Ticker goes here
Notables
Messiah claims Commonwealth title
A 7-3, winner-take-all victory over Elizabethtown gave the Falcons the 2008 MAC Commonwealth Championship and a trip to NCAA Regional play.
The Blue Jays had forced a second game in the title round with a 2-0 victory over the Falcons, as senior Chris Minakowski tossed a four-hitter in his second career start.
Messiah scored four runs in the top of the second inning and added single runs in the fifth, seventh and ninth to win the conference for the first time since 2005.
Craig Mease led the Falcons by going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Ben Kirk went 2-for-5 and Jon Shenk finished 2-for-4 as Messiah outhit Elizabethtown 11-8.
Stoltzfus (4-4) allowed eight hits and struck out two in his second complete game in nine starts this season. The Falcons took two out of three games with the Blue Jays in the tournament after being swept in three games in the regular season series.
Junior Adam Sheibley led the Blue Jays (26-12) by going 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored, while sophomore Ben Yeager (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) finished 3-for-4.
Permalink | May 04, 2008
Heidelberg won their second consecutive OAC regular season championship.
Despite battling rain throughout the afternoon a few rays of sunshine shown through allowing nationally-ranked Heidelberg and ninth-year head coach Matt Palm to sweep a doubleheader over visiting John Carroll at Peaceful Valley and earn the program's second-consecutive, third overall, Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championship. Heidelberg won game one 3-2 and posted the sweep with a 3-2 win in 11 innings in the nightcap.
Simpson (25-14) swept Bethel (20-16) in a doubleheader to end the 2008 regular season May 3 in Arden Hills, Minn. The Storm won the opener 21-8 as the squad smacked five home runs and recorded 20 hits. Jason McClaflin established a school record for most hits in a game as he went 5-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI’s. McClaflin also scored four runs. Jeff Kinkel-Schuster pounded out three hits (3-for-4) and two RBI’s.
Nick Hahn picked up two wins and Southern Maine came from behind in both games to sweep Western Connecticut State, 12-10 and 9-5, in a Little East Conference baseball doubleheader on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the USM Baseball Stadium. The second game was called after seven-and-a-half innings because of darkness. The sweep extends the Huskies’ current winning streak to six games, and lifts their record to 29-10. The Colonials slip to 17-23.
Simpson (25-14) swept Bethel (20-16) in a doubleheader to end the 2008 regular season May 3 in Arden Hills, Minn. The Storm won the opener 21-8 as the squad smacked five home runs and recorded 20 hits. Jason McClaflin established a school record for most hits in a game as he went 5-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI’s. McClaflin also scored four runs. Jeff Kinkel-Schuster pounded out three hits (3-for-4) and two RBI’s.
Nick Hahn picked up two wins and Southern Maine came from behind in both games to sweep Western Connecticut State, 12-10 and 9-5, in a Little East Conference baseball doubleheader on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the USM Baseball Stadium. The second game was called after seven-and-a-half innings because of darkness. The sweep extends the Huskies’ current winning streak to six games, and lifts their record to 29-10. The Colonials slip to 17-23.
Permalink | May 04, 2008
Keystone earns playoff berth with NEAC Title.
Keystone captured the 2008 NEAC baseball title in dominating fashion, downing top seed Cazenovia 16-3 in the title game. The Giants, who finished a perfect 3-0 at the conference championship, outscored their opponents by a 40-9 margin. By winning the conference title, the Giants earn an automatic berth into the 2008 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships. Keystone won the conference title last year but in their fila year of provisional status, they had to sit out the playoffs and second place Villa Julie took the automatic bid.
Head coach Lee Driggers said after a Friday win that he didn¹t think McMurry was in the driver¹s seat. However, after a 9-7 win over Concordia-Texas in the winner¹s bracket games Saturday, McMurry will enter championship Sunday as the only team without a loss in the American Southwest Conference Championship Round. McMurry faced the Tornados and took the quickest route possible to the championship day. Stephen Derrick hit his second 3-run home run in as many days and Steven Yurchick & Derek David each hit solo home runs in the eighth to provide insurance for the win. Earlier in the day, Texas-Tyler rebounded from a Friday loss to eliminate Mississippi in a 6-3 win but lost an elimination game to Concordia-Texas 7-3. Concordia-Texas must defeat McMurry twice on Sunday to win the ASC tournament.
