College notebook: South Fayette duo sparked James Madison to WCWS
James Madison captured the attention of the college softball world this season when the Dukes became the only non-power 5 conference team to advance to the College World Series and just the ninth unseeded team since 2005 to play in the WCWS.
Two South Fayette graduates, redshirt junior shortstop Sara Jubas and freshman catcher Lauren Bernett, played key roles in the Dukes’ success, which included a 41-4 record and No. 4 national ranking in the final poll.
Jubas has been a standout for JMU since her freshman season. This spring, she was the team’s leading hitter with a .397 batting average and contributed a team-best 12 doubles, 12 home runs, 40 RBI and eight stolen bases. She struck out only six times in 163 plate appearances.
Jubas earned a spot on the All-Colonial Athletic Association second team for the second consecutive season and was twice named the conference’s Player of the Week.
Bernett started 43 games and had a batting average of .235 with two home runs. Bernett threw out seven of 21 base stealers.
In lacrosse
Logan Maloni of McMurray was the leading scorer for the Seton Hill men’s lacrosse team.
A graduate student, Maloni scored 32 goals, had 39 assists and tallied 71 points, all team highs.
He was honored by the United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as a second team selection on the Division II All-North Region Team.
Maura O’Donoghue, a freshman from Canonsburg, played in 13 games for Queens University and scored five goals for 15 points as the Royals posted a 14-2 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament.
O’Donoghue, a Canon-McMillan graduate, scored a season-high two goals in a 23-5 victory over Wise.
In track and field
Kent State javelin thrower Scott Benco qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla.
A Waynesburg graduate, Benco had his best throw come on his first attempt of the day, 206 feet, 3 inches, and finished 33rd.
A redshirt freshman, Benco was named the Mid-American Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week of May 3-9. Benco won the javelin title at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships with a mark of 216-10 that was more than 13 feet farther than any other competitor. All three of his legal attempts went more than 200 feet while the rest of the field had just one such throw on 43 attempts.
Wheeling senior Liz Fleming of Washington, a Trinity graduate, ended her prolific career with a 13th-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Fleming had a throw of 45-4 1/2 on her first attempt. She fouled on both of her ensuing attempts and did not qualify for the finals and placed 13th overall, two slots ahead of where she was seeded.
Fleming holds Wheeling school records in the shot put, hammer throw and the weight throw (indoor). She was the 2020 Mountain East Conference Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and the 2021 MEC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year.
In softball
Drexel shortstop Linda Rush of Canonsburg was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. A Canon-McMillan graduate, Rush is the first Dragon to win the Player of the Year award in program history. Rush earned this honor after leading the conference in batting average (.482), runs (49), slugging percentage (.964), on-base percentage (.592), home runs (14), hits (53) and total bases (106). It is the second time that Rush has received the All-CAA first team recognition.
Rush finished the year ranked sixth in the nation in batting average.
In basketball
Fairmont State senior guard Sierra Kotchman was named the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for NCAA Division II.
Kotchman, a Washington native and Trinity graduate, is the all-time leading scorer in Mountain East Conference history and ranks third in the Fairmont State record books with 2,032 career points. During the 2020-21 season, Kotchman averaged 23.5 points per game, which ranked No. 3 in the country. She also ranked No. 4 in the nation in three-point field goals per game (3.35) and finished the season shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc (57-of-148).
The NCAA Division II active career scoring leader is a three-time All-MEC first-team honoree. Kotchman had 11 20-point performances this season and scored 30 or more points in a pair of games. She graduated this spring with a degree in business administration and a 3.97 GPA.
In baseball
Cam Weston of Canonsburg led Michigan’s pitching staff in wins, starts and innings as he helped the Wolverines to the NCAA tournament.
A Canon-McMillan graduate and a sophomore, Weston had a 7-4 record and 2.81 ERA in 14 starts. He struck out 69 in 83.1 innings pitched and opponents had a batting average of only .226 against him.