Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill baseball picked to win PSAC

Its field has been covered in snow lately, but the Seton Hill baseball team already is thinking about the upcoming season — and the expectations that will come with it.

The Griffins again are the preseason favorite in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

After back-to-back conference titles, Seton Hill was picked to win the PSAC West in a preseason coaches poll.

Seton Hill opens the season with a three-game series at Winston Salem State on Feb. 23 and 24. The Griffins’ home opener is March 13 against Point Park, and PSAC play begins March 22 at home against Clarion.

Men’s basketball

LIU Brooklyn: Junior guard Julian Batts (Jeannette) had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, but the Blackbirds (10-12, 4-6) fell to Farleigh Dickinson, 80-77.

Shippensburg: Sophomore guard Jake Biss (Latrobe) helped the Raiders (17-5, 11-3) win back-to-back games as he scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in an 87-77 victory against Kutztown and had 18 points in a 92-60 win over Bloomsburg.

Seton Hill: Senior Trevor Blondin was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week. The 6-foot-4 guard scored a season-high 31 points on 13-of-22 shooting and added six rebounds and six steals to lead the Griffins (6-14, 4-10) to a, 87-56 win over Clarion.

The win followed a close loss to No 4 IUP in which Seton Hill trailed by just five with about five minutes remaining. Seton Hill shot 60 percent from the field in the first half before losing 85-72.

Blondin had 28 points, and junior Nathan Davis added 24 for the Griffins.

Blondin and Davis are 1,000-point career scorers.

Women’s basketball

Bucknell: Senior 6-foot-2 forward Kaitlyn Slagus (Belle Vernon) has helped power the Bison (18-4, 9-1 Patriot League) to their best start in program history.

Slagus had a team-best 16 points and seven rebounds in a 62-58 win over Boston University.

The Bison are on an eight-game winning streak and have beaten every team in the conference.

Slagus and her teammates from the senior class have been part of 92 career wins. The Patriot League record is 99 set by Army in 2016.

Wrestling

Iowa: Sophomore 125-pounder Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional), ranked No. 2 in his weight class nationally, scored an 18-4 major decision to help power the third-ranked Hawkeyes (11-0, 6-0) to a 20-13 win over No. 9 Nebraska.

Lee, a defending national champion, is 5-1 against ranked opponents this season.

Pitt-Johnstown: Redshirt junior Devin Austin (Penn-Trafford) won by fall at 165 pounds, senior Joey Alessandro (Hempfield) scored a 12-2 win at 141 and junior Chris Eddins (Greensburg Salem) won a 16-0 technical fall at 149 as Division II No. 7 UPJ (15-3, 5-1) bounced Shippensburg, 38-3, in a PSAC match.

Women’s swimming

Saint Vincent: Senior Maddie Bartug (50-yard freestyle, 100 butterfly), senior Ciara Lewis (100 back, 100 free) and sophomore Marion D’Aurora (200 fly, 500 free, 100 IM) had multiple wins as the Bearcats defeated Penn State Behrend, 146-107.

Men’s swimming

Saint Vincent: Sophomore Zach Baum (Derry) won the 100- and 200-yard fly, and senior Jacob Davis captured the 50 free and 200 IM as the Bearcats lost to Penn State Behrend, 140-122.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.