Archery and baseball were in the spotlight for Penn College athletics over the past week. Saturday and Sunday, Wildcat archers stood out as they hosted the Eastern Intercollegiate Championships by recording three individual firsts, two team firsts and had 14 named to the All-East team.
And in one of its best weeks ever, the Penn College baseball team went 6-0 outscoring its opponents 94-14 and clinched a postseason Penn State University Athletic Conference playoff berth. Tuesday games at Penn State Brandywine will determine the Wildcats' playoff seed for the tournament, scheduled Thursday through Saturday at Pullman Park in Butler.
ArcheryScoring individual first-place finishes over the weekend were Matthew Cummings, of Mountville, in men's compound; Kelvin Dewalt, of Easton, in men's bowhunter; and Kendel Baier, of Jersey Shore, in women's bowhunter.
Also individually for the Wildcats, Zachary Bixby, of Gillett, was second, and Justus Leimbach, of Westminster, Md., was fourth in men's compound; Nicole Lapinski, of Bloomsburg, was second in women's recurve; Glen Thomas, of Mercer, was second in men's recurve; Jordan McGowan, of Carlisle, was second, and Joe Dowdrick, of Lebanon, was third in men's bowhunter; and Brianna Batykefer, of Butler, was second, and Eileen McKinney, of New Brighton, was fourth in women's bowhunter.
Although she didn't place, Wildcat Carrie Eichenlaub, of Neelyton, eliminated highly ranked Kathryn Holmes, of James Madison University, in a sudden-death elimination round shoot-off Sunday.
Penn College's mixed and women's compound teams scored firsts. Competing in mixed competition were Lapinski and Clint Hinton, of Lock Haven, and on the women's compound squad were Ashley Baker, of Coudersport; Rebecca Boyer, of Palmerton; and Lapinski.
Scoring second-place team finishes were Dewalt and Baier in mixed bowhunter; Bixby, Cummings and Leimbach in men's compound; and Dewalt, Dowdrick and McGowan in men's bowhunter.
Wildcat archers earning All-East honors, and their finishes, were Baier (women's bowhunter, 1), Batykefer (women's bowhunter, 2) and McKinney (women's bowhunter, 4); Dewalt (men's bowhunter, 1), McGowan (men's bowhunter, 2) and Dowdrick (men's bowhunter, 4); Lapinski (women's compound, 2) and Baker (women's compound, 4); Thomas (men's recurve, 2); and, in men's compound, Andrew Everett, of New Market, Md., 2; Bixby, 3; Leimbach, 4; Cummings, 5; and Hinton, 6.
"Our team did extremely well. I'm very pleased with all of the individuals and how they placed," coach Brian Parker said.
"For my first time hosting this tournament it went very, very well. I'm very pleased," Parker added, noting that 95 individuals and nine teams competed.
One weekend earlier, in the New England Collegiate Archery Tournament at Storrs, Conn., Penn College took home six firsts. Bixby won the men's compound competition while McGowan captured the men's bowhunter division. Penn College also took team firsts in men's compound, men's bowhunter, mixed recurve and mixed bowhunter.
Baseball In nonleague action Tuesday at Luzerne Community College, Cody Buterbaugh, of Conestoga, had five hits and five runs batted in as the Wildcats took both games of a twin bill by scores of 8-3 and 15-6. Jarod Bull, of Jacobus, and Brian Santangelo, of Middletown, Conn., were the winning pitchers. In the opener, Skylar Gingrich, of Lititz, went 3 for 4 at the plate and drove in four runs while Kevin Fink, of Hatfield, had two hits and plated a pair of runs. Gingrich smashed a three-run homer in the seventh inning of the second game, during which Buterbaugh had three hits and all of his RBI.
Returning to Penn State University Athletic Conference action on Thursday, Penn College swept Penn State Scranton 27-0 in four innings and 13-0. Jacob Wrenn, of Granville, Mass., with nine strikeouts, and Phil Carnevale, of Carteret, N.J., were the winning pitchers. Gingrich finished with eight RBI in the two games, including a two-run homer in the first game. Thomas Hughes, of Easton; Zachary Buterbaugh, of Conestoga; and Jared Johnson, of Wyalusing, all had three hits in the opener. In the second game, Zachary Weil, of Kutztown, hit his first home run as a Wildcat.
The Wildcats completed their week with a Saturday sweep of Penn State Wilkes-Barre by scores of 15-4 and 16-1, both in five innings, to improve to 22-9 overall and 13-3 in the conference. In the opener, Garrett Hornung, of Emporium, cracked two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in eight runs. In the second game, Gingrich had two hits in two at-bats and drove in a pair of runs while Hughes and Weil both drove in three runs. Santangelo was the winning pitcher in the first game and Zachary Yetter, of Thompsontown, was the winner in the second.
During the week, it was announced that sophomore Josh Longsderff, of Columbia, was named the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and PSUAC Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 15. In his only start, against Penn State Greater Allegheny, Longsderff made history by pitching Penn College's first-ever perfect game. In three appearances after starting the season late while recovering from injury, he is 2-0 record with a 1.00 earned run average with 18 strikeouts and a .115 opponent batting average.
In the most recent USCAA Coaches' Poll, Penn College is ranked No. 8.
SoftballOn Tuesday in nonleague action at Luzerne County Community College, Penn College fell by scores of 4-1 and 6-5. The Wildcats committed six errors in the two games that allowed seven unearned runs to score.
Closing out their season Thursday against Penn State Scranton, Penn College won by scores of 6-4 and 6-2 to finish 6-24 overall and 5-11 in the PSUAC. Pitchers Lacy Lose, of Avis, and Emily Yoder, of Catawissa, each recorded wins with Lose fanning 12 in the first game. Pacing the team's offense in the first game was Stephanie Keifrider, of Douglassville, who was 3 for 4 at the plate with one run batted in. Stephanie Koleno, of Moshannon, was 3 for 4 with three RBI and a run scored in the nightcap as the Wildcats finished seventh in the PSUAC.
Coming into the season with just two returnees, coach Roger Harris knew his team had its work cut out.
"We're playing for next year. We're looking at picking up some good girls to give us a boost," said the coach, in his 11th season.
Schedule/Results/Records Archery May 17-20 U.S. Intercollegiate Archery Championships at Harrisonburg, Va.
Baseball Overall record: 22-9 PSUAC record: 13-3 Tuesday, April 17 at Luzerne County Community College, W, 8-3; W, 15-6 Thursday, April 19 host Penn State Scranton, W, 27-0; W, 13-0 Saturday, April 21 host Penn State Wilkes-Barre, W, 15-4; W, 16-1 Tuesday, April 24 at Penn State Brandywine (2), 2 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 26-28 PSUAC Championships at Pullman Park, Butler TBA
Softball Final overall record: 6-24 Final PSUAC record: 5-11 Tuesday, April 17 at Luzerne County Community College, L, 4-1; L, 6-5 Thursday, April 19 host Penn State Scranton, W, 6-4; W, 6-2
Vol. 10, No. 36