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Softball opens
with wins over
Lady Lions get their first wins of season, move to 2-0 in conference
by Ben Raymond
staff writer
The Lady Lions got their confer
ence season started right with a pair
of wins against Pitt-Greensburg in the
home opener last Saturday. The other
two games against Medaille on Sun
day were not as successful, but they
still seemed to have some positive re
sults.
The women spent a number of
days focusing on their hitting, which
seemed to be their big downfall in
Florida, and were chomping at the bit
to get out and show off their hard
work.
After spending countless days in
the gym practicing due to bad
weather, the women's softball team
was ready to get outside for some full
field practice.
Last weekend the waiting was over
and the Lions got to start their sea
son with double headers against Pitt-
Greensburg on Saturday and Medaille
on Sunday.
The Lady Lions came out swing
ing. and took their first game into
extra innings edging out Pitt-
Greensburg, 6-5.
The Panthers could not recover, and the Lady
Lions took control of the second game, giving
them their second AMCC win. Behrend gave the
Panthers a pasting by the count of 8-0.
The women had a lot of success making con
tact with the ball, including several shots with
warning track power that just barely went foul.
"We had a ton of hits, we just need to work on
getting our hits together rather than a few each
inning. We left a lot of runners stranded on base,"
said senior pitcher Stephanie Covert.
"I think we need to work on getting rid of our
one had inning. It is completely a mental thing
that we need to work on, but that comes with such
Baseball team recovers
after loss to Frostburg
by Kevin Fiorenzo
sports editor
The baseball team lost two games at Frostburg
last Saturday, which put it at a 8-6 record.
In the first game, the Lions fell short by a 2-1
score. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of
the eighth, Frostburg staged a rally and got the
run it needed to pull out the win.
In the game, senior Tony Azzato had a double
for the Lions. The winning pitcher for Frostburg
was Mike Tiller, who had six strikeouts.
The losing pitcher from Behrend was sopho
more Chris McCartney. He pitched 7.1 innings
and gave up five hits and two runs.
In the second game between the two teams,
the Bobcats again emerged victorious in a 6-0
rout.
Frostburg scored five runs in the bottom of the
first and maintained control of the game from
then on, eventually scoring one more run in the
bottom of the fifth to get the easy win. The Lions
had six hits in the game, but none were extra base
hits. The winning pitcher for Frostburg was Brent
Lutz, pitching 5.2 innings with five strikeouts.
The losing pitcher for the Lions was freshman
Brian Hart, pitching 5.1 innings and giving up
one run. The loss dropped the Lions to 8-7 over
all and 1-3 in the AMCC.
The next day, the Lions traveled to Mount
Aloysius for another doubleheader. In these two
games, the Lions were able to improve on the
previous day's events.
Behrend won the first game by a 5-4 score in
Housing & 01:007 4 I
Food Service*
Athlete
of the
Week Lauren Packer
The Lady Lions opened their AMCC season with doubleheader wins against Pitt-Greensburg, 6-5 and
8-0. They are third in the AMCC in ERA at 3.27 and have a .236 team batting average.
,h M 1
SPORTS
a young team."
Although hitting in itself seems to be a decreas
ing obstacle for the Lady Lions, stringing those hits
together seemed to be a little more challenging on
Sunday.
They fell to the women from Medaille College on
Sunday, 8-Sand 3-2. The losses have not left the
Lady Lions in low spirits, however.
The Lady Lions seem to be really coming together
as a team, and though they many of them may be
young they all seem to have the drive to succeed.
"Our team has really great chemistry and we feed
off of each other. We don't have to do anything to
keep ourselves motivated. As long as one of us is,
The Lions continue the conference season
this weekend with a doubleheader at Pitt-
Bradford on Saturday.
10 innings. With the score tied 4-4 going into ex
tra innings, the Lions garnered one run to get the
In the game, sophomore Shane Elzer had three
hits, one of which was a double. Senior Mitch
Reckner, junior Vince Canzano and freshman Gabe
Stephenson each had two hits.
Friday, April 2, 2004
AMCC season
Pitt-Greensburg
- U.
the rest of us will be, too," Covert said
"It's hard knowing how the rest of the season will
go, since I am a freshman and I don't know the
teams. I still think that if we work hard we will
have a great season and do very well," said fresh
man pitcher Sandra Jaussi.
