LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its third set of Baseball Athletes of the Week. In the East, Mansfield's Shane Stossel (Athlete of the Week) and West Chester's Julian Costa (Pitcher of the Week) were selected. In the West, California's Payton Conte (Athlete) and Seton Hill's Jon McCullough (Pitcher) earned the honors.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Shane Stossel
Mansfield
Infield/Pitcher
Graduate Student
Harrisburg, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt
Stossel was a key part in Mansfield's weekend with Glenville State. On the weekend, the graduate student accumulated a .667 (10-15) batting average, ten hits, two home runs, three extra-base hits, five runs, and six RBIs, and only one strikeout at the plate. In game four of the series, Stossel went a perfect 5 for 5, with 6 RBIs and three runs. Two home runs shot bolstered the chance for the Mounties to score 13 runs in the game. While also pitching four innings and four strikeouts, he allowed just one earned run and two hits in the Mounties game two win.
Eastern Division Pitcher of the Week
Julian Costa
West Chester
Pitcher
Redshirt Junior
Mantua, N.J. / Clearview
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) tossed a seven inning no hitter on Friday to kick off the Golden Rams weekend visit to the USA Baseball National Training Center in Cary, North Carolina. Costa became just the second WCU pitcher to a throw no-no and the first since Nicholas Frank in 1947 after carrying a perfect game into his final batter of the seventh inning. Costa yielded a walk to this batter before ending the game with a lazy fly ball to center after opening the seventh with his ninth strikeout of the afternoon en route to his second victory and first complete game of the season.
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Payton Conte
California (Pa.)
First Base
Senior
California, Pa. / California
Conte posted a .538 average, 1.269 OPS, six RBI and five runs scored, as California won all three games last week. He delivered a two-run double in the seventh inning and scored twice on Wednesday in a 9-6 win at Salem. Conte then combined for six hits in a pair of victories over G-MAC favorites Northwood and Tiffin in Florida. The California native collected three hits and scored one run in a 6-2 victory on Sunday over Northwood, which has made seven-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Conte tallied three hits, including two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored on Monday in a 9-6 win against Tiffin, which advanced to the G-MAC Tournament Championship last spring. The senior first baseman has helped the Vulcans open the year with five-consecutive victories for the first time in at last two decades.
Western Division Pitcher of the Week
Jon McCullough
Seton Hill
Pitcher
Graduate Student
Cranberry Twp, Pa. / Seneca Valley
McCullough earned his third win of the season with four shutout innings against Bloomsburg. He allowed just one hit and struck out four. Jon threw just 42 pitches in the outing and did not walk a hitter