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LOCAL CONNECTIONS: Kovalchik helps Sacred Heart secure NEC No. 1 seed

scott walsh, the times-tribune, scranton, pa.
·5 min read

Sacred Heart University baseball team swept a three-game weekend series from University of Maryland-Baltimore County to win the Northeast Conference regular-season title for the first time in program history.

The Pioneers (33-21 overall, 25-8 league) are also the No. 1 seed for this week’s conference championship tournament in Wappingers Falls, New York.

Junior Zack Kovalchik (Valley View) batted 5 for 15 in the series with two home runs with seven runs and seven RBIs. For the season, he is batting .322 (66 for 205) with 13 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 45 RBIs. He is also 16 for 22 in stolen bases. His 66 hits rank ninth in the NEC.

Long Island University (29-22, 24-9) is the No. 2 seed for the NEC tournament. Redshirt senior Jake Mastillo (North Pocono) and redshirt freshman Noah Sorensen (Scranton Prep) are members of the Sharks. Mastillo leads the NEC with 63 RBIs, which is a school single-season record. He also is tied for sixth with 14 home runs. Sorensen is batting .272 with 32 RBIs.

Sacred Heart and LIU have first-round tournament byes. They begin play Thursday.

Hot finish

Wofford College baseball senior Dixon Black (Valley View) closed the regular season on an 11-game hitting streak.

Black is hitting .389 (79 for 203) with 12 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 66 runs and 70 RBIs. He ranks second in the Southern Conference in batting, third in runs and RBIs and fourth in hits.

The Terriers are the No. 5 seed for the SoCon tournament and face The Citadel, the No. 8 seed, in Wednesday’s first round.

UNC-Greensboro is the No. 1 seed. Junior Zach Walsh (North Pocono) is batting .248 with 26 RBIs in 34 games for UNCG.

Star bright

Eastern University freshman Ainsley O’Donnell (North Pocono) was named a second-team MAC Commonwealth Conference all-star.

O’Donnell helped lead the Eagles (30-8) to their first conference tournament championship and NCAA Division III tournament appearance. She batted a team-high .353 (42 for 119) with nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 16 RBIs.

• Penn State-Scranton sophomore Donald Healey (Mid Valley) and junior Mike DeWolfe (Mountain View) were chosen Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference first-team East Division all-stars.

Healey, an outfielder, batted .417 (25 for 60) with four home runs and 25 RBIs. DeWolfe, selected at utility/DH, batted. 345 (29 for 84) with seven RBIs.

Also, sophomore Thomas McIntyre (Scranton) was PSU-Scranton’s representative for the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award.

• Freshman pitcher Zach Brister (Abington Heights) of Penn State-Hazleton was named a PSUAC honorable mention. On nine games with six starts, Brister was 3-2 with a 4.40 earned-run average and 21 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. His three wins tied for the team lead.

Diamond girls

Two local players helped the Kutztown University softball team reach the NCAA Division II Super Regional, where the Golden Bears (37-25) lost in the deciding game of the best-of-3 series to Charleston.

Emily Henn (Delaware Valley), a freshman, was first on the team with 75 hits and 49 RBIs and second in batting average at .361. She had 11 doubles, five triples, eight home runs and 43 runs in 62 games. She was named a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division second-team all-star.

Sophomore Alexa Stevens (North Pocono) batted .333 (62 for 186) in 62 games with nine doubles, two triples, a team-high 10 home runs, 44 runs and 45 RBIs.

• Lebanon Valley College sophomore Megan Heard (Abington Heights) was named to the all-tournament team at the Virginia Beach Regional of the NCAA Division III softball tournament.

In four games, Heard had three hits, including a double, and scored the game-winning run against Gettysburg and Eastern Connecticut State. At shortstop, she handled 15 chances without an error (8 putouts, 7 assists).

The Dutchwomen lost in the regional final to Virginia Wesleyan.

Quick connects

University of Delaware redshirt senior Nate Rolka (Lackawanna Trail) had a career-high seven strikeouts in 3.1 hitless innings of relief in Game 2 of a doubleheader against UNC-Wilmington. The Blue Hens are the No. 4 seed for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and face No. 5 William & Mary on Wednesday. ... Penn State-Harrisburg junior Brendan Henn (Delaware Valley) hit a two-out, two-run walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth to beat Bridgewater State, 5-3, in the opener of its NCAA Division III baseball regional tournament. The Lions then lost to Randolph-Macon and Elizabethtown to end their season 35-11, setting a single-season record for wins. ... Loyola University of Maryland women’s lacrosse club team won the WCLO national title in Austin, Texas. Loyola beat Oakland, Michigan, 21-5; St. Thomas, Minnesota, 20-8; and Fairfield, 14-11. Sophomore Allison Dammer (Abington Heights) had eight goals and five assists in the three games. ... Junior wrestler Cameron Butka (West Scranton) was named Wilkes University Male Athlete of the Year. Butka had a 39-4 record at 197 pounds, falling two wins shy of tying the program’s single-season wins record. He placed fourth at the NCAA Championships and became the program’s ninth All-American.

SCOTT WALSH covers area college athletes in Local Connections. Contact him at swalsh@scrantontimes.com; 570-209-8327; and follow him @swalshTT on X.