The fourth day of competition in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Baseball Tournament is now complete, and only two teams remain to battle for the championship on Sunday, May 4. Third-seeded Western New England eliminated Salve Regina 9-1, to remain unbeaten thus far in tournament play. Top-seeded Roger Williams played host to Wentworth and were able to come away with a win in the first game 9-8 to stay alive, then dropped the second elimination game 9-3 to the Leopards. As the highest remaining seed Western New England will host fourth-seeded Wentworth to determine The Commonwealth Coast Championship. In regular season play, Western New England hosted the Leopards and swept the two-game set with Wentworth.
Joe Bartlinski tossed his fourth complete game of the season as Kean edged New Jersey, 5-4, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday afternoon at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium in Newark, N.J. The loss for the Lions (28-10) eliminates them from the NJAC Tournament, after winning the same event for the past three seasons. Kean improves to 32-9 with the win and will advance to take on Rowan. The Profs’ left hander Joe Cichy pitched 7.2 innings, allowing on earned run with eight strikeouts en route to a 14-6 win over William Paterson to advance in the winners bracket of the NJAC tournament. Rob Bowness had a two-run home run before Kevin Cuozzi delivered the game-winning two-run single with two out in the top of the tenth as Montclair State held off Richard Stockton, 7-5. The Red Hawks (24-15) survived the first elimination game to move on to play William Paterson. Richard Stockton (22-14), making just its second NJAC tournament appearance in its 15th year of competition was eliminated with the loss.
Top-seeded Castleton rallied from a 4-2 2 deficit with three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to eliminate Elms 8-6 in the first elimination game of the North Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Szot Park. Husson advanced to the championship game with a 2-1 victory over Thomas. Castleton will play Husson on Sunday in teh championship game after defeating Thomas 10-9 late Saturday.
Head coach Lee Driggers said after a Friday win that he didn¹t think McMurry was in the driver¹s seat. However, after a 9-7 win over Concordia-Texas in the winner¹s bracket games Saturday, McMurry will enter championship Sunday as the only team without a loss in the American Southwest Conference Championship Round. McMurry faced the Tornados and took the quickest route possible to the championship day. Stephen Derrick hit his second 3-run home run in as many days and Steven Yurchick & Derek David each hit solo home runs in the eighth to provide insurance for the win. Earlier in the day, Texas-Tyler rebounded from a Friday loss to eliminate Mississippi in a 6-3 win but lost an elimination game to Concordia-Texas 7-3. Concordia-Texas must defeat McMurry twice on Sunday to win the ASC tournament.
The fourth day of competition in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Baseball Tournament is now complete, and only two teams remain to battle for the championship on Sunday, May 4. Third-seeded Western New England eliminated Salve Regina 9-1, to remain unbeaten thus far in tournament play. Top-seeded Roger Williams played host to Wentworth and were able to come away with a win in the first game 9-8 to stay alive, then dropped the second elimination game 9-3 to the Leopards. As the highest remaining seed Western New England will host fourth-seeded Wentworth to determine The Commonwealth Coast Championship. In regular season play, Western New England hosted the Leopards and swept the two-game set with Wentworth.
Joe Bartlinski tossed his fourth complete game of the season as Kean edged New Jersey, 5-4, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday afternoon at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium in Newark, N.J. The loss for the Lions (28-10) eliminates them from the NJAC Tournament, after winning the same event for the past three seasons. Kean improves to 32-9 with the win and will advance to take on Rowan. The Profs’ left hander Joe Cichy pitched 7.2 innings, allowing on earned run with eight strikeouts en route to a 14-6 win over William Paterson to advance in the winners bracket of the NJAC tournament. Rob Bowness had a two-run home run before Kevin Cuozzi delivered the game-winning two-run single with two out in the top of the tenth as Montclair State held off Richard Stockton, 7-5. The Red Hawks (24-15) survived the first elimination game to move on to play William Paterson. Richard Stockton (22-14), making just its second NJAC tournament appearance in its 15th year of competition was eliminated with the loss.
Top-seeded Castleton rallied from a 4-2 2 deficit with three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to eliminate Elms 8-6 in the first elimination game of the North Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Szot Park. Husson advanced to the championship game with a 2-1 victory over Thomas. Castleton will play Husson on Sunday in teh championship game after defeating Thomas 10-9 late Saturday.
Permalink | May 03, 2008
Wayde Kitchens pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 17 on Friday.
Tim Kiely and Chandler Barnard combined to allow six hits and no walks with 20 strikeouts and Ryan Piacentini went 4-for-8 with four runs scored and three RBI to lead Trinity (Conn.) to a 141, 11-1 doubleheader sweep against Wesleyan (Conn.). Trinity finishes the regular season with a perfect, 34-0 record and sets a new NCAA Division III mark for consecutive wins to start a season. Johns Hopkins held the previous record of 33-0 but no Division III team had completed its regular season schedule without a loss in the modern era until today. Last year, in its final year of provisional status, Texas-Tyler won 35 straight games to start the season. Wesleyan falls to 15-21.
