Carozza paces WCU swimmers at nationals

Ann Carozza finished second in the 100-yard butterfly Thursday evening to lead West Chester University on Day Three at the 2023 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships inside the Indiana Natatorium.

West Chester stands in sixth place with 118 points after three days. A West Chester East graduate, Carozza -- who was runnerup a year ago in this event -- touched the wall second once again in 52.62 seconds. Carozza’s Division II record 52.06, swam in the prelims a year ago at the NCAAs, remained intact. The secondplace effort marked her seventh individual All-America certificate in her illustrious career.

Mikayla Niness placed 13th in the 200 freestyle, touching the wall in 1:49.93. The Golden Rams finished Day Three with an eighthplace finish in the 400 medley relay. The foursome of Lila DiCarlo, McKenzie Hemingway, Carozza and Niness posted a time of 3:44.04 and snag the final All-America certificate in the event.

College

BASEBALL

WEST CHESTER 7, SHIPPENSBURG 1; WEST CHESTER 6, SHIPPENSBURG 1 >>

Three West Chester pitchers combined to hold down Shippensburg en route to a Thursday doubleheader sweep at Serpico Stadium in the PSAC Eastern Division.

West Chester (2-0, 10-3 overall) rode the right arm of Joe Sperone to a three-hit win in the first game. Sperone (3-0) struck out six and walked only one to get the win.

In the nightcap, big right-hander David Ferguson (Downingtown East) tossed eight shutout frames, scattering five hits while striking out six of his own and walking just one to lead the Golden Rams to the victory. Gabe Rappa allowed one run in the ninth and struck out one more in relief of Ferguson.

All told, West Chester’s trio held Shippensburg (02, 12-7) to two runs on eight hits and struck out 13 Raiders batters in 16 inning during the conference sweep. IMMACULATA 8, HUSSON (ME) 3 >> Immaculata picked up its fifth consecutive victory Thursday evening. Junior pitcher Jason Hughes flashed dominant stuff all day, fanning a program record 12 hitters, surpassing the previous record of 11 held by himself along with five others. Hughes only allowed four hits in seven innings of work.

In relief for the Mighty Macs, Junior Alex Singer closed the door in the final two frames, striking out five hitters while only allowing one hit.

Softball

GETTYSBURG 3, IMMACULATA 1; IMMACULATA 5, WILKES 0 >>

Immaculata (2-2) split their two games in the Fast Pitch Dreams Spring Classic. In the opener, starting pitcher Sarah Guido took the loss going the distance allowing three runs on 14 hits and striking out two. Bryele Anthony, Peyton McGowan and Sara Rode each had two hits for the Mighty Macs.

In their second game, Immaculata was led by starting pitcher Courtney Gable who earned the win with a complete game five-hit shutout.

Women’s Tennis

CONCORDIA 9, IMMACULATA 0 >>

The Mighty Macs women’s tennis team lost their final match of their 2023 spring break trip. In singles action Annamarie Degnan, Pamala Kontaras, Delaney Brown, Jenna Muttikand, Audrey Keen all dropped matches in straight sets.