YSU

YSU
Softball
INDIANAPOLIS -- For the second time this season, freshman Kristen McDonnell was named the Horizon League Softball Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.
McDonnell batted .368 with three home runs and five runs batted in. She also recorded a slugging percentage of .842 with five runs scored and three stolen bases. She went 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBI in the Penguins' 5-0 victory over League-leading UIC on Sunday. For the season, McDonnell leads the Penguins with a .370 batting average and six home runs.
The Penguins play host to Kent State today at 3 p.m. at McCune Park.
Football
YOUNGSTOWN -- The coaching staff will hold the Bob Dove Free Spring Coaches Clinic Wednesday at Stambaugh Stadium.
Area coaches are invited to attend the Penguins' practice at 3 p.m. and stay the reminder of the day and evening for individual or group discussions with the YSU staff. Film study of drills, practices and games will be offered during the evening session, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dinner will be available at 5:30 p.m. for coaches in attendance for a charge of $5. Pre-registration is required for those who eating dinner by calling Mike Kolakowski at (330) 941-3478.
Dove Luncheon
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State sports information office is taking reservations for the Red/White Game Draft and Bob Dove Spring Luncheon April 25 at the DeBartolo Stadium Club in Stambaugh Stadium.
The luncheon is scheduled to begin at noon with the Red/White Draft taking place soon after. The cost of the luncheon is $5 for Penguin Club members and $6 for non-members. Contact the sports information office at (330) 941-7292 or (330) 941-3192 by 2 p.m. April 24 for reservations. The Red/White Spring Game is 7:30 p.m. on April 28 at Stambaugh Stadium.
LOCAL
Bethany track
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Bethany College junior Herman Nuckols qualified for the ECAC Championships in two events and broke one school record at the Slippery Rock Invitational. Nuckols qualified for ECACs in the 200-meter dash, placing 11th overall and third among Division III competitors with a time of 22.10 seconds. Nuckols also broke the school record (22.44), which was held by Jamie Rogerson since 1992.
Nuckols also tied for fourth overall in the long jump (22 feet) and was second among Div. III athletes, to qualify for the ECAC meet.
He was also part of the 4x100 relay that qualified earlier this season and posted its best time of the year (43.14) at Slippery Rock. The others were Marcus Adams, Jude Destin and Taylor McNeill.
McNeill qualified for the ECAC meet in the 100 (11.18).
Proposal accepted
STRUTHERS -- Prior to Monday's Springfield-Lowellville baseball game at Cene Park, Tigers assistant Gary Knittle gathered his team around him in a circle and proposed to his girlfriend, Allison Giannini.
It was the first engagement in Cene Park's history.
She said yes.
Correction
Hubbard High track and field athlete Katoria Carter was misidentified in a Saturday story. The Vindicator regrets the error.
NATION
49ers make a hire
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers hired Lal Heneghan as their executive vice president of football operations Monday. Heneghan, a lawyer who played tight end at Penn, was the Cleveland Browns' VP of football operations and chief contract negotiator from 1998 until 2004, when he left the losing club in a front office shake-up. He had been a private consultant since then.
Before joining Cleveland, Heneghan spent seven years working for the NFL. He eventually became the league's director of labor relations, supervising planning around the salary cap and the collective bargaining agreement.
Smith, first lady of racing, dies at 89
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Louise Smith, the first woman inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999, has died. She was 89.
Smith, remembered as "the first lady of racing," was on the NASCAR circuit from 1945-56. Known for her fearless style, she won 38 modified events.
Vindicator staff/wire reports