College notebook: Kelly starting at YSU
Former Washington High School standout Jaylin Kelly has moved into the starting inside linebacker position for Youngstown State’s football team.
Kelly, a 6-1, 230-pound sophomore, is YSU’s third-leading tackler with 18 stops (six solo, 12 assists) through three games.
In the Penguins’ 34-23 victory over Duquesne, Kelly intercepted a pass at the YSU 10-yard line and returned it to the Dukes’ 41. He had a career-high 10 tackles in the game.
Kelly played in every game last year as a true freshman and made his first career start in this year’s season opener Aug. 30 at Illinois.
Erin Ritzer has made an immediate impact for the Robert Morris women’s team.
A sophomore midfielder from Scenery Hill and a Bentworth graduate, Ritzer was twice named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week.
After sitting out last season because of an injury, Ritzer set up the game-winning goal in her first collegiate game, getting an assist on a goal in the 68th minute as the Colonials defeated Duquesne, 3-2, Aug. 22.
Just days after winning her first weekly award, Ritzer scored her first career goal in a match against Pitt. It was the Colonials’ lone tally in a 3-1 loss Aug. 27 and garnered Ritzer here second weekly award from the conference.
• The West Virginia women’s team is ranked No. 21 in the country and two former Trinity players have helped the Mountaineers to a 5-2-1 record.
Amanda Hill, a junior midfielder, and Maggie Bedillion, a junior defender, are starters for the Mountaineers. Hill and Bedillion each have one goal on the season and they were scored in the same game, a 4-1 victory Sunday over Duquesne. Hill scored the game-winning goal when she got her head on a corner kick and placed the ball low to give WVU a 2-1 lead.
Bedillion scored her first career goal off a fantastic individual effort, carrying the ball up the left side before beating the Duquesne goalkeeper with a blast to the top right corner to make the score 4-1.
Three former Peters Township standouts had big summer league seasons.
Zach Verner was the closer for the Niagara Power in the New York Collegiate Baseball League and was voted the league’s Reliever of the Year. The right-hander tied for the league lead with 11 saves. His 1.66 ERA was the lowest among closers. He also had a scoreless streak that covered 29 days (June 5 to July 4).
Verner is a junior at John Carroll.
Mike Bittel was a starting pitcher for Rockville (Md.) in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League and had a successful season for the Express. Bittel had a 2-2 record and 1.62 ERA in six games (four starts). He allowed only 20 hits in 33 1/3 innings and struck out 38 batters with only eight walks. He ranked fifth in the league in ERA and seventh in strikeouts.
Bittel is a junior at Seton Hill.
Brady Sheetz was an outfielder for the Keene Swamp Bats of the New England Collegiate Summer League. Sheetz was third on the team with a .273 batting average and scored a team-high 19 runs. His eight doubles ranked second on the team.
Sheetz is a senior at Hartford.
Kaylyn Millick of Washington is in her first season as an assistant coach at West Virginia.
Millick was an all-conference gymnast for the Mountaineers who ended her career in 2013 but served as a student assistant last season. She will be in charge of choreography for the beam and floor exercise as well as heading the team’s community outreach program.
Millick ranks ninth in WVU history with 12 career scores of 39.0 or better. As a senior, Millick earned the Linda Burdette-Good Award as the team’s Most Valuable Gymnast and was the first Mountaineer to earn a spot on the All-Big 12 Championship team (all-around).
She also was a two-time national qualifier at Gym Dandy’s.
Quad Law, a junior wide receiver from Donora, is the leading receiver for Gannon.
A Ringgold graduate, Law has eight catches for 74 yards through two games for the Golden Knights (2-0). He also is averaging 8.8 yards on five punt returns.
T.D. Conway has passed for 521 yards and three touchdowns in two games as the starting quarterback at North Park University in Chicago. Conway, a California graduate, passed for 397 yards and two scores in the Vikings’ season opener against Concordia (Wisc.).
One of Conway’s favorite targets is his brother, Dakota Conway, who is second on the team with 11 catches for 102 yards and one touchdown. The brothers hooked up on a four-yard TD against Concordia.
The Conways are playing for their father, Mike Conway, who is North Park’s head coach. Mike Conway was an assistant coach at Washington & Jefferson and California University.
Shiloh Simonson, a sophomore outside hitter from Venetia, has helped Point Park to a nine-match winning streak.
A Peters Township graduate, Simonson leads Point Park with 132 kills. She had 12 kills and 14 digs in the Pioneers’ recent win over Rio Grande, contributed eight kills and 10 digs against Midway and 12 digs in a three-match sweep of Edinboro.
Simonson had a season-high 15 kills against Webber International (Fla.).
After a 2-6 start, Point Park has improved its record to 11-6.
Aaron Thompson of Carmichaels has been hired as assistant sports information director at Saint Vincent.
Thompson spent the last two years as a graduate assistant at Waynesburg, where he earned his undergraduate communication degree. Thompson also has worked in the sports information office at California.