Two Pennsylvania College of Technology teams are ticketed for postseason playoff action this weekend.
In baseball at Northampton County Community College in Bethlehem on Saturday, the Wildcats of Coach Mike Stanzione will face Bucks County Community College at noon in an Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference semifinal game while Northampton meets Delaware County Community College in an earlier semifinal at 9:30 a.m. The championship game is scheduled for noon Sunday. In case of rain Saturday, games will be played at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Sunday.
In tennis at the West Branch Racquet Club in South Williamsport on Saturday, Penn College players will be among the favorites as the EPCC and Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Conference championships are staged. Action begins at 8:30 a.m.
Baseball While going 5-5 overall during the regular season and posting a 5-2 league record, the Wildcats have gotten the strong pitching and hitting that Stanzione was counting on. But where his team finishes in the tournament will depend on how well it plays defensively.
"The thing that has hurt us is our defense. We're going to get good pitching and we're going to hit enough to stay in the games . . . If we can eliminate mistakes and play error-free baseball, then we will have a chance to win this thing," said Stanzione, who has taken his teams into the playoffs 20 times in 11 seasons.
On the mound, Penn College will rely on Travis Pena (Williamsport), a right-hander, and Andy Roth (Catasauqua), a southpaw. Both have 3-1 records.
Wildcat offensive leaders throughout the season have been Mike Daciw (Sun Valley), Bob Petrosky (Jersey Shore) and Ted Kirner (Central Bucks West).
"Pitching and defense are going to have to keep it close. Then, it's up to our hitters to come through and get some clutch hits. We've outhit a lot of teams we've lost to, we just have to get the hits when the runners are in scoring position," Stanzione said.
"We're glad to be back in the playoffs after a year off. The players have really come along and matured because it's predominately a freshman team," the coach added.
During the regular season, Penn College beat Bucks, 15-5, but lost to Northampton, 5-0, and Delaware, 4-3. Northampton takes a 7-0 league record into the tournament while Penn College and Bucks are 5-2 and Delaware 4-3.
Tennis Adam Cleland (East Pennsboro) will get the nod at No. 1 singles for the Wildcat men and Aaron Capp (Red Lion) at No. 2 singles with Mike Cerisini (Lebanon) and Shawn Connelly (Hempfield) entered in men?s doubles.
For the women, Theresa Burrill (Jersey Shore) will go at No. 1 and Kristy Boyd (Parkland) at 2. They also will team up in doubles, and Baum has high expectations.
"I know we're going to win the women's singles championship because Theresa Burrill is fantastic, and the doubles I think we pretty much have in the bag as well," coach Charlie Baum said. "I'm counting on the women taking over the tournament."