COLUMBUS – Each time she takes the field, Jesse Machovina is thankful. The St. Clairsville graduate learned during her season away from the diamond just how much she loves the game of softball.

After undergoing shoulder surgery a little more than a year ago, she’s making the most of her return to the Ohio State Buckeyes’ softball team so far in the early going of the season.

“It was definitely tough sitting out,” Machovina said during a phone interview. “I’d been playing (softball) for so long and I’d never had to sit out and just watch.”

Machovina admits she’s not quite 100 percent and is still a work-in-progress, but she’s starting to find her groove at the plate.

“I’ve had a few setbacks (medically),” Machovina said. “I am working out some tendonitis now and I am going through a dry needle kind of thing that’s like acupuncture.”

Where Machovina is struggling to get back into the groove is throwing the ball.

“The velocity and accuracy are there, but it’s pretty painful after I throw the ball,” Machovina confessed. “I am trying not to push it too much because I don’t want to make the pain a lot worse.”

Rounding back into major college athletics shape is another area where Machovina has been working.

“I wasn’t able to do a whole lot when I was in a sling and even after I got out of it, I couldn’t do too much running because of the arm action involved,” Machovina said. “I probably didn’t resume running until four months removed from the sling.

Machovina, who played some in the fall to help get back into the swing of things, has appeared in seven of the Buckeyes’ 13 games and is batting at a .444 clip, which is tops on the team. She got her season started impressively when she drove in the game-winning run against North Florida during the team’s opening weekend of play.

That moment was especially exciting for Machovina, making her realize that the hardwork was worth it.

“I was pumped and all my teammates were pumped for me,” Machovina recalled. “To be my first weekend back and to be able to do something like that was great. I couldn’t have asked for a better moment. It’s actually one of the best moments I’ve had since I’ve been at Ohio State.”

The Buckeyes are off this weekend and travel to Arizona before heading to San Diego over OSU’s spring break week.

“It’s great just being back with the team,” Machovina said. “Last year, I was at the home games, but I was stuck watching the road games on a computer screen because injured players don’t travel.”

Machovina is pursuing a degree in aviation.

“I am a little behind (academically) because of the surgery, too,” Machovina said. “I couldn’t fly for a while, so it took me way longer than it should have to complete one of my courses. I am playing catch up right now.”

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

A pair of Shadyside graduates had highly impressive seasons shooting the basketball at their respective schools.

Former teammates and classmates – Karli Bonar and Hayley Holenka – continued to torch the nets from behind the 3-point line this season at Findlay and Bethany, respectively.

Bonar, who is the state of Ohio’s all-time leader in 3-point goals, finished her junior campaign with 75 treys, breaking her own single-season mark by four.

She’s now the only player in Findlay history to hit 60 or more bonus goals in each of her first three seasons. Her 206 3-pointers ties her for second all-time in the school’s history. She’s 26 behind the record, which has stood since 1999.

Holenka, who was named honorable mention all Presidents’ Athletic Conference, led Bethany in scoring with a 14.1 points per game average. She scored 22 points in the team’s season finale in the PAC Tournament.

She finished the season with 64 treys, which broke the school record for 3-pointers by two makes.

Holenka also averaged 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

BASEBALL

Division I

MICHAEL JACOB, Toledo – The St. Clairsville High product worked a solid ninth inning to record his first collegiate save against UNC Charlotte over the weekend. He allowed an unearned run and struck out a batter in his inning of work to preserve the Rockets’ first victory of the season.

ALEX STEPHENS, Morehead State – The Linsly School product put forth another huge weekend in 3-1 trip to Georgia. He went 10-of-19 at the plate with six RBI, two doubles and a home run. He’s now batting a robust .528 and has 13 RBI., which rank 30th and tied for 19th, respectively, in the NCAA.

MICHAEL GROVE, West Virginia – Wheeling Park graduate appeared in Sunday’s 9-4 victory at UNLV, working an inning out of the bullpen. He allowed two hits, an earned run and a struck out.

ANDREW KOWALO, Liberty – Wheeling Park graduate went 4-11 with two RBI in a 1-2 weekend for the Flames. He had two hits against Duke and a sacrifice fly against Ohio State.

COLTON COSS, Morehead State – Linsly product appeared in two victories last weekend during the trip to Georgia.

Division II

LOGAN HUDSON, Wheeling Jesuit – Shadyside High grad started the Cardinals’ spring break trip opener against Adelphi. He worked three innings and victimized by multiple errors behind him. He allowed only one earned run in suffering the loss.

CODY HUDSON, Wheeling Jesuit – Shadyside High product relieved his brother in the game against Adelphi. He worked two innings and didn’t allow a run.

ARIEN SEYMOUR, Francis-Marion – Linsly grad worked out of the bullpen in a lop-sided loss to Millersville. He allowed a run in only a third of an inning of work.

LEIGHTON GIBSON, Belmont Abbey – Linsly product appeared in one of the three games over the weekend, but didn’t get an at-bat. He was a defensive replacement at first base.

SAM VINCENZO, St. Thomas Aquinas – St. Clairsville product worked five innings to pick up a win against Shepherd on Monday. It was his debut for the New York-based school after spending two years at Potomac State.

Division III

SPENCER BADIA, Baldwin-Wallace – Bellaire High product broke out in a win against Wheaton last Saturday. He was 3-of-4 with a double, triple and three RBI. He also scored twice and stole a base.

SOFTBALL

Division I

KATY ELLZY, Robert Morris – Harrison Central grad is now 2-4 on the season with a team-low 3.26 earned run average in her 10 appearances. She’s made six starts, owns both of the Colonials’ wins and has struck out 22 batters.

Division II

MALLORY CHAPMAN, Wheeling Jesuit – Magnolia grad earned the Cardinals’ first win of the season during their game last weekend against Tiffin in Florida. She struck out eight in the complete-game effort. She also had a RBI single.

WRESTLING

ZACH BROWN, West Liberty – Oak Glen product qualified for the Division II national wrestling tournament by finishing fourth at 125 pounds. He posted a pair of overtime decisions to survive the Atlantic Regional held last weekend in Erie.

SAWYER LEPPLA, Wheeling Jesuit – Cambridge High graduate earned a trip to his first NCAA national tournament thanks to a fourth-place finish at 184 pounds. Leppla is now 9-9 on the season.

Staskey can be reached via email at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com