Wheaton (Mass.) scored 10 times between the third and fifth innings to break open a tie game during an 11-2 victory against Johnson & Wales on Saturday during Senior Day in Sidell Stadium. The Lyons, improved to 32-8 in their regular season finale, while the Wildcats slipped to 24-18.
The University of Dallas lost the first game of the doubleheader this afternoon 3-1 to Chapman. Despite getting one of the best pitching performances of the year from Phillip Carkhuff, the Crusaders couldn't quite get over the top. Carkhuff pitched a complete game allowing just three runs while striking out four. In the end, the Crusaders couldn't overcome the pitching by Chapman, leading to the close loss.
Eric Redding’s one-out single in the ninth inning scored the game-winning run in the second game of a doubleheader and RPI swept a Liberty League twinbill from Skidmore at Robison Field. RPI won the first game, 3-1, behind a complete game by Joe Zongol before twice coming back for a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.
Wheaton (Mass.) scored 10 times between the third and fifth innings to break open a tie game during an 11-2 victory against Johnson & Wales on Saturday during Senior Day in Sidell Stadium. The Lyons, improved to 32-8 in their regular season finale, while the Wildcats slipped to 24-18.
The University of Dallas lost the first game of the doubleheader this afternoon 3-1 to Chapman. Despite getting one of the best pitching performances of the year from Phillip Carkhuff, the Crusaders couldn't quite get over the top. Carkhuff pitched a complete game allowing just three runs while striking out four. In the end, the Crusaders couldn't overcome the pitching by Chapman, leading to the close loss.
Eric Redding’s one-out single in the ninth inning scored the game-winning run in the second game of a doubleheader and RPI swept a Liberty League twinbill from Skidmore at Robison Field. RPI won the first game, 3-1, behind a complete game by Joe Zongol before twice coming back for a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.
Permalink | May 03, 2008
Bridgewater State beat Salem State but a loss to Westfield State ended their season.
J.T. Mooney was 3 for 5 with a double, homer and three RBI, and pitcher Martin Anderson threw a complete game to power Bridgewater State to a 9-3 victory over Salem State (25-15) in the MASCAC Conference tournament. The loss was Salem's second in the double-elimination tournament and ended the Vikings season.
In the winners bracket final, Corey Abbascia was 3 for 3 with a double and three RBI to lead Worcester State (22-16) to a 6-1 victory over Westfield State.
Justin Parr was 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI, and Jeff Fields pitched a strong
seven innings to lead Westfield State (22-14-1) to a 5-2 victory over Bridgewater State(23-15).
Westfield State advances to the championship game against Worcester State scheduled on Sunday. The Lancers must win one of two games tomorrow against Westfield State to capture the MASCAC tournament championship and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
In the winners bracket final, Corey Abbascia was 3 for 3 with a double and three RBI to lead Worcester State (22-16) to a 6-1 victory over Westfield State.
Justin Parr was 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI, and Jeff Fields pitched a strong
seven innings to lead Westfield State (22-14-1) to a 5-2 victory over Bridgewater State(23-15).
Westfield State advances to the championship game against Worcester State scheduled on Sunday. The Lancers must win one of two games tomorrow against Westfield State to capture the MASCAC tournament championship and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Permalink | May 03, 2008
PnAC settles on a new name
Commissioner Amy Frankenstein-Friedman announced that the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) will be changing its name to the Colonial States Athletic Conference effective July 1, 2008.
With the new name comes a massive rebranding effort that aims to change the identity of the conference.
"This is an exciting time for the conference," Frankenstein-Friedman said. "The new name recognizes that we have member schools that are not in Pennsylvania. And, after years of being confused with other conferences that are similarly named, we will be able to create a new identity and really stand out from the crowd."
The PAC's Marketing and Re-branding Committee, composed of administrators and student-athletes from member institutions, conducted two surveys to obtain feedback on what features were important in a conference name. More than 1,200 visitors looked at the surveys, and more than 800 completed them.
With feedback from the first survey coming from other conference commissioners, student-athletes, parents, alumni, current students, faculty and staff, the committee was able to create a list of 10 possible names. That list was the basis of the second survey, in which respondents ranked the names in order of preference.
"We learned from the surveys that it was important for the new name to be representative of not only our member institutions, but also our location," said the commissioner. "It was also important that the historical significance of the area be represented somehow. I think we've accomplished that."
