College Notebook | Richards grad Abby Mallo swinging a hot stick for Billikens

By Mike Walsh
Correspondent

Welcome to Division I softball, Abby Mallo.

Mallo, a Richards graduate playing at Saint Louis University, was chosen the Rookie of the Week by the Atlantic 10 Conference for the week ending March 19.

Mallo, a freshman, hit safely in all four games that week, recording a .429 batting average, a 1.143 slugging percentage and 1.572 OPS, while driving in 11 runs over the period. She turned in a two-hit effort, including a two-run home run, in a 6-3 nonconference loss to Kentucky.

Against A-10 foe St. Bonaventure, Mallo had a two-run double in an 11-0 victory in the first game of the series, homered twice and drove in five runs in a 12-4 triumph in the second game, and delivered a two-run single in a 12-3 decision over the Bonnies in the finale.

Mallo, who plays third base as well as also serving as the designated player for the Billikens (10-16, 3-0), has appeared in 19 games, making 11 starts.

Mallo is tied for the team lead in home runs with four and is second in RBI with 20. She is batting .300 with 11 runs scored and two doubles, while placing second in slugging percentage (.580).

On the Green
Roosevelt University’s Bryan Green was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Pitcher of the Week in baseball for Feb. 28.

Green, who prepped at Oak Lawn, tossed a shutout in a 15-0 seven-inning win over host Alcorn State on Feb. 25. The senior right-hander did not allow a runner past first base, scattering four hits and walking two while striking out six batters in his complete-game effort.

On the season, Green has made six appearances for the Lakers, including four starts. He’s 4-0 with two complete games. In 29 1/3 innings of work, Green has struck out 19, while walking six and posting an earned-run average of 4.91.

Saints Be Praised
The University of St. Francis men’s bowling team was one of four squads to earn a bid from the Smyrna (Tennessee) Sectional to the U.S. Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships, to be held April 19-22 in Las Vegas.

Rolling 64 games in the Baker format, the Saints edged out Tennessee Wesleyan by 139 pins (13,060-12,921) to earn the last berth. The Wisconsin-Whitewater, St. Ambrose and the Tennessee-Southern also qualified from the 20-team sectional field.

One of the key contributors for USF at the sectional was freshman Jalen Pfaff, who was 45^th out of 181 bowlers. Pfaff, a Lyons graduate, had a pinfall total of 1,197 (199.5 average) with a high game of 246.