College update: Former Spartans standouts doing well on diamond

The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.

Catherine Horner (La Cañada High, 2012) University of Tulsa sophomore: A two-time CIF Southern Section champion with the Spartans, Horner is now a steady contributor to a torrid Tulsa lineup.

Horner is one of seven Tulsa starters hitting .300 or higher. Through 39 games and 36 starts, Horner is batting .314 (32 for 102) for the No. 15-ranked team in the nation, which owned a 41-5 record heading into Wednesday action against Oklahoma State.

The catcher had a productive day on Friday in a doubleheader sweep over Texas-San Antonio. In a pair of Hurricane wins, Horner went two for seven with two walks, a run and five runs batted in.

For the season, Horner has 17 runs, 23 RBI, five doubles and four home runs.

Anna Edwards (La Cañada High, 2011) Northwestern softball junior: Northwestern is currently surging with Edwards in the middle of the lineup and infield.

The shortstop is once again a mainstay in the starting lineup as the Wildcats have won six straight games.

Edwards, a former All-CIF and All-Area selection who was a focal point in La Cañada’s 2011 championship run, has started all 40 of her team’s games. She’s hitting .274 (31 for 113) with 24 runs, six doubles, three home runs, 24 RBI, 22 walks and a .399 on-base percentage.

Northwestern is 29-11 and 11-6 in the Big Ten heading into Friday’s game at Ohio State.

Lauren O’Leary (La Cañada High, 2011) Georgetown University softball junior: O’Leary, who was a dominating force in the circle for the Spartans in a 2011 CIF championship run, is splitting time with Megan Hyson in the circle for Georgetown.

Thus far, she’s appeared in 25 games (20 starts) and sports a 9-9 record.

O’Leary has thrown 13 complete games with three shutouts. Over 123 innings, she’s garnered a 3.81 earned-run average with 79 strikeouts to 34 walks.

Georgetown is 21-20 and 8-7 in the Big East Conference heading into Thursday’s nonconference home game against Towson.

Kevin Swick (La Cañada native) USC baseball senior: The third baseman is putting together a terrific season, hitting .313 over 35 games — all starts.

Swick, a Loyola High product, leads USC with 20 runs, 45 hits and nine doubles. He’s also driven in 16 runs and walked 11 times for a .371 on-base percentage.

In Tuesday’s 10-4 win over Hawaii, Swick, batting leadoff, went two for four with three runs, one RBI and a walk.

On March 4, Swick was named the PAC-12 Player of the Week after going seven for 12 in a three-game span.

Heading into Thursday’s conference game at UCLA, the Trojans have won six games in a row. They are 21-17 and 9-9 in conference.

Mark Saatzer (St. Francis High, 2010) Chapman baseball senior: Saatzer is turning in a memorable season to say the least.

Hitting at a .459 clip for the season, the former All-Area honoree was riding a nine-game hitting streak heading into Wednesday’s Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tilt at Caltech.

During his hitting streak, Saatzer is 17 for 32 with six multi-hit games, 13 runs scored, four doubles, an astounding three triples, two home runs and 10 runs batted in.

Perhaps most impressive and telling is that Saatzer’s hitting streak has coincided with Chapman’s nine-game winning streak, as the team has run its record to 25-10 and 18-6 in the SCIAC.

Saatzer, who’s a fixture at the three-spot in the order and first base in the field, has played in all 35 of his team’s games with a team-leading 61 hits, 37 runs, six home runs, 10 doubles, three triples, 36 RBI, 20 walks, a .459 batting average and a .714 slugging percentage.

Kareem Ismail (Flintridge Prep, 2013) Macalester basketball freshman: Ismail earned a spot on the five-player Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Freshman team.

Having reached double-digits in scoring 18 times, Ismail averaged 11.6 points per game, which was second-best on his team. He led the Scots with 5.8 rebounds per game and earned conference player of the week once during the season.

Malcalester struggled mightily, going 4-21 and 3-17 in conference.

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Follow Grant Gordon on Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon.