina up in arms
Former South Fayette standout Tyler Pitzer is making an immediate impact in his first season at South Carolina.
After his first career start, Pitzer, a right-handed pitcher, was named the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Week for March 18-24.
Pitzer earned two wins on the mound during the week, improving his record to 4-0. He pitched two innings of relief March 19 against South Carolina Upstate to get a win, striking out two and not allowing a hit in the Gamecocks’ 14-8 victory. Then, in his first start March 23, Pitzer struck out nine and allowed only three hits and two unearned runs with one walk in a 10-2 win over No. 3-ranked Vanderbilt. Pitzer retired the first 10 batters of the game and had 1-2-3 innings in the first, second, third and sixth.
For the season, Pitzer has a 4-0 record and 1.99 ERA. He has struck out 34 and issued only eight walks in 22 2/3 innings. Opponents are batting only .205 against him.
In swimming
Alabama freshman Ella Menear placed 31st in the 100 backstroke at the NCAA Championships.
Menear, a Mapletown graduate, swam a personal-best time of 52.11, which ranks second all-time in Alabama history. She entered the NCAAs seeded 33rd in the event.
In softball
Mirranda Rinehart, a freshman utility player for Washington & Jefferson, was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Week for March 18-24.
A Trinity graduate, Rinehart had a .353 batting average for the week with three doubles and five runs during the Presidents’ games at the PFX Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. Rinehart, who has played catcher, the infield and outfield, scored two runs in each of W&J’s wins. She had two hits, including a double, in an 8-5 victory over Southern Virginia and a double in a victory over Old Westbury.
Bella Hess, a sophomore outfielder, is the leading hitter for Fairmont State with a blistering .513 batting average in 28 games. A Chartiers-Houston graduate, Hess has a 1.150 OPS, which includes two doubles, two triples and 34 runs. She has stolen 16 bases in 17 attempts for the Falcons, who have swiped 105 bases in 32 games.
Hess started the season by having a three-hit game six times in Fairmont State’s first 11 contests.
Freshman outfielder Sophia Zalar is the leading hitter for Penn State Fayette.
Zalar is batting .457 through 11 games with two doubles and one triple. The Carmichaels graduate has a team-high six stolen bases.
In baseball
Chase Krewson, who was a high school teammate of Pitzer’s at South Fayette, has played in 17 games this spring for Duke.
Krewson is batting .324 with a 1.003 OPS. He has three home runs, 10 RBI. Krewson had a 3-for-5 game against Rider and drove in three runs against both Appalachian State and Towson.
After earning a pair of wins in league play last week, California sophomore Sam Georgiana was chosen the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week on Monday afternoon.
A Canonsburg native who played at Seton LaSalle High School, Georgiana had a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA last week in his first two starts of the season. He yielded a pair of unearned runs and issued one walk over 11 innings with seven strikeouts.
Georgiana gave up one unearned run on five hits and one walk in four innings on March 25 in a 4-1 victory at Clarion, as California swept the season series with the Golden Eagles. Georgiana returned to the mound Saturday and tossed his first career complete game against nationally ranked Seton Hill. He scattered three hits with four strikeouts over seven innings in a 6-1 victory to give the Vulcans a series split with the Griffins.
Georgiana has a 3-0 record in seven appearances. He has a 2.95 ERA over 18 1/3 innings while issuing only a pair of walks.
Rutgers is off to a 19-9 start and freshman catcher Jackson Natili has played a significant role in the Scarlet Knights’ surge.
A Peters Township graduate, Natili is batting .280 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 25 games.
Natili has a very good .423 on-base percentage because he has drawn nine walks and been hit by 12 pitches.
His best game came March 23 against Connecticut when he went 3-for-5 with three RBI and his first collegiate home run. He hit his second homer the following day.
Last weekend, Natili went 3-for-5 against Michigan State.
California junior first baseman Payton Conte entered last weekend leading NCAA Division II with a .531 batting average.
A California High School graduate, Conte was batting .531, which was .012 better than the second-place hitter.
Sophomore shortstop Sam Miller has pushed his average above the .300 mark for Columbia.
Sparked by a big weekend series against Penn, Miller bumped his batting average up to .301. The McMurray native and Peters Township graduate went 5-for-13 against Penn and has three doubles, five home runs and 16 RBI on the season. In the series opener against Penn on Saturday, Miller homered and had five RBI.