Ermish off to great start for Bryant softball
Gabrielle Ermish is a top pitcher on the Bryant University softball team, but she was named Northeast Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 25 mainly because of her bat.
The 5-foot-6 senior had a standout effort at the plate as the Bulldogs went 1-3 in the Black and Orange Challenge (Feb. 22-23) in Macon, Ga. She had a grand slam in a 11-4 loss to Georgia State and in four games, she hit .364 (4-for-11) with seven runs batted in and three runs scored.
Ironically, the one game that Bryant won, Ermish was the designated player. The right-handed pitched in the three losses and struck out 10 in 13.2 innings.
“Gabi is a huge part of our team,” coach Nick French said. “She hits in the middle of the order and is a run-producer. And, she’s a major part of our pitching staff.”
The coach lauded Ermish’s performance against No. 4-ranked Arizona on Feb. 15 in Tucson. She gave up three runs in the first inning in a 3-1 loss.
“She didn’t get the win, but kept us in the game,” French said. “Arizona got four runs in an exhibition game against the U.S. Olympic team earlier in the week.”
In her three-plus seasons with the Bulldogs, Ermish has a 21-30 record and 164 strikeouts in 317.1 innings. At the plate, she’s averaging .270 with four home runs and 43 runs batted in.
“Gabi will certainly be missed when she graduates, but she has left a mark on the program and she sets a great example for the underclassmen,” French said.
BECCA CUBBLER (SPRINGFORD) » The Bloomsburg senior will compete in three events at the Division II NCAA Swim Championships March 11-14 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Her best bet for All-American honors will be in the 1,000 freestyle. She’s ranked seventh with a time of 10:02.35. She’s ranked 11th in the 500 free (4:53.82) and 16th in the 1650 free (17:00.21). Cubbler is a three-time All-American. Red-shirt senior Kyle Dix (Perkiomen Valley) will also make the trip. He’s a member of the men’s 200 free relay which is seeded 18th with a time of 1:21.02. CHRISTIAN DEVOL (THE HILL SCHOOL) » The junior from Kimberton captured the 1-meter and 3-meter dives at the Ivy League Swim Championships last weekend in Cambridge, Mass. He totaled 363.80 points to top a field of 28 in the 1-meter and posted a score of 383.80 in the 3-meter. The effort earned him a trip to Morgantown, WV on March 9-11 for the NCAA Division I Zone Championships. DeVol finished fourth in both dives in the league meet last season and was second in the 1-meter as a freshman. This will be his third trip to the Zone Championship. He was seventh in the 1-meter as a sophomore.
ZACK ZOLLER (SPRING-FORD) » The season has just begun but the grad student has already put his name in the record book for the Shippensburg baseball team. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound outfielder went 4-for-4 in a 12-9 loss to Le Moyne last Saturday in Shippensburg. All four hits were doubles, the first Raider to ever accomplish that feat. Shippensburg, now 5-7, won the first game 9-0. Zoller was 6-for-9 with four RBI in the two games. He’s batting .353 (18-for-51) on the season.
COLE PETERLIN (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The freshman competed in his first Atlantic Sun Conference Indoor Track Championship last weekend in Lynchburg, Va. and he had a solid effort for the Flames, who captured the title to extend their league championship streak to 23. Peterlin finished fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.47 after making it to the finals with a time of 8.41. He was the second freshman finisher. He also finished fifth in the high jump with a height of 6 feet, 4 ¼ inches.
MATT DELLACROCE (SPRING-FORD) » The 6-foot, 200-pound senior is sharing faceoff duties with the Michigan men’s lacrosse team, the Wolverines 3-2 after a 16-11 victory over St. John’s last Saturday in Ann Arbor. Dellacroce has won 23 of 39 faceoffs (59 percent) and won nine of 12 in a 16-8 triumph over Canisius on Feb. 18, also in Ann Arbor. He also scored his first goal of his career in that game. Dellacroce saw action in four games last season, but missed the final nine with an injury.
JUSTIN BEASLEY-TURNER (POTTSTOWN) » The senior captured the 800 meter run to help the Moravian men’s indoor track team capture its 11th straight Landmark Conference title last Saturday in Selinsgrove. His time was 1:55.72. Beasley-Turner also finished eighth in the mile with a time of 4:35.93 and helped the 4x400 relay finish first with a time of 3:30.22. Sophomore Dominic DeRafelo (Boyertown) and senior Evan Lutz (Upper Perkiomen) were also members of the 4x400 relay. Lutz chipped in with a fourth place finish in the 400 in 52.28.
KATELYN BERNOTAS (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The junior and her sisters Mary and Megan helped the Eastern women’s indoor track team capture its first Middle Atlantic Conference title last weekend in Reading. Katelyn finished second both in the 800 (2:21.66) and the mile (5:08.36) and ran legs on the 4x400 relay (4:06.20) and the 4x800 relay (9:52.57), both finishing second. Mary finished third in the 5,000 meter run (1:20.65) and was fourth in the mile (4:17.01) while Megan was fifth in the mile (5:17.72) and was part of the 4x800 relay.
JARED KUHNS (UPPER PERKIOMEN) » The York sophomore finished fourth at 125 pounds at the NCAA Division III Southeast Regionals last Saturday in Grantham. He posted a 3-2 record and was pinned in the third place match. Kuhns, who missed out at advancing to the D III Championship, entered the tourney with an 18-8 overall record and a 12-4 mark in dual matches. He had three pins, two major decisions and six technical decisions. Kuhns had an 18-8 record with the Spartans as a freshman.
MIKE CIANCIULLI (POPE JOHN PAUL II) » The Delaware Valley men’s basketball team held Senior Day on Feb. 22 in Doylestown and the 6-foot guard and co-captain was the only player on the young team to be honored. The Aggies, who finished 6-18, dropped a MAC Freedom contest to DeSales, but Cianciulli gave it his all – playing all 40 minutes and scoring 19 points. On the season, he averaged 14.4 points and 5.0 rebounds with 60 assists. He played in just one game last season before being sidelined with an injury.
KATIE ARMSTRONG (BOYERTOWN) » The junior was named to the North Eastern Athletic Conference second team last Thursday for the second straight year for her play with the Penn State Berks women’s basketball team. Armstrong had a career game as the Nittany Lions topped Penn State Harrisburg 103-64 for their first NEAC Tournament victory in 10 years. She had 30 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Berks was beaten 87-75 by top seed SUNY Poly in the semifinals last Saturday and finished 16-10.