With a constant positive attitude from coaches and
teammates, the improved batting and support from
fans, the Lady Lions stand to do very well in the
AMCC and overall this year.
The Lions host AMCC rivals Penn State Altoona
on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Lake Erie College on
Monday at 3 p.m
Sophomore Greg Samson was the winning
pitcher for the Lions, throwing for six innings with
eight strikeouts and giving up two runs. The los
ing pitcher for Mount Aloysius was Bill Calcagni.
In the second game, the game was a low scoring
affair, 1-1 after six innings. At this point the game
was called because of weather and finished in a
For the game, Azzato had two hits, one of which
was a double. Elzer also had two hits in the game.
The winning pitcher for Behrend was sophomore
pitcher Ray DeVaul, pitching all six innings with
six strikeouts and giving up one run. The losing
pitcher for Mount Aloysius was Joe Hinton.
The win and tie improved Behrenn record to
9-7-1 overall. The team is 1-3 in the AMCC, good
for second to last in the conference.
The Lions are currently leading the conference
in ERA at 4.17 and in triples with 14.
They are also second in runs scored, hits, RBIs
and total bases.
Individually, the Lions are also leading in sev
eral categories. McCartney has the lowest ERA in
the conference at 2.17. He also has thrown 15
strikeouts and has two wins.
Elzer currently leads the AMCC in triples with
four and is batting .370. Senior Adam Best is sev
enth in the conference and leads the Lions in bat
ting average at .372. He also has 16 hits and 10
RBIs.
The Lions' next game will be another AMCC
contest as they take on Pitt-Bradford on Saturday
in a doubleheader.
Sport: Softball g ' Packer is second
Class: Senior eam in batting
Date: March 29, 200 e at .343 and
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lift the team to 2-0 in t 'I a confer-
AMCC conference. Si eat home
making the switch f enn State
women's water polo a n Saturday
three-year starter and at 1 p.m.
Amy Frizzell & Kevin Fiorenzo,
The Behrend Beacon
Senior
Spotlight:
Tara
Braden
by Lauren Packer
editor in chief
Name: Tara Braden
•
Semester: 08
Major: Mechanical Engineering Technology
Beacon: What is your favorite memory from
swimming and water polo?
Braden: The ocean swim during Christmas train
ing my junior year. It was a nice change from do
ing laps in the pool and I love swimming in the
open water. In water polo, it was beating Univer
sity Park at the Junker Center. It was such a huge
upset to beat them. The game was being played on
TV so we were all nervous.
Beacon: What's the best class you've taken at
Behrend?
Braden: My production design lab has been the
best class I've taken at Behrend. I was the only
girl in the lab and my casting part was the only one
to turn out.
Beacon: What do you like to do in your spare
time?
Braden: I enjoy hanging out with my friends and
going out on my dad's sailboat.
Beacon: Describe what it's like when you take
your team out on the sailboat?
Braden: When I take my teammates out on the boat
the wind either is too strong or barely blowing and
at least one person always ends up getting seasick.
Beacon: How does being on the sailboat help
you and your teammates to bond?
Braden: It helps to get to know people better. Be
ing out on the water you learn who's afraid of the
boat leaning over and stuff like that, then everyone
laughs about it. You also have a lot of time to talk
out there.
Beacon: You've made the switch from field
player to goalie in your last season. What has
the adjustment been like for you?
Braden: Playing in the goal is a big change from
playing hole defense. For the most part I've en
joyed the change, especially not having to swim up
and down the pool. I haven't enjoyed getting hit in
the head with the ball.
Beacon: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Braden: In five years I hope to have a good job
that paid for me to go to grad school, be married to
Dario, and maybe planning a family.
Beacon: In five or 10 years, what's a story about
your sports that you will still remember?
Braden: On our way to California last year for
nationals, one of my teammates read her horoscope
and it said she would have transportation problems.
Our first plane was delayed two hours and our sec
ond plane the No. 1 engine stalled and restarted
upon take-off. At the time this happened it wasn't
funny, but now we all laugh so hard when the topic
is brought up.
Beacon: How often do you read the Beacon?
Braden: I read the Beacon every week.