The top four names were presented to the conference athletic directors to be ranked, and then to the board of directors for a final vote. With the name cleared, the conference is moving forward with logo development. As the conference moves forward, more information will be made available.
As of July 1, the member institutions of the Colonial States Athletic Conference will be: Baptist Bible, Cabrini, Cedar Crest, Centenary, Notre Dame (Md.), Gwynedd-Mercy, Keystone, Immaculata, Marywood, Neumann, Rosemont and Philadelphia Bible. Shenandoah will continue as an associate member in men's lacrosse.
With the new name comes a massive rebranding effort that aims to change the identity of the conference.
"This is an exciting time for the conference," Frankenstein-Friedman said. "The new name recognizes that we have member schools that are not in Pennsylvania. And, after years of being confused with other conferences that are similarly named, we will be able to create a new identity and really stand out from the crowd."
The PAC's Marketing and Re-branding Committee, composed of administrators and student-athletes from member institutions, conducted two surveys to obtain feedback on what features were important in a conference name. More than 1,200 visitors looked at the surveys, and more than 800 completed them.
With feedback from the first survey coming from other conference commissioners, student-athletes, parents, alumni, current students, faculty and staff, the committee was able to create a list of 10 possible names. That list was the basis of the second survey, in which respondents ranked the names in order of preference.
"We learned from the surveys that it was important for the new name to be representative of not only our member institutions, but also our location," said the commissioner. "It was also important that the historical significance of the area be represented somehow. I think we've accomplished that."
The top four names were presented to the conference athletic directors to be ranked, and then to the board of directors for a final vote. With the name cleared, the conference is moving forward with logo development. As the conference moves forward, more information will be made available.
As of July 1, the member institutions of the Colonial States Athletic Conference will be: Baptist Bible, Cabrini, Cedar Crest, Centenary, Notre Dame (Md.), Gwynedd-Mercy, Keystone, Immaculata, Marywood, Neumann, Rosemont and Philadelphia Bible. Shenandoah will continue as an associate member in men's lacrosse.
Permalink | May 03, 2008
Brockport's Rob Maxwell drove home a run in the 3-2 defeat to Oneonta.
Andersen Gardner went 4-for-4 with a walk to lead Cortland's 20-hit attack and the nationally second-ranked Red Dragons opened play in the SUNYAC baseball tournament with a 15-7 victory over Plattsburgh. The Red Dragons (34-3) extended their school-record win streak to 30 games and will play Oneonta in a winner's bracket game Saturday. Khyle Dimino finished 3-for-5 and Steve Nickel was 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBI. Mike Zaccardo, John Zilnicki and Joey Russo each finished with two hits, with both of Russo's hits being doubles. Zack Welch led Plattsburgh (15-20) by going 3-for-4 with a double. Erik Schwind was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Kyle Kowalowski and Jared Jarvis were each 2-for-5.
In the opening game of the SUNYAC baseball tournament, Chris Brady hit a single to left field to drive in Tim Flaherty from second base with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning today to lift Oneonta State to a 3-2 win over Brockport. Flaherty reached on an error to lead off the ninth before being sacrificed to second by Anthony Suhadolnik. Flaherty just beat the throw to the plate on Brady's single as the throw was a bit high and off line.
In the opening game of the SUNYAC baseball tournament, Chris Brady hit a single to left field to drive in Tim Flaherty from second base with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning today to lift Oneonta State to a 3-2 win over Brockport. Flaherty reached on an error to lead off the ninth before being sacrificed to second by Anthony Suhadolnik. Flaherty just beat the throw to the plate on Brady's single as the throw was a bit high and off line.
Permalink | May 03, 2008
Illinois Wesleyan claims CCIW crown
Knox could be part of a historic tie in the Midwest Conference.
The picture for the 2008 Midwest Conference Baseball Championship Tournament could become clearer on Saturday and then again, things may just stay the same. All four South teams: Grinnell, Illinois College, Knox and Monmouth enter the weekend with identical 5-5 conference records. The South regular-season conference finales are set for Saturday, when Knox hosts Illinois College and Monmouth travels to Grinnell, but the odds are against a champion being crowned. Four of the seven possible scenarios based on Saturday's outcomes will require at least one playoff game to decide the South champ, while a pair of splits would leave all four teams at 6-6 and a four-team, three-game, single-elimination qualifying tourney would unfold on Sunday. If the mini-tourney is called upon to crown the South's top team, it would mark the first time in league history that this scenario has ever played out.
