Local standouts lead Hiram baseball run
The Terriers fell a game short of playing for the conference title.
HIRAM -- Dante DeLisio, Jeff Nastase, Derek Stanton and Ryan Stredney, all seniors, played an integral role in helping Hiram College to its first North Coast Athletic Conference baseball finals.
The Terriers fell a game short of playing for the championship as it lost to Denison two games to one.
First baseman DeLisio, a Mooney High graduate, started four years for the Terriers and finished with a career .327 average.
He led the 2005 squad with a .368 average, game played, triples and fielding .988.
Nastase, of Poland was No. 3 in the Hiram pitching rotation. As an outfielder, he was second in hitting during with a .357 average, with three home runs and 23 RBIs.
Second baseman-outfielder Stanton, a Warren JFK graduate, batted .327 with three home runs and 25 RBIs.
Outfielder Stredney, a Howland graduate, hit .279 with three home runs, 20 RBIs and he led the Terriers in stolen bases.
The Terriers' coach is Howard Jenter, a Champion native.
Bethany
Sophomore Brett Bartholomew of Boardman pitched a scoreless eighth inning in relief to pick up the win as the Bisons overcame a 1-0 deficit to beat Waynesburg 2-1 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament game.
Junior outfielder Aaron Meadows, a Wellsville native, hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning of the game.
Geneva
Catcher Brian May, a senior from East Liverpool, batted .296 with four home runs and 27 RBIs as the Golden Tornadoes' baseball team completed the regular season with a 22-19-2 record.
An American Mideast Conference North first-team selection, May has signed a contract with the Washington Wild Things.
Sophomore Mike Bruno of New Castle, an AMC first-team choice, had a .318 average with four home runs and 29 RBIs for the Golden Tornadoes. Third baseman Mike Collela of New Castle, batting .360, has scored 24 runs and he leads the team with six pitching victories.
Thiel
Senior Keith Jackson, a Salem High graduate, finished his baseball career with a school-best 19 victories, which included a 6-3 mark this season, with a 4.01 ERA in 11 starts. He threw two no-hitters.
Junior catcher Kinsey Henderson of East Liverpool hit .352 in 31 games. He led the Presidents' Athletic Conference with 11 doubles, five home runs and 36 RBIs. He is third all-time for the Tomcats with 14 home runs and 35 doubles.
Mark Nightigale, a junior outfielder from East Liverpool, started 38 games batting .316 with four home runs and 28 RBIs and was third in the PAC in runs scored with 31.
Wittenberg
Norah Gillam, a Canfield native and senior pitcher-utility player for the Tigers, finished her softball career being named to the North Coast Athletic Conference all-star first team for the fourth straight year.
Wittenberg finished fifth in the league with a 7-6 record and it was 11-24 overall.
Gillam hit .330 in 35 games. She collected 37 hits in 112 trips to the plate, hit seven doubles and drove in 16 runs.
She led the Tigers with a 6-9 record, a 3.11 ERA, innings pitched (99) and strikeouts (51).
Gannon
Junior first baseman Joanna Fergus, a Fitch High graduate, helped the Golden Knights softball team win their first-ever game in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional tournament at Northern Kentucky.
Gannon defeated West Virginia Wesleyan 4-3 before being eliminated.
Fergus was named to the all- tournament team after producing a .400 average, .880 slugging percentage and .400 on base percentage. She hit a double and a two-run home run.
She hit .362, with 13 doubles, 10 home runs, scored 25 runs and had 46 RBIs for the season.
Fergus was also named to the second team of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Great Lakes Region all-star squad.
Ashland
Amber Miller, an Ursuline graduate, shared the Eagles' MVP award for running events.
At the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, she placed second in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the 400 hurdles.
Malone
Senior shortstop Andrea Diyorio, a Fitch High graduate, concluded her final season for the Pioneers softball team.
She batted .298 with 28 hits for the Pioneers (13-20, 1-13 American Mideast Conference South).
She was named first team on the NCCAA East all-star squad and was a All-AMC South honorable mention.
Freshman Jason Brueckner, a Crestview High graduate, placed fifth in the 400 hurdles (56.32 seconds) at the All-Ohio Invitational track and field meet at Baldwin-Wallace.
Freshman Luke McCluggage of North Jackson placed second in 5000 (16:37.5).