Grace Vesco earns NEC pitching honors at St. Francis; Andrew White makes K-State debut
Hoover High School graduate Grace Vesco continues to roll along as one of the top pitchers in NCAA Division I softball.
The graduate student is wrapping up a standout career with Pennsylvania’s St. Francis University. The right-hander was named Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week last Monday after two recent complete-game victories over conference foe LIU to lift the Red Flash to 22-11 overall and a 9-0 mark in conference play. In 13 innings, she gave up two runs on six hits and eight walks with 12 strikeouts.
Entering last weekend, Vesco was 10-6 with a 1.72 earned run average with two shutouts. In 102 innings, she has given up 50 hits and 31 runs, 25 earned, with 52 walks and 103 strikeouts. She stands fifth in Division I in hits allowed (3.43) per seven innings and is just one of 43 pitchers with at least 100 strikeouts.
Vesco was named NEC Pitcher of the Year and National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year in 2021 and has been a NEC first-team pick three straight years.
A look at the St. Francis record book tells the story. In 120 games and 104 starts, she has a 60-38 record with a 2.09 ERA and 24 shutouts. She ranks first in career strikeouts (689) and is second in innings pitched (643.2).
Andrew White (GlenOak)
The graduate student made his debut competing with the Kansas State men’s track team after a solid career with Wake Forest. White, who didn’t compete for the Wildcats indoors, finished sixth in the discus (174 feet, 7 inches) at the Hurricane Invitational March 15-16 in Miami, Fla. Last weekend, he finished first in the discus (172-11) and fourth in the hammer throw (183-4) at the Shocker Spring Invite in Wichita, Kans. His personal records in the discus (191-0) and hammer (206-9) were recorded while competing for Wake Forest.
Ben Yoder (Marlington)
The sophomore outfielder is hitting .345 for the Hiram baseball team (11-9, 2-2 North Coast Athletics Conference). Yoder has 20 hits in 58 at-bats with a homer, 12 runs and eight RBIs. Sophomore Ethan Lyke (Central Catholic) is hitting .278 (20-for-72) with five doubles, 18 runs and 13 RBIs.
Kelsey Kinsley (Hoover)
The Ashland junior finished second out of 49 entrants in the hammer at the Heidelberg Invitational on March 30 with a mark of 163-3. Kinsley opened the outdoor season March 22-23 at the Don McGarey Invitational in Kennesaw, Ga. She finished second in the shot put (47-4.5) and was fourth in the hammer (169-3). Kinsley’s personal records are 192-7 in the hammer and 48-6 in the shot put.
Josh Dezenzo (Marlington)
The 6-3 sophomore had a big weekend to help the 10-7 Washington and Jefferson (Pa.) baseball team top Geneva 9-1 and 11-5 in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference doubleheader on March 30. Dezenzo had a two-run homer and a single in the first game and two hits, a run and an RBI in the second game. He leads the team in hitting with a .466 average (27 hits in 58 at-bats). He has two doubles, a triple, a team-high six home runs, 20 runs and 18 RBIs.
Logan Longovsky (Green)
The 6-3 senior is playing No. 1 in both singles and doubles for the John Carroll men’s tennis team. Longovsky is 3-7 in singles and 4-6 in doubles. A co-captain, he has been first-team All-OAC the last three seasons. Junior Griffin Millspaugh (St. Thomas Aquinas) is 4-2 playing No. 5 or No. 6 singles and is 4-5 at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
Kasi Tully (Tuslaw)
The 5-7 sophomore midfielder is doing the job at both ends of the field for the Muskingum women’s lacrosse team (7-4 ). Tully has scored three goals while on the defensive end she has 15 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers and four draw controls. Junior defender Kennedy Norch (Jackson) is having a solid season as well with 30 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. She has also picked up an assist.
Grace Hammer (Green)
The right-hander pitched for Lake Erie before joining the Ohio Dominican softball team this season as a graduate student. The faced the Storm on March 29 and posted a 4-2 complete-game victory, giving up four hits and two earned runs with no walks and 12 strikeouts. Hammer is 7-3 with three saves for the 21-7 Panthers. She has three complete games and a 1.29 ERA. In 70.2 innings, she has given up 49 hits and 15 runs, 13 earned, with nine walks and 79 strikeouts.
Maggie Downard (Jackson)
The sophomore midfielder has started all 10 games for the Marietta women’s lacrosse team (5-5). Downard has seven goals and five assists for 12 points with 16 ground balls, nine caused turnovers and two draw controls. She had two goals and an assist in an 8-7 double-overtime loss to Delaware Valley, two goals in an 18-10 triumph over Wittenberg and a goal and two assists in a 20-4 win over St. Vincent.
Chris O’Connor (Hoover)
The senior competed in the backstroke for the Texas men’s swim team at the Division I NCAA Championship the final weekend of March in Indianapolis. He finished 33rd in the 200 backstroke (1:41.91) and was 36th in the 100 back (46.69). Texas finished seventh in the team standings. O’Connor helped the Longhorns win the Big 12 title on March 2 in Morgantown, W.Va. He was second in the 100 back (46.41) and third in the 200 back (1:43.12).
This article originally appeared on The Repository: College updates on Grace Vesco, Andrew White, Chris O’Connor, others