La Verne continued its quest for a conference title with an 8-7 triumph over visiting Pomona-Pitzer Friday at Ben Hines Field. Trevor Boucher led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple and eventually scored the game-winning run as the Leopards took the series opener in their final home game of the regular season. The Leopards (23-14-1) led 7-3 before the Sagehens (27-11) scored a run in the seventh and three more in the ninth to knot the contest at 7-7. La Verne collected 10 hits on the afternoon including four doubles. Scott Marcus and Jon-Michael Hattabaugh went 2-4 with a double. Marcus and Jason Munoz each drove in two runs. La Verne remained 1/2 game behind Redlands in the league standings as the Bulldogs topped CMS 8-5. A tie atop the standings between Redlands and La Verne would give the Bulldogs the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a better head-to-head record.
Andrew Decibus was a combined 5-for-8 with eight RBIs, and scored the go-ahead run in game two all the way from second base on a suicide squeeze, and Rob Sumner had five runs and five stolen bases, to break the century mark in swipes, as a senior-laden New Jersey City lineup made the Gothic Knights winners on the final day of the 2008 season, sweeping a non-conference doubleheader from Staten Island, 7-4 and 5-4, Friday night at the Staten IslandBaseball Complex. New Jersey City finished the 2008 season on a four-game winning streak, to conclude the year 14-26 overall while playing a full 40-game schedule for only the second time in school history. Staten Island, which will be the #1 seed in the CUNYAC conference tournament next week, finished the regular season 18-18 overall. New Jersey City won three of four meetings between the schools this season, including the final three games.
Permalink | May 03, 2008
Diplomats to face Johns Hopkins
Matt Kalos tossed a complete-game shutout as Franklin & Marshall defeated Haverford, 6-0, in the opening round of the CC baseball championship.
Elizabethtown advanced to the Commonwealth Conference baseball finals with a 4-3 victory over Widener at Owls Field. The Blue Jays will face Messiah, which moved to the championship round with a 15-4 win against Elizabethtown on Friday afternoon. Elizabethtown must defeat the Falcons twice on Saturday to earn their third consecutive league championship. In the win over Widener, the Blue Jays (25-11 overall) won despite managing just three hits in the contest, and none after the third inning. Adam Hartzell was equally strong on the mound for Elizabethtown, taking a one-hitter into the eighth inning to earn the victory. Widener, which was shut out by Elizabethtown 4-0 in the tournament opener on Thursday, scored in the first inning without a hit as Tom DeAngelis walked, stole second, and scored on a fielder's choice.
Senior Frank Albano pitched a complete game and struck out seven while Jason Monforte drove in two runs as the Manhattanville baseball team defeated Delaware Valley 5-2 in the opening round of the Freedom Conference tournament Friday at Quakertown Memorial Park. Aside from allowing two unearned runs, Albano only allowed one extra base hit and runners advanced past second base twice. For the first 7 1/3 innings, the senior hurler was pitching a shutout until the Aggies scored both their runs in the top of the eighth. In other MAFC tournament action, DeSales defetaed Arcadia 5-4.
Concordia-Texas stunned No. 6-ranked Texas-Tyler in the opening game of the American Southwest Conference Championship Round Friday at Walt Driggers Field with an 8-7 victory. Brian Wernecke homered twice including a clutch 2-run shot in the top of the ninth inning that later proved to be the game-winner. The Patriots responded with back-to-back solo homers before Matt Aubry settled down for the Tornados to pick up his seventh save of the season. Concordia-Texas will take on McMurry. Stephen Derrick and Weston Franco put a charge into McMurry's offense with back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning and the home team went on to defeat Mississippi 10-2 in rhe second game. "You always need to start off the game with one big hit to get on the board," Derrick said of the three-run home run. "I was looking for something to elevate and fortunately I got a lot of it. Then with Weston's right behind me, it picked up the emotion even more."
Permalink | May 03, 2008
Upsets the rule in North Atlantic Conference
Husson posted a 5-3 upset win over No. 1 seeded Castleton in the first game of the NAC tournament.
Centenary fell into the loser's bracket of the 2008 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, after falling to second seeded Gwynedd-Mercy by the final of 6-1. With the loss Centenary will now take on Misericordia. Top-seeded Alvernia hit three home runs and got a solid outing from freshman Chris Stoudt in a 13-1 win over Misericordia.
Mount Saint Vincent was defeated by St. Joseph's (LI) in the Skyline Conference Baseball Tournament by a score of 5-2. The Dolphins out hit the Golden Eagles 10-8 in the game, but made four miscues leading to three unearned runs. Tanner Munroe led the Mount offensive attack with three hits in the contest.
Permalink | May 03, 2008