Ryan Jacobs

Penn State Behrend senior pitcher Ryan Jacobs was named to the ECAC Division III South baseball all-star team recently.

Jacobs was picked for the ECAC second team. Earlier honors for Jacobs included selection to the ABCA Mideast All-Region team third team and being named the AMCC pitcher of the year.

Jacobs finished the season with an 8-2 record and 1.64 ERA with 58 strikeouts. He was the first player in Behrend baseball history to throw a perfect game.

This week’s On Campus notebook takes a look at six area golfers who finished off their Division I seasons recently.

Greg Podufal

Kelly Moylan

The area’s D-I golfers are Greg Podufal (Georgetown), a sophomore from Cathedral Prep; Gregor Orlando (Virginia), a senior from Cathedral Prep; Austin Romeo (Richmond), a sophomore from McDowell; Kelly Moylan (Lehigh), a sophomore from North East; Colleen Miller (Cleveland State), a sophomore from McDowell; and Karlie Zabrosky (Seton Hall), a freshman from McDowell.

Podufal averaged 74.7 in a team-high 27 rounds for the Hoyas.

Orlando had an injury-plagued senior season as he played just two rounds in the fall for the Cavaliers. Orlando withdrew from the Mason Rudolph tournament because of an injury, and did not compete in the spring.

Romeo averaged 77.64 strokes per round and had one top-10 finish for the season.

Moylan, who was named to the All-Patriot League all-star team, averaged 81.6 strokes over 14 rounds this past season. Moylan helped the Mountain Hawks win the inaugural Patriot League championship in April.

Miller averaged 84.5 strokes in 15 rounds for the Vikings.

Zabrosky recorded an 80.29 stroke average in seven tournaments.

Also in this week’s notebook:

• Vinny Rice was named team MVP and Ryan Jacobs claimed the most valuable pitcher award as Penn State Behrend’s baseball team announced its yearly award winners.

• Rocky Grove graduate and former Clarion swimmer Kayla Shull claimed an Academic All-American honor.

• Mercyhurst rowing team member Leyla Dombrowski was named a a Pocock first-team All-American.

•Mercyhurst was 30th, while Gannon tied for 60th and Edinboro placed 72nd in the 2012-13 Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings.

Get the full details in this week’s On Campus notebook.

Vinny Rice

The AMCC champion Penn State Behrend baseball team unveiled its 2013 team award winners this week after wrapping up a 30-12 season.

Senior first baseman Vinny Rice was named team MVP after hitting .378 with eight doubles and 26 RBIs. Ryan Jacobs claimed the Most Valuable Pitcher award after going 8-2 with a 1.64 ERA. Jacobs, who threw a perfect game this season, racked up 58 strikeouts and had just 17 walks.

Other award winners were sophomore infielder Taylor Overby (Most Improved/.328 avg., 10 RBIs), freshman outfielder John Hlavinka (Rookie of the Year/.341 avg., nine doubles, 17 RBIs), senior outfielder Ryan Kragnes (Golden Glove/75 putouts, no errors) and senior outfielder James Verona (Hustle and Spirit Award).

Jay Condit and Evan Bukowski were given the Herb Lauffer Leadership award for off-the-field contributions.

Gannon’s Shayne Herold, Mercyhurst’s Ben Rawding and Penn State Behrend’s Vinny Rice each were named to all-region baseball teams Monday.

Herold made the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region first team. The redshirt senior right-hander finished the regular season with a 9-0 record and 1.09 earned-run average.

Rawding, a senior left-hander, made the Rawlings/ABCA second team after finishing 9-3 with a 2.66 ERA.

Herold and Rawding each were named to earlier all-region teams.

Rice, meanwhile, made the D3baseball.com Mideast Region third team. The senior first baseman had a .378 batting average with 45 hits and 26 RBIs.

A pair of former District 10 runners helped the Penn State Behrend women’s track team set a school record in the 3,200-meter relay Friday night.

Junior Catie Bertges, a Collegiate Academy graduate who ran for Strong Vincent, and junior Katie Spade (Warren) teamed up with Victoria Harwood and Jamie Szamowski to finish 11th with a time of 9 minutes, 42.82 seconds at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships at Springfield, Mass.

Spade also placed 22nd in the 800 with a time of 2:19.65.

Meanwhile, Behrend’s men’s 3,200 relay team had an all-D-10 look with Phil Martone (Mercyhurst Prep), Josh Natalie (Collegiate Academy), Patrick Shipton (Mercer) and Devin Beggs (Franklin). The quartet set a school mark with a time of 8:00.05 for the Lions.

