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Weekend College Top 10: Penn State, Robert Morris lacrosse win titles | TribLIVE.com
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Weekend College Top 10: Penn State, Robert Morris lacrosse win titles

Jeff Vella
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Penn State athletics
The Penn State men’s lacrosse team celebrates its overtime victory over Johns Hopkins in Saturday, May 4, 2019, in the Big Ten championship game.

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend:

1. No. 1 Penn State men’s lacrosse earns first Big Ten title

Mac O’Keefe took a pass from TJ Malone and scored 25 seconds into overtime, lifting the Nittany Lions past No. 15 Johns Hopkins, 18-17, on Saturday. O’Keefe, the tournament MVP, finished with six goals and two assists, and Dylan Foulds had three goals. Penn State (14-1) is the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament and hosts the winner of Marist-UMBC at noon Sunday.

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2. RMU men defend NEC lacrosse title

Ryan Smith scored three goals, and the Colonials topped Hobart, 11-10, on Saturday to become the first No. 4 seed to win the conference tournament since it began nine years ago. Corson Ealy added two goals, including one with 1 minute, 48 seconds left that made it 11-9. Robert Morris, which began the season 1-7, has won a program-record eight games. The Colonials face No. 4 Virginia at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA Tournament.

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3. Saint Vincent softball bounces back for PAC title

The Bearcats recovered from a loss in their first game, winning three straight for their second conference championship in school history (they also won in 2016). Top-seeded Saint Vincent downed second-seeded Thiel, 7-4, in Friday’s decisive game. Kelsey Tobin’s two-run single in the fourth inning made it 5-4, and Celia Knappenberger (Knoch) came on to throw three scoreless innings of relief. Riley Assalone went 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI. Thiel beat Saint Vincent, 3-0, on Thursday, forcing the Bearcats to take a difficult path to the title. Saint Vincent did that, blanking third-seeded Westminster, 4-0, to open play Friday and then defeating Thiel, 7-0. Knappenberger was named tournament MVP after going 3-1 with a 0.93 ERA and a save in the championship game.

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4. Westminster women storm back for PAC lacrosse title

The top-seeded Titans scored 10 straight goals in the second half en route to a 15-5 victory over second-seeded Washington & Jefferson in the conference championship Saturday. Emily D’Amico (Moon) had eight goals for Westminster, and Bria Braddock (Blackhawk) added three goals. The Titans (14-2), on a 10-game winning streak, face Notre Dame (Md.) (11-5) on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Gettysburg.

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5. Grove City rolls to inaugural PAC men’s lacrosse crown

Henry Brannan scored five goals, and Jed Speers and Brett Gladstone scored three times apiece to help the top-seeded Wolverines beat second-seeded Westminster, 14-3, in the conference title game Saturday. Grove City (12-5) faces Maritime (N.Y.) (14-3) on Tuesday in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Salisbury (Md.).

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6. Allegheny baseball rallies, earns spot in conference tourney

Senior Vincent Carone hit a two-run homer — the first home run of his career — to cap a rally from a six-run deficit as the Gators prevailed 8-6 over DePauw in the second game of a North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday. Tyler Hettich had two hits and two RBIs for Allegheny (21-15, 10-7), which scored four runs in the eighth inning and three in the ninth. The Gators won the first game 12-2. Brett Heckert (North Allegheny) and Max Sessions finished with three hits and two RBIs apiece. The NCAC Tournament begins Thursday in Chillicothe, Ohio.

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7. La Roche baseball earns walk-off win during sweep

Dylan Urban (Gateway) hit a walk-off homer in the seventh inning as the Redhawks topped Baldwin Wallace, 10-9, in the first game of a nonconference doubleheader Sunday. Austin Hoffman went 3 for 3 with three RBIs. In the second game, La Roche won 2-0 behind a two-hitter by Tristin Tinney (South Fayette). The top-seeded Redhawks (27-13, 16-2) received a first-round bye in the AMCC Tournament and play Mt. Aloysius or Alfred State in the first round.

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8. W&J baseball ends regular season in style

Dante Dalesandro (Mt. Lebanon) went 2 for 4 with four RBIs and two stolen bases as the Presidents routed Saint Vincent, 16-2, in a PAC game Sunday. Shayne Erny had three hits, and Justin Griffin, James Artale and Spencer Howell had two RBIs apiece. Top-seeded W&J (29-11, 21-3) will host the PAC Tournament and opens against fourth-seeded Bethany (25-14) on Thursday. Saint Vincent finished 20-19.

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9. Duquesne sophomore wins two golds at A-10s

Isaac Elliott (Ambridge) took first in the 100 and 200 meters at the Atlantic 10 championships Sunday at UMass. He broke his school record in the 200 with a time of 21.12 seconds.

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10. Pitt softball slams Boston College

Kaitlyn Kruger’s walk-off grand slam powered the Panthers past the Eagles, 15-12, on senior day Saturday, highlighting a three-game sweep. Hunter Levesque also hit a grand slam for Pitt (13-41, 7-17 ACC), and Olivia Gray and Alexee Haynes added homers.

Jeff Vella is a Tribune-Review copy editor. You can contact Jeff at jvella@triblive.com.

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