A-K Valley campus clippings: PS Behrend's Gozzard on a hitting tear

Katie Gozzard is hitting just about everything in sight these days.

The Penn State Behrend senior and Deer Lakes graduate extended her hitting streak to 11 games by going 3 for 3 with two RBIs in a 9-3 victory over Thiel on Sunday.

The performance also gave her hits in seven consecutive at-bats over three games, a span in which Gozzard knocked in 10 runs. During her hitting streak, Gozzard is batting .556 (20-for-36) with seven doubles, a triple, 19 RBIs and 12 runs.

She is hitting a career-high .394 with seven doubles, a triple and 23 RBIs this season.

Gannon: Junior Maria Taliani (Deer Lakes) blasted a three-run tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning to give Gannon a 5-2 victory Sunday over Cal (Pa.) in the second game of a doubleheader. It was the second homer of the year for Taliani, who had two hits and two runs in the win. Junior Rachel Tanilli (Deer Lakes) went 4 for 6 with a double, triple and two RBIs as the Golden Knights swept a doubleheader with Edinboro on Saturday.

Mount Aloysius: Freshman Emily Cochran (Highlands) registered a career-high four hits in a 14-8 victory over La Roche.

Pitt-Johnstown: Sophomore Kristie Radvan (Freeport) had a season-high three hits and drove in a run in an 11-1 win Saturday over Mansfield. She knocked in two runs Sunday as the Mountain Cats beat Bloomsburg, 7-2.

Point Park: Senior Tiffany Edwards (Deer Lakes) contributed two of the Pioneers’ four hits in a 3-0 loss Sunday to Midway (Ky.).

Saint Vincent: Freshman Celia Knappenberger (Knoch) was named Presidents’ Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday for the second time this season. Knappenberger (9-2) pitched a complete game in a 7-3 victory over Waynesburg on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader. Sophomore Shae Robson (Deer Lakes) tripled. In the second game, Robson had three hits, an RBI and two stolen bases, giving her 11 on the season. For the week Knappenberger, who leads the PAC with a 1.11 ERA, had three wins and two saves.

Thiel: Senior Jessica Kelley (Freeport) had a season-high three hits in a 3-0 victory over Waynesburg. Senior Miranda Reesman (Leechburg) had a two-run triple and finished with four RBIs in a 9-1 win over Bethany.

Baseball

Bethany: Junior Tyler Alworth (Highlands) picked up the win in relief Sunday as the Bison beat Thiel, 6-5, on a walk-off homer. Alworth (3-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and striking out one, lowering his ERA to 3.60. For the season he is hitting .308 with two homers and eight RBIs.

Cal (Pa.): Freshman Jake McCaskey (Deer Lakes) drove in the go-ahead run as the Vulcans rallied to beat Pitt-Johnstown, 8-5, on Monday in the first game of a doubleheader.

IUP: Freshman Markus Cestra (Plum) hit his first collegiate home run, a solo shot, in a 10-3 loss to Mercyhurst on Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader. Senior Matt Swartz (Freeport) also had two hits in the win.

Mount Aloysius: Sophomore Jeremy Iellimo (Valley) went a combined 7 for 10 with two RBIs and five runs as the Mounties swept a doubleheader with Medaille.

Penn State New Kensington: Junior Darius Bennis (Leechburg) delivered the winning RBI as the Lions beat Penn State Beaver, 6-5, in a walk-off win Saturday. Bennis also had a sacrifice fly. Junior Noah Oddis (Burrell) had a hit, run and RBI, and senior Vinny Ribar (Kiski Area) scored a run.

Pitt-Bradford: Freshman Jake McNabb (Valley) went a combined 5 for 7 with two doubles, three RBIs and five runs as Pitt-Bradford swept a doubleheader with D’Youville on Saturday. He reached base in eight out of nine plate appearances.

Tennis

Waynesburg: Senior Josh Denham (Valley) had a strong senior day as the Yellow Jackets beat Westminster, 7-2. Denham teamed with fellow senior Jonah Cooper for an 8-0 victory at first doubles, then followed with a straight-sets win in singles competition.

Track and field

Clarion: Junior Jalen Cloud (Kiski Area) finished third in the triple jump at the Dave Labor Invitational at Slippery Rock, jumping 13.52 meters.

Pitt: Sophomore Nikki Scherer (Burrell) won the 200-meter dash at a four-team meet Saturday at Virginia. Scherer registered a career-best time of 24.23 seconds. She also was part of first-place 400 relay team, which finished in 45.59 seconds, the ninth-fastest time in school history.

Men’s volleyball

George Mason: Redshirt sophomore Jack Reese (Fox Chapel) blocked a team-high four shots in a 3-0 victory over Penn State. Reese also tallied five kills in eight attempts for a .625 hitting percentage.