Zeremenko makes presence known in Pitt’s record book
Giorgiana Zeremenko, a sophomore from Canonsburg, set the Pitt single-season home run record Wednesday during the Panthers’ softball sweep of Kent State at the Diamond at Dix in Kent, Ohio.
Zeremenko, a former standout catcher at Canon-McMillan and Observer-Reporter Player of the Year, put her name in the record book by hitting her 16th home run of the season in the second game of the doubleheader, a 3-2 win by Pitt. Zeremenko broke the record of 15 that was set by Jacki Haar in 2009 and matched by Kelly Hmiel in 2011.
“It’s an awesome accomplishment knowing that sticking to your approach and just working hard will pay off,” Zeremenko said. “I just need to keep having good at-bats and keep working hard to drive my pitch. Nothing too hard, nothing too special.”
Zeremenko leads the Panthers with a .421 batting average and 51 RBI. The RBI total ranks second in the Atlantic Coast Conference and she is fourth in batting average. The 16 home runs have Zeremenko tied for the ACC lead with Kristen Brown of North Carolina and ranks ninth in the nation.
Pitt ranked six games remaining in the regular season.
Ohio University’s Vincent Nicolella, a senior forward from East Washington, was named American Collegiate Hockey Association Academic All-American.
On the ice, Nicolella scored two goals and had four assists this season for the Bobcats (29-8-1) and had a plus-3 rating. In the classroom, Nicolella had a 3.35 cumulative grade-point average.
Nicolella had an injury-riddled career as three times he suffered a broken hand and also had reconstructive knee surgery. He was able to play in 86 career games.
Nicolella will with intern Price Waterhouse Cooper this summer in Columbus, Ohio.
Penn State junior outfielder Nick Riotto was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for April 4-10.
A Washington native and Trinity graduate, Riotto batted better than .545 over five games.
For the week, Riotto was 12-for-22 with a .583 on-base percentage, a home run, two doubles, eight runs and six RBI. He had four-multi-hit games, including three three-hit games. The week was part of stretch in which Riotto went 14-for 24 and had a 10-game hitting streak.
Perhaps Riotto’s most impressive performance came in Penn State’s 7-6 victory over Michigan State as he accounted for five of the seven Penn State runs by crossing home plate three times and driving in two more runs. He reached base four times, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and being hit by a pitch. He also scored the game-tying run.
Riotto has recently been sidelined by a hand injury but is batting .328 with 16 RBI. His .437 on-base percentage is tops among the Nittany Lions’ starters.
Seton Hill right-handed pitcher Mike Bittel was named the PSAC West Division Pitcher of the Week for April 4-10.
A senior from McMurray and a Peters Township graduate, Bittel threw a complete-game shutout in the Griffins’ 14-0 victory at Indiana. He scattered six hits, did not walk a batter and struck out six.
For the season, Bittel has a 6-2 record and 3.79 ERA in 11 outings (10 starts). He registered a save in his only relief outing. Bittel has struck out 68 in 612/3 innings for Seton Hill, which entered Sunday with a 33-11 record.
Tara Konopka leads Drexel in pitching wins.
A senior right-hander and a former standout at Peters Township, Konopka entered Sunday with eight of Drexel’s 17 wins. She also leads the Dragons in innings pitched (118 1/3 ) and strikeouts (114). Konopka led Drexel’s pitching staff in wins, ERA and strikeouts as a freshman in 2013.
Pitt’s Olivia Gray is one of the top freshmen in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Trinity graduate has a .330 batting average and is one off the team lead with nine doubles. She has four home runs and a team-leading eight sacrifices. In ACC games, Gray is batting .341 and is tied for the team lead with three home runs.
A shortstop in high school, Gray has been the Panthers’ starting right fielder. She has two outfield assists.
Two area players are having strong seasons as freshmen for Point Park.
Pitcher Ashley Iagnemma is tied for the team lead in wins and second baseman-pitcher Erica Burns is among the Pioneers’ leaders in multiple offensive categories.
Iagnemma, a South Fayette graduate, has a 9-8 record and 134 strikeouts and 112 innings pitched. Burns, from Carmichaels, is batting .280 with six doubles, a triple and home run. Burns ranks second on the team with eight stolen bases.
As a pitcher, Burns has a 1-0 record in 11 relief outings. Both Burns and Iagnemma have a 1.94 ERA, which is tied for the team lead.
Olivia Lorusso recently had the kind of game that most hitters can only dream about.
Lorusso, a sophomore third baseman for Robert Morris and a former standout player for Canon-McMillan, went 4-for-4 with seven RBI in the Colonials’ 14-11 win March 30 against Kent State. The Eighty Four native drove had a run-scoring double in the first inning, two in two more runs with a single in the second, had a run-scoring single in the fourth and belted a three-run homer in the sixth inning that gave Robert Morris an 11-10 lead.
Cassie Weiss, a sophomore pitcher at Bethany, is having another productive season in the circle for the Bison.
Weiss has a 12-8 record and 2.42 ERA in 24 games (18 starts). She leads the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in strikeouts with 143 in 121 1/3 innings. Her 12 wins ranks second in the PAC.
A former pitcher at McGuffey, Weiss tok a perfect game into the seventh inning Saturday against Geneva before the Golden Tornadoes broke up the no-hit bid with a bloop single. Bethany went on to win the game, 7-1.
Weiss was 9-7 with a 3.28 ERA as a freshman.
Pitt sophomore sprinter Alyssa Wise set a personal record and matched another during the Louisville Invitational.
A former WPIAL champion sprinter at Washington High School, Wise had a pair of fifth-place finishes in Louisville, competing in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Wise matched her career best in the 100 by running 11.65, then set a personal record in the 200 with a time of 24.02. It was the second week in a row that Wise set a PR in the 200.
Shippensburg’s Alec Rideout, a sophomore thrower from Canonsburg, won both the shot put and the discus at the Raiders’ invitational last Wednesday. The former Canon-McMillan multi-sport athlete won the shot put with a personal record of 55-8 1/4. Rideout also had a PR in the discus, throwing 165-11, which bested his former mark by seven feet.
Penn State’s Lauren Waller, a freshman from Canonsburg, placed ninth Sunday in the Big Ten Women’s Golf Championships in Indianapolis. Waller finished with a three-round score of 3-under par 213. She was the highest-finishing Nittany Lion and helped Penn State top an eighth-place finish in the team standings.