The Lions had two All-ECAC male athletes in John Cerminara (4th, discus) and Conor MacMannis (8th, high jump). 

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team lost 3-2 to Wooster in the elimination game of the NCAA Division III championships at Rose-Hulman on Thursday.

The Lions, who rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning but fell short in their comeback bid, finished their successful season with a 30-12 record.

Vinny Rice paced Behrend’s offense with three hits, including a two-out, two-run single in the ninth. Evan Bukowski  also had three hits for the Lions.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Penn State Behrend baseball team saw firsthand Wednesday night why Marietta is a longtime power in NCAA Division III baseball.

The Lions (30-11), coming off a tremendous offensive performance in the AMCC tournament, had just six hits Wednesday in an 11-1 loss to the No. 14 Etta Express in a Mideast Regional opener on the campus of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Behrend starting pitcher Ryan Jacobs (8-2) took the loss despite allowing just three earned runs on 10 hits in seven innings. He struck out nine and walked two. Marietta pulled away with six runs in the eighth against two Behrend relievers.

Jordan Weinzierl had two hits and Matt Bittner drove in the Lions’ run with a single in the ninth.

The Lions must beat No. 27 Wooster today at 1:15 p.m. to avoid elimination from the tournament. Wooster lost to Thomas More 20-4 Wednesday.

Seven Penn State Behrend baseball players and coach Paul Benim were honored by the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference today.

Benim was named AMCC coach of the year for the fifth time, while Ryan Jacobs was selected as pitcher of the year and John Hlavinka was newcomer of the year.

Benim led the Lions (30-10) to AMCC regular-season and tournament titles. Jacobs, a senior right-hander, went 8-1 and became Behrend’s career wins leader with 28. He also threw the first perfect game in Behrend history. Hlavinka, a freshman outfielder, hit .347 with nine doubles.

Jacobs was joined on the first team by senior catcher Evan Bukowski (.308, 25 RBIs), senior first baseman Vinny Rice (.382, 24 RBIs) and senior outfielder Ryan Kragnes (.398, 44 runs, 25 stolen bases). Kragnes was a third-time first-team selection, while Bukowski and Jacobs made it for the second straight year.

Senior third baseman Matt Bittner (.314, 42 RBIs) made the all-AMCC second team, along with Hlavinka. Junior relief pitcher Chad Zurat (six saves, 2.25 ERA) landed a spot on the third team.

Corry graduate Aaron Cressley, a sophomore pitcher for Pitt-Bradford, made the all-AMCC second team.

Penn State Behrend’s Ryan Kragnes, right, rounds second base on a hit-and-run play against Pitt-Greensburg during an AMCC tournament game May 9. Behrend won the tournament to advance to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional. GREG WOHLFORD/Erie Times-News

The Penn State Behrend baseball team will face Marietta (Ohio) in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind., Wednesday.

Behrend (30-10) is the No. 7 seed in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament after winning the AMCC tournament Saturday at Behrend. Marietta (29-12) is seeded No. 2. The teams will meet in the fourth and final game of the regional’s first day at 7:45 p.m.

The other six regional teams are No. 1 Manchester, Ind. (35-5), No. 3 Wooster (32-10), No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan (32-12), No. 5 Washington & Jefferson (30-11), No. 6 Thomas More (29-14) and No. 8 Mount Union (23-16).

Each team will play once Wednesday, and the tournament will continue through the weekend. The finals will be played Saturday, but if two teams have one loss through that game, a winner-take-all championship game will be played Sunday.

The NCAA D-III field features 56 teams competing at eight regionals. The winner of each regional will advance to the double-elimination NCAA championship tournament May 24-28 at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis.

Penn State Behrend won its fifth AMCC baseball championship by beating La Roche 9-5 today at Behrend Field.

Behrend (30-13) took advantage of four La Roche (29-14) errors in the game, including three during the Lions’ seven-run third inning.

Center field Ryan Kragnes went 2-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Lions, who had five hits in the game.

Tylor Williams (5-2) picked up the win, giving up six hits and four runs (three earned) in six innings.

Right fielder Jon Watson went 3-for-4 with an RBI to pace La Roche’s eight-hit attack. Watson had the game’s only extra-base hit, a double.

Check out the full box score from the game here.

La Roche advanced to the final by beating Mt. Aloysius 11-1 Saturday morning in the completion of a game suspended beacuase of inclement weather Friday.