[naviga:h3]SRU baseball 6th in preseason poll[/naviga:h3]

LOCK HAVEN — The Slippery Rock University baseball team is picked to finish sixth in the PSAC West in the league’s preseason poll.

The Rock is coming off a 19-29 (5-21) season under coach Jeff Messer. Messer is entering his 35th season with a career record of 1,009-661-5.

Mercyhurst is picked to win the division, followed by Seton Hill, California, Gannon, Pitt-Johnstown, SRU, Indiana and Clarion.

SRU opens its season Feb. 29 against West Virginia State at Critchfield Park, which will have artificial turf this season.

[naviga:h3]Mars grad Cimini gets soccer honor[/naviga:h3]

NEW WILMINGTON — Mars graduate Nick Cimini, a senior midfielder on the Westminster College men’s soccer team, made first team All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference this past season.

Cinini scored two goals for the Titans. He will be graduating this spring with a degree in biology.

[naviga:h3]Pettersson agrees to deal with Pens[/naviga:h3]

PITTSBURGH — Marcus Pettersson is sticking with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 23-year-old defenseman agreed to a five-year contract extension on Tuesday that runs through the 2024-25 season. The deal carries an average annual value of just over $4 million.

Pittsburgh acquired Pettersson in a December 2018 trade that sent forward Daniel Sprong to Anaheim. Pettersson has become one of the steadiest players on the Penguins’ blue line over the last 13 months. He has one goal and 14 assists in 50 games this season with a plus-4 rating. He also ranks fourth on the team in hits (78) and blocked shots (57).

[naviga:h3]Halep cruises at Australian Open[/naviga:h3]

MELBOURNE, Australia — Simona Halep spent her off-season away from home for the first time so she could focus fully on 2020 and her quest for a third major title.

She’s within two wins of achieving that goal already after breezing into the Australian Open semifinals with a 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 28-seeded Anett Kontaveit in 53 minutes on Wednesday.

Halep worked for every point and strangled Kontaveit’s opportunities. She only faced one break point and fended it off with a commanding forehand winner.