Campus Notes: Pitcher from Wauseon is a hit for Defiance College softball

4/30/2008

Wauseon High School graduate Justine Johnston has been sensational on the mound for Defiance College softball this spring.

Johnston, a junior starting pitcher at Defiance, has won nine of her last 11 starts.

Johnston tossed a two-hit shutout for the Yellow Jackets on April 21. She led Defiance to a 4-0 win over Bluffton University in the opener of a doubleheader.

She limited the Beavers to just three base runners in seven innings. Johnston struck out three batters to lift her scoreless innings streak to 12. She has a 0.63 earned run average in conference play.

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FOOTBALL: Monroe High School graduate Jon Carrabino was one of 23 players to commit to the University of Findlay football program last month.

Oilers' head coach Jon Wauford announced the commitments on April 17. Carrabino is a 5-10, 195-pound defensive back. He earned special mention on the All-Blade team last fall.

Carrabino joins Central Catholic graduate Donte' Rashad Johnson on the Oilers football team. Rashad Johnson, a 6-2, 180-pounder, also plays defensive back. He was a member of Findlay's initial class of 12, which was inked in February.

The pair joins several members of the program who hail from the Toledo area, including Monroe High graduate and fullback Mitchell Lay.

The others are sophomore wide receiver Jamie Lorentz (Bryan), freshman kicker Kirt Munson (Fremont Ross), sophomore kicker Corey Stork (Defiance), freshman linebacker Brandon Craft (Liberty Benton), junior linebacker Justin Sonnenberg (Patrick Henry), freshman lineman John Krontz (St. Francis de Sales) and sophomore linebacker Alex Oberlin (Bryan).

The team also has four Findlay natives on its roster: freshman quarterback Chris Schneider, sophomore lineman Chris Condeni, sophomore linebacker Andrew Leddy, and freshman lineman Terner Acheson.

The team held its annual Orange and Black spring game at Donnell Stadium on April 18. The Black team came from behind to defeat the Orange squad 17-12. Munson drilled a 24-yard field goal with 9:11 remaining in the second quarter. Craft had an interception to lead the Black squad.

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BASEBALL: Freshman T.J. Taylor, a Patrick Henry graduate, improved his record to 3-3 at Cedarville University.

Taylor, a left-hander, struck out 12 and allowed only two hits and no walks in a 17-0 rout of Indiana Northwest. The game was halted after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

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HOCKEY: The Adrian College men's hockey team received a formal proclamation from the Michigan State Senate last month.

Sen. Cameron Brown (R., Sturgis) presented coach Ron Fogarty and the team with the honor in the state Senate chamber last month. Senator Brown, whose district includes Lenawee County, spoke about the achievements of the first-year program. He said the team made the area proud both on and off the ice.

"This is an unbelievable experience," Fogarty said. "I could not have imagined this back in October when our season began. I've been told by several people that this type of thing does not happen very often, especially in the Division III ranks."

The Bulldogs finished the season with a 26-3 record and won their final 20 games en route to Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association regular season and tournament titles. In its first year, the team averaged nearly eight goals per game.

Bowling Green native Jeremy Cross was the team's backup goaltender.

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SOFTBALL: Infielder Beth Yahraus (Bryan High), a sophomore at Hope College, is batting .363 for the Flying Dutch (23-10).

Yahraus has nine doubles, one home run and has 20 runs batted in. Yahraus also has a .983 fielding percentage with just two errors. She leads the team with 78 assists.

On April 21, Yahraus drew a bases-loaded walk to earn an RBI that brought home the game-winning run in a 2-1 victory over Olivet College.

Yahraus helped lead Hope College to a 25-13 finish last season.

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