PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates signed right-hander Hector Carrasco and left-hander Casey Fossum to minor league contracts on Thursday and invited them to spring training.

The 39-year-old Carrasco has a 44-50 record and a 3.99 ERA in 647 major league games with seven teams. He was with the Angels most of the last two seasons, going 7-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 56 games in 2006 and 2-1 with a 6.57 ERA in 29 games last season before being released July 11.

Fossum was 5-8 with a 7.70 ERA in 40 games with Tampa Bay last season before being let go Aug. 10. He is 37-52 with a 5.46 ERA for Boston, Arizona and Tampa Bay since 2001.

SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University student athletes Jen Blasko and Mike Butterworth were named Thursday as recipients of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Fall Top Ten Award.Blasko, a junior outside hitter on The Rock women's volleyball team, was named to ESPN The Magazine's first-team Academic All-District team for the second straight season.She also earned first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region honors and second-team All-PSAC Western Division honors.Blasko currently carries a 4.0 grade-point average as an exercise science major.A senior offensive tackle on The Rock football team, Butterworth also received the PSAC's Fall Top Ten Award for the second consecutive season.He earned ESPN The Magazine's first-team Academic All-America honors last fall and helped the East squad win the Valero Cactus Bowl, an all-star game for Division II football players.Butterworth, who was a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award and was named first-team All-PSAC West for the third straight season, has a 3.69 grade-point average as a health and physical education major.