Payton Gottshall off to strong for Tennessee softball; Diver Zach Schering an All-American

Graduate student Payton Gottshall continues to be part of the solid one-two pitching punch for the University of Tennessee softball team.

The right-hander from Perry High School is 9-2 with a 1.25 earned run average for the seventh-ranked Volunteers who are 22-4 after topping Missouri twice last weekend in Knoxville. Gottshall pitched a seven-inning complete game in an 8-2 victory in the opener. She gave up three hits, two earned runs, walked seven and had a season-high 10 strikeouts. It was her fourth complete game of the season.

Gottshall has worked 61.2 innings and has given up 42 hits and 14 runs, 11 earned with 13 walks and 79 strikeouts. She shares starting duties with sophomore Karlyn Pickens who is 12-2.

After a standout career at Bowling Green, Gottshall move on to Tennessee and was 16-2 with three saves with 130 strikeouts in 110 innings last season when the Volunteers went 51-10 and made it to the Women’s College World Series where they were eliminated 5-1 by Florida State.

Annie Roshak (Hoover) The Ashland standout was named to the D2Conference Commissioners Association All-Midwest Region team for the third straight season after leading the Eagles to a 31-2 record. The 6-foot-1 graduate student, who finished her career as the team’s all-time scorer, averaged 15.4 points a game and led the team with 29 blocked shots. She connected on 34 of 86 3-point attempts (39.5%). Ashland was seeded No. 1 heading into the NCAA Division II Tournament but was upset 64-59 by Ferris State in the Midwest Region semifinals. Roshak helped the Eagles win the national championship a year ago.

Conner McClure (Green) The Virginia Tech junior earned his first All-American certificate when he finished third in the pole vault at the Division I NCAA Championship on March 8 in Boston. McClure, seeded 10th, cleared a personal-record height of 18 feet, 2.5 inches on his first attempt of the day. McClure earned a berth in the nationals by winning the pole vault at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship (18-1.75), Feb. 22-24, also in Boston.

Chris O’Connor (Hoover) The senior will be one of 13 members of the eighth-ranked Texas men’s swim team that will compete in the Division I Championship next weekend in Indianapolis. O’Connor earned his spot in the 200 backstroke, but will also be able to swim the 100 back in the meet. The Longhorns prepped for the championship by winning the Big 12 Conference title March 2 in Morgantown, W.Va. O’Connor finished second in the 100 (46.41) and was third in the 200 (1:43,12).

Zach Schering (Jackson) The Clarion (Pa.) junior diver earned a pair of All-American honors at the NCAA Division III Championships last weekend in Geneva. Schering, who now has five All-American certificates, finished second in the 1-meter dive with 521.00 points on Friday. He moved up two spots in the finals. He followed that up by finishing fifth in the 3-meter (542.95) on Saturday. As a sophomore, Schering finished fourth in the 1-meter and sixth in the 3-meter. He finished seventh in the 3-meter as a freshman.

Jessica LeBeau (Lake) The 5-8 senior right-hander has a 2-2 record with a save for the Michigan softball team (17-11). LeBeau has pitched in 12 games with five starts and has a complete game and a 2.89 ERA. In 36.1 innings, she has given up 25 hits and 19 runs, 15 earned, with 15 walks and 37 strikeouts. She was 8-11 last season with 99 strikeouts in 104.2 innings.

Nakyah Terrell (McKinley) The 5-6 junior guard was named second-team All-Big South Conference for her all-around play with the High Point women’s basketball team (20-11). Terrell finished second in scoring on the balanced team with an 8.4 average and she led the team in rebounding (4.1), assists (104) and steals (37). Terrell also made 24 3-pointers.

Noah Pilgrim (Green) The junior midfielder leads the 4-4 Hiram men’s lacrosse team and the North Coast Athletic Conference in points with 50 and goals with 34 to go with 16 assists. He had seven goals and five assists in a 27-1 victory over La Roche and six goals and five assists in a 29-23 win over Mt. St. Joseph’s. He had six goals in two other games. Sophomore defender Ethan Bitong (Green) has 27 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers and has chipped in with a goal and an assist.

Peyton Alazaus (West Branch) The 5-10 senior guard, who was a solid outside scoring threat for the Pitt-Johnstown women’s basketball team, was named second-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West. Alazaus was second on the Mountain Cats in scoring (12.2). She made 53 of 155 3-pointers (34.2%). Twice she scored 23 points and twice she scored 22 points in games this season. She also averaged 3.7 rebounds and had 22 assists and 17 steals.

Alyssa Ziehler (Green) The 6-0 sophomore forward was named second-team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference after a standout season with the Findlay women’s basketball team (14-15, 10-10). Ziehler was second on the team in scoring (12.2) and she led the squad in rebounding (6.9) and blocked shots (17). She had four double-doubles and scored in double figures in 21 of the 28 games she played and scored a season-high 19 points twice.

Melissa Holzopfel (Perry) The junior right-hander has a 5-5 record with a 2.08 ERA pitching for the 6-12 Cleveland State softball team. She has pitched in 10 games with nine starts and has eight complete games. Holzopfel has worked 64 innings and has given up 61 hits and 37 runs, 19 earned, with 27 walks and 48 strikeouts. Her complete games include a 2-1 victory over the College of Charleston on Feb. 9, a 3-1 triumph over Iona on Feb. 21 and a 3-1 win over New Mexico on March 7.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: College updates on Payton Gottshall, Annie Roshak, others