Local sports briefs 6/18

The Tribune-Democrat

June 17, 2008 11:34 pm

— BASKETBALL
Badmus joins Red Flash staff
LORETTO – St. Francis men’s basketball coach Don Friday announced Tuesday that former Bucknell point guard Ibrahim Badmus has joined his Red Flash coaching staff.
Badmus joins Doug Kraft and Rob Krimmel as assistant coaches under Friday, who is entering his first season at the helm of the St. Francis men’s basketball program.
Badmus, who is on campus this week working the Red Flash Boy’s Basketball Camps, joins the coaching ranks after working as a teen and community outreach advisor for the Cook County Clerk’s Office near Chicago. He graduated from Bucknell in May.
“We are very excited to have Abe Badmus join our staff here at St. Francis,” Friday said. “I can’t wait for the people in our community to meet Abe. They are going to love him. Abe played a huge role during his four years in the Bucknell family, a system under (head coach) Pat Flannery that I was part of for 14 years. Being able to stay within the Flannery family was my No. 1 priority. Abe will have a profound impact on the St. Francis family as he is a real self-starter.”
FOOTBALL
Local players in all-star game
Three area football players will gear up for the South squad in the 24th annual Lezzer Lumber Classic on Friday at Clearfield High School.
The game, set to kick off at 7 p.m., features 77 players from 29 high school teams across nine counties.
Bishop Carroll’s Nolan Makin and Marcus Rhodes will be joined on the South team by Penn Cambria’s Michael Biglin.
Tickets for the game are $6 at the gate or can also be purchased for $5 from head coaches of the 31 member schools, Lezzer Lumber stores located in Curwensville and State College, and Jim’s Sports Center in Clearfield.
SOFTBALL
Comets place in tournament
PITTSBURGH – The Cambria County Comets 19-and-over softball team had to play five games Sunday as it worked its way through the loser’s bracket to finish second in the Pittsburgh Valley Rage tournament.
The Comets got home runs from Kali Byers, a Chestnut Ridge graduate; Stacy Yusko (Penn Cambria); Jamie Dixon (Central Cambria); and Mary Pavlovich (Richland). Brooke Over (Northern Bedford), Janelle McCoy (Chestnut Ridge) and Byers each picked up victories on the mound for the Comets.
HOCKEY
Chiefs protect 16 players
The Johnstown Chiefs announced their season-ending roster, a list which contains 16 names.
Teams are permitted to list up to 20 players on the season-ending roster and protect the rights to a maximum of eight players from that roster by submitting a qualifying offer to those players by July 1.
The roster includes: Defensemen Vincent Zaore, Greg Gallagher, Michael Knight, Andrew Martens, Brian Deeth, Justin Coutu; and forwards Joey Olsen, Randy Rowe, Ryan Garlock, Jean Desrochers, Joel Gasper, Jason Spence, Alexandre Imbeault, Mike Sgroi, Kris Kasper and Domenic Maiani.
BASEBALL
American Legion
Westmont 11, Somerset 2
Sean McDonald went 3-for-4 with five RBIs as Westmont rolled to a home win over Somerset on Tuesday.
Mike Kastelic had two hits and three RBIs, and Andy Godish, Zac Boyd and Matt Ziance each added a pair of hits for Westmont.
Somerset’s Joe Foltz hit a solo home run and was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Teammates Alex Lenhart and Cody Hemminger were each 2-for-4.
AAABA LEAGUE
MCS Bulldogs 4, NORAC Lab 3
Kyle Rose drove in Jeff Davis in the bottom of the 10th inning as the MCS Bulldogs beat NORAC Lab at Roxbury Park.
Cody Swope went 3-for-4 for the Bulldogs, stole three bases and scored a run.
Michael Claycomb was 2-for-5 at the plate and Jeff Woodruff threw one inning for the victory.
For NORAC Lab, Kevin Erickson and Dino Tessari were each 2-for-5. Zach Satira threw all 10 innings, allowing nine hits and three earned runs.
NEW YORK-PENN LEAGUE
Spikes announce roster
The Pittsburgh Pirates will have their third- and fourth-round picks begin the season in State College for the Spikes.
Half of the 30-man roster for the Class A affiliate of Pittsburgh will be made up of players drafted in 2008, with the other half made up of players that have spent at least a year in the Pirates organization.
Four of the Pirates’ top-10 picks will make their pro debuts with the Spikes.
Third-round pick Jordy Mercer, out of Oklahoma State, and fourth-round pick Chase D’Arnaud from Pepperdine are the highest draftees on the roster.
Less than two weeks after the draft was held, the Pirates have signed 24 of their 50 picks. In their most recent drafts, the Pirates have averaged signing fewer than 30 picks per season.
Among those still unsigned are first-round pick Pedro Alvarez, the Vanderbilt third baseman, and second-rounder Tanner Scheppers, a right-hander from Fresno State.