Waynesburg’s Resnik is ECAC South Pitcher of Year
Waynesburg University senior Brian Resnik capped four record-setting seasons for the Yellow Jackets’ baseball team by being named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South Pitcher of the Year.
A Burgettstown native, Resnik received the honor after posting a 7-4 record with a 2.83 ERA and setting the Presidents’ Athletic Conference record for career victories.
Resnik led the PAC this spring with 82 2/3 innings pitched and 86 strikeouts, including a conference season-high 15 strikeouts in a win March 5 against Gordon College. Resnik also was the PAC leader with nine complete games. Opponents batted only .233 against Resnik.
In Waynesburg’s 7-0 victory over Westminster last month, Resnik became the PAC’s all-time wins leader with 29. It also was his 29th career complete game in 47 starts.
Resnik had a 29-15 career record, a 2.97 ERA and 264 strikeouts.
After helping Bethany to a 22-win season and a second consecutive trip to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament, sophomore Cassie Weiss was named a third team All-Central Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association and first team All-PAC.
Weiss, a McGuffey graduate, ranked among the PAC’s best in multiple statistical categories while setting a new standard for Bison pitchers. She shattered the school record for strikeouts and led the conference with 172.
Weiss had eight or more strikeouts in nine games, including a season-high 15 against Geneva. She ranked 17th in Division III in strikeouts.
Opponents had a .249 batting average against Weiss in 164 2/3 innings. She finished the season with a career-high 15 wins with 20 complete games.
Point Park’s Ashley Iagnemma was named the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year.
A freshman right-handed pitcher from Bridgeville and a South Fayette graduate, Iagnemma had a 2.16 ERA in 133 innings and 16 complete games in her rookie season for the Pioneers. She threw four shutouts and had 153 strikeouts, including two 12-strikeout games.
Iagnemma ranked first in the KIAC and 18th in the NAIA with 8.05 strikeouts per game, and ranked third in the conference with an opposing batting average of only .215. She also was named to the All-KIAC first team.
Washington & Jefferson’s Abby Cunningham, a junior shortstop from McMurray, repeated as an All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference selection. After receiving second-team honors in 2014, Cunningham was named to the first team this spring after hitting .385, which was second-best for the Presidents and ranked seventh in the conference.
A terrific fielder, Cunningham had a .958 fielding percentage. She also had 42 hits, six doubles, a triple and home run, with 17 runs and 12 RBI. Cunningham had 10 multi-hit games, including a career-high four hits April 29 at Thiel.
Penn State Behrend senior right fielder John Hlavinka was named to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference third team.
A Venetia native and Peters Township graduate, Hlavinka is a three-time all-conference selection. He is third on Behrend’s all-time hits list with 213 and fifth with 147 runs scored. Hitting from the No. 2 spot in the batting order, Hlavinka batted .359 this season with 60 hits, a team-high 44 runs and 33 RBI. He had six doubles, two triples and two home runs.
Senior pitcher Mike Bittel finished his career at Seton Hill with a strong senior season.
The Peters Township graduate from McMurray had an 8-3 record and 3.55 ERA as a starter for the Griffins, who were 40-18 and qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament.
Bittel struck out 86 in 83 2/3 innings and issued just 19 walks. He had a seven-game winning streak from March 30 through May 9.
Bittel was spectacular in Seton Hill’s 6-1 victory over California in an elimination game in the PSAC tournament. He threw a two-hit complete game and struck out seven.
Kevin Forrester, a junior pitcher at Thiel, was named second team All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
A Canonsburg native and Canon-McMillan graduate, Forrester was third in the PAC in strikeouts (48) and tied for third in wins (7). Forrester had two complete games and a shutout while posting a 7-3 record and 4.54 ERA while helping the Tomcats to a 29-14 record.
It is the second year in a row Forrester has been a second team all-conference selection.
Former Trinity High School standout Nick Riotto was one of four Penn State hitters to finish the season with a .300 or better batting average.
Riotto, a junior, batted .307 and his .405 on-base percentage was tops among the regulars in the Nittany Lions’ lineup. Riotto had two home runs and 18 RBI. The speedy outfielder grounded into only one double play in 179 at-bats. He helped Penn State to a 28-27 record that included a 12-12 mark in the Big Ten.
Duke’s Teddi Maslowski, a senior from Burgettstown, placed 18th in the heptathlon at the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
A Steubenville Central Catholic graduate, Maslowski scored 5,382 points in the seven-event competition. She had a strong performance in the 200 meters, finishing sixth in 24.34 seconds. Maslowski also set a personal best in the javelin, throwing 109-11.
Maslowski’s best career performance in the heptathlon is 5,706 points.
Waynesburg sophomore Addy Knetzer was named to the All-Midweast Region squad by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
A Houston native, Knetzer, qualified for the award in the shot put. She won her second consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference MVP award and helped the Yellow Jackets to the league team title. Knetzer set the school record in the shot put 42-8 1/4 and has five of the top six marks in school history. She is the two-time defending PAC champion in the shot put and has been one of Waynesburg’s top performers in both the javelin and discus.
Kirby Manown, a junior at California University, was named All-PSAC.
A Belle Vernon graduate, Manown set a career best with a scoring average of 74.9 strokes. He registered the best score on the team seven times and posted a top-10 finish at six events, highlighted by a pair of medalist performances. During the fall, Manown placed third overall at the PSAC Championships to mark the top finish by a Vulcan at the event since 2012.