Sonia Petrosoniak tossed a three-hit shutout and California University won its NCAA Division II playoff game against West Chester, 7-0.

Petrosoniak struck out four and walked one for the Vulcans, who raised their record to 27-16.

Julie Mackenzie doubled and drove in two runs and Heather Bihler also drove in two for the Vulcans, who broke the game open with a four-run third inning that produced a 7-0 lead.

Amanda Wallace doubled and drove in a run and Deanna Valentine went 3-for-3, scored twice and drove in a run for Cal.

California will play Lock Haven at 2 p.m. Thursday. The Vulcans have faced Lock Haven four times this season without a win. However, the Vulcans have held the Bald Eagle offense, which averages .308 to a .257 average.

Scholastic baseball

Avella held off a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 7-6 victory from Chartiers-Houston in Section 2-A.

Chris Khouri homered, singled twice and drove in two runs for the Eagles (11-4, 12-6). Ryan Parker hit a three-run home run, and Mark Jones doubled for the Bucs (14-1, 15-3).

C-H cut Avella's lead to one in the seventh when Tanner Gump drove in two runs with a single and an error. He came around to score on a catcher's throwing error on a stolen base at third.

The loss might have cost the Bucs the fourth seed in the upcoming WPIAL playoffs.

n Washington clinched a share of the Section 2-AA championship by defeating host Waynesburg 5-3.

The Prexies (9-3, 10-5) finished in a three-way tie for first place with Brownsville and Charleroi.

Washington forged a 5-0 lead then held off a Waynesburg comeback with some clutch relief pitching by Jay Paskert, who entered in the sixth inning and retired all six batters he faced. Paskert went 3-for-4 with a double, as did winning pitcher Eric Poland. Mark Wise also doubled for Wash High.

Garrett Henry and Taylor Moore doubled for Waynesburg.

n Burgettstown put together eight of its 12 hits during a 10-run fifth inning and defeated visiting Fort Cherry 11-6 in Section 2-AA.

Brian Pavan and Sean Tunno each had two hits during the Blue Devils' big inning that supported winning pitcher Tyler Lonchar. There were 20 hits in the game, all singles.

n In a game that featured 17 singles, Trinity downed McGuffey 6-3 in a Section 4-AAA game. Trinity finishes in second place in the section.

Alex Frey struck out nine and walked one for the Hillers (11-3, 12-5). McGuffey fell to 3-12, including 2-12 in the section.

n Carmichaels finished with the first undefeated section record since the 2002 season, thanks to a 12-2 victory over Mapletown in a Section 1-A game.

Chuck Gasti struck out 13 and didn't walk a batter. He also cracked a two-run home run and drove in four. Zach Durbin also had a two-run home run for the Mikes (14-0, 16-1). Ethan Virgili doubled. Corey Minnick doubled for Mapletown (2-11, 6-13).

Scholastic softball

Heather Pulver had three singles and drove in three runs to power Burgettstown to a 7-6 victory over Carlynton in a non-section game.

Toni Durzo doubled and Jessie Faloon tripled for the Blue Devils (10-7). Kim Clarson doubled for Carlynton (10-8).

n Mapletown scored in every inning and defeated visiting Turkeyfoot 11-1 in a five-inning non-section game.

Miranda Shipley pitched four innings and combined with Kaitlyn Novak on a one-hitter, a third-inning double by losing pitcher Kam Koscheck.

Novak belted a two-run triple, and Heather Shook was 2-for-2 with a double and four runs scored for Mapletown (10-8).

Correction

Bentworth's Anthony Zigerelli, who finished second in the 400-meter dash in the WPIAL Class AA Southern Qualifier Tuesday, was misidentified in a photo in Wednesday's edition of the Observer-Reporter.

W&J players, coach honored by PAC

Washington & Jefferson College senior centerfielder Amanda Howard was named Most Valuable Player of the Presidents' Athletic Conference softball team and W&J head coach Nicole Vitello was selected Coach of the Year.

Howard, who was also a First Team All-PAC honoree, is the first President to be chosen as the league's MVP since Tricia Lander '96 won the award in 1996.

Vitello, in her first season, helped W&J (26-11) earn the top seed in the PAC Tournament for the first time and the Presidents' 26 victories tied the school record.

Senior catcher Hannah Schulz and junior pitcher Rebecca Nachreiner were each first-team selections. Senior designated hitter Tanesha Minney and junior first baseman Valerie Schultz made second team.

Howard, who has started all 150 games for the Presidents in the past four years, earned her fourth consecutive all-conference award, including her third-straight first-team honor. She is ranked second in the PAC with a .435 batting average (54 of 124). Her batting average is the best by a W&J softball player since April LeViere hit .439 during her freshman season in 1996.

Howard, Schulz and Nachreiner also were selected to the Louisville Slugger-NFCA Division III All-Central Region Softball Team. Howard and Schulz were second-team honorees, and Nachreiner made third-team.

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