page 10 - The Behrend College Beacon - Thursday, March 4, 1999 SPRING Behrend baseball hustle by Jason Snyder sports editor The Behrend Lions baseball team enters the 1999 season with hopes of continuing to build on a program that is on the rise. The Lions are coming off their winningest season in the history of the college with a 23-10 record. The Behrend men hope to compete for the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship in only their second season in the conference. The Lions are coached by Paul Benim, who is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the baseball team. In his first three seasons, Benim has put together a talented team that could vie for the AMCC championship. Benim is assisted by Matt Palisin and Marc Burchanowski. The Lions enter this season on a high note, winning twelve of their last fourteen games and are riding a six game winning streak. The 1998 team broke records in pitching strike outs (240), runs scored (263), batting average (.332). RBl’s (227), stolen bases (120, ranked nationally), and single game records Softball team looking forward to 1999 season under Jacobelli by Jessica Tucci associate editor The weather might not be show ing it, but softball season starts in less then two weeks. The season opens up on March 20 with Mount Union, and is finished on April 22 at Waynesburg. Head coach Cindy Jacobelli is very optimistic about her second Men’s golf team to open season with trip to Myrtle Beach by Will Jordan editor in chief The 1999 spring varsity men's golf season begins in the near fu ture. The team will be playing in seven tournaments this spring. “On an average we finish second or third in the tournaments that we are in. The talent in our league is fairly dis tributed for the most part and there is some competition for us.” said team captain Jason Cujas, 08 MIS. This weekend, the team leaves for Myrtle Beach this weekend and will be returning on Friday. The other team captain, Brian Shellito, 08 MIS, said, “I think we’ll be com petitive. We lost our number one man last semester because he gradu- Spring Sports ‘99 Schedule Date March 7-14 March 8 March 9 March 11 March 12 March 12 March 17 March 23 March 27 March 28 | March 31 | April 3 | April 6 | April 8 ■ April 10 I April II April 13 I April 15 ■ April 17 I April 18 | April 21 ■ April 23-24 I April 27 April 30 I May 8-9 - May 19-23 to top of in runs (20) and stolen bases (11) Behrend enters the 1999 season behind the leadership of senior Ryan Smith. Smith comes off a 1998 season that saw him bat .312 with 41 runs and 26 RBl’s. On the mound, Smith recorded a 4-1 record and a 1.37 ERA. The Lions will also get leadership from their five juniors. Jeremy Brubaker, Ryan Frederick, Shaun Headley, Corey Walters, and Dave Williams add .... .11 i u a . , . , . , e this season and about going down ated, but we stdl have three seniors so and we get a head start on several of ° there will be leadership on the team. I the other teams by going down to think that we play better in the spring Myrtle Beach. lam very excited about BASEBALL Opponent Time (a Spring Training - Fori hcrcc, Florida Anna Maria College (DH) 9:30 p.m Christopher Newport University (DH) 12:00 p.m. Lebanon Valley College (DH) 9:00 p.m. William Penn College (S) 12:30 p.m. Norwich University (S) 8:00 p.m. Allegheny College (S) 2:3()p.m. Carroll University (S) 1:00p.m. College Tournament, Tennessee Chowan College (S) 1:00 p.m. Maryville College (S) 4:00 p,in. W. River Falls (S) 10:00 p.m. TBA iS) Oherlin College (DH) (4>Alioona (DH) 1:00 p.m. Pin-(ireenshurg University (DH) 1:00 p.m. W 1 Piu-Bradford University (DH) 1:00 p.m. (a) Frosthurg Stale University (DH) 1:00 p.m. («f Hilbert College (DH) I.aßoche College (DH) drove City College (DH) 1:00 p.m. (a> Piti-Oreenshurg Univ. (DH) 1:00 p.m. Pitt-Bradford University (DH) 1:00p.m. Altoona (DH) 1:00 p.m AMCC Conference Tournament TBA ( Buffalo Stale @ Allegheny Lake F,rie Frostburg W Geneva (q> Pitt-Bradford OP Waynesburg AMCC Championships Grove City Sports preparation for the season. Speaking on the importance of the trip, Benim realizes the value of good southern weather and said, “We’ve got some good teams we will be playing down there.” He added, "The main thing is to prepare for the northern schedule, try to evaluate people and give people and oppontunity.” After the trip, the Lions will open their regular season schedule hosting Allegheny College on March 18, at 1:00 p.m. "March is going to be a great test,” said Benim. AMCC play will begin on April 6, as the Lions will host Pitt-Greensburg. The AMCC tournament will be on April 24-25, followed by the ECAC Championships on May 8 if the Lions are to qualify. consists of four sophomores and sixteen freshmen. Behrend’s pitching staff will consist of Ryan Frederick, coming off a 1998 season that saw him strike out 55 batters in 48 2/3 innings Supporting Frederick will be Ryan Smith, Shaun Headley Dale February 27 March 27 April 10 April 17 April 24 May I May 5 May 9 May 20-22 In the AMCC conference, the Behrend men see Frostburg State as their toughest opponent. The Lions know an AMCC Championship win must go through Frostburg. Behrend’s annual goal is simple in words, but challenging in action. "We want to be Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Champions! We want to be the most hustling team in NCAA Division 111 Baseball!" season and coached a 16-19 overall season her first year as coach last sea- In the 1998 inaguraul season, this past fall, the team finished third w ith a record of 11-4. “The team seems to be ready for the challenging sea son ahead." concluded Jacohelli. TRACK AND FIELD Site Slippery Rock University Relays Clarion University Invitational Geneva College Quadrangular lUP Invitational Slippery Rock Invitational Baldwin Wallace Invitational Grove City Qualifier Clarion Last Chance Meet Mid-Atlantic Regionals NCAA D-11l Nationals <$ Baldwin Wallace PREVIEW Track Field set for inaugural season courtesy of Penn State Behrend Athletics Department This spring marks the inaugural season for Track & Field as an official varsity sport at Behrend. The program has been well received, and currently there are sixty athletes on the roster. The total is comprised of 40 men and 20 women, with all events covered. The enthusiasm and commitment of these athletes has been very exciting for everyone involved, and several of the Behrend athletes have an opportunity to make a run for Regional and National honors. The schedule for this first season is highly competitive, as the majority of competition the Behrend thin clads will face will be NCAA Division II schools. One of the highlights on the schedule is the quadrangular at Geneva College, which will pit Behrend against Behrend track and field coach, Rich Hoffman March 7-14 and team Geneva, NCAA DII Westminster, and NCAA DI St. Francis. Although there is currently no track facility on campus, by the fall ot 2000 the new fieldhouse complex should be completed, and that facility will contain an indoor training track plus specific areas for the various field high school facilities The Head Coach for Track & Field and Cross Country is Rich Hoffman, a former All-District. All- Conference. and Academic All- American distance runner at Davis & Elkins College. He has previously coached at West Liberty State College, Cameron High School, and last year at Hiram College, where he coached the distance runners, jumpers, and throwers. Hoffman has guided several athletes to All- Conference status in previous coaching stmts, and was named this past fall as the AMCC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year. TENNIS Spring Tup to Hilton Head Allegheny Grove City Penn State Altoona (