Friday, March 20, 2009
Geoff Lang grew up in
Pittsburgh, Pa. and has been
playing baseball since age
He continued the sport at
North Allegheny High School,
where he was a four-time
scholar athlete and a WPIAL
All-Star in his senior year.
Currently, Lang plays right
field for the Behrend Lions
and has been a major factor
and contributor during the
2009 season.
The Lions had a successful
spring training in Ft. Pierce,
Florida as they went 7-1. The
Blue and White tallied huge
offensive numbers which
included 89 runs, 117 hits, 17
doubles, four triples, and
seven homeruns throughout
the eight games.
"We feel good about where
we are," said Lang. "Being 7-1
is a good start, but we still
have a long way to go. It is a
long season, but if we keep
working hard as a team I am
very confident we will end up
where we want to be in May."
Over the eight game span in
Florida, Lang had a .433 bat
ting average, going 13-for-30.
He contributed two triples and
an inside-the-park home run
throughout the week. He also
hit two home runs, had four
RBI, and went 3-for-5 in a one
run loss to the number twelve
ranked St. Scholastica Saints.
Lang and junior Jonathan
Gray are tied for the team
lead in RBI with 14
Lang has set high personal
goals and expectations for
himself
"My personal goal for this
year is to be a clutch player,"
said Lang. "I want to play a
big role for our team this year.
A successful year for me
would be to hit above .400 and
play solid defense all year
long."
Athlete Spotlight: Geoff Lang
By Christine Newby
sports editor
censos6g psu.edu
In addition to personal
goals, Lang knows that the
Behrend Lions will succeed as
a team.
"Our team goals for this
year are to win the AMCC reg
ular season title, the AMCC
Conference Tournament, and
then win the NCAA Regional
Tournament," said Lang.
"Last year we made it to the
NCAA Regional but lost our
first two games. If we get back
there this year, I know that we
will make some noise and sur
prise some teams. With the
pitching, hitting, defense, and
senior leadership we have, we
are a good enough ball club to
make it to the College World
Series."
Head coach Paul Benim
enters his seventeenth season
at the position for the Lions.
"Coach Benim talks to us
each game before we take the
field to mentally prepare us,"
said Lang. "He always knows
what to say to fire us up and
make us hungry for a win."
Benim has helped Lang with
many aspects of his game.
"Coach Benim has improved
so many areas of my game,"
said Lang. "The biggest thing
he has helped me with is mak
ing sure I am relaxed on the
field. He always tells us you
can't play tight. We are all
grateful to have such a knowl
edgeable coaching staff and
that is one reason why this
year we are going to be so
successful."
The Behrend Lions travel to
Frostburg State on March 21
for a 1 p.m. game. On March
24, the team plays at
Fredonia.
The first home game for the
Blue and White is Wednesday,
March 25 against AMCC
opponent Medaille at 1 p.m
Athlete Spotlight:
Ronson Mazany
Week of March 2, 2009
Week of March 16, 2009
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Sophomore right fielder Geoff Lang takes a swing at the plate
Sophomore Ronson Mazany
was a standout three sport ath
lete throughout high school as
he played basketball, football,
and track and field.
Born in Jamestown, NY and
growing up in Ashville, NY,
Mazany started track and field
in his sophomore year of high
school.
In basketball, he received
the Offensive MVP and was a
member of the 2007
Chautauqua County All-Star
team. Mazany was also award
ed the Offensive MVP in foot
ball along with being a mem
ber of the All-State team. In
track and field, he set school
records in the long jump, triple
jump, and high jump and also
earned three varsity letters.
Mazany continued his suc
cess from high school to the
college level where he com
petes in the long jump, triple
jump, high jump, javelin, and
decathlon for Behrend. The
decathlon consists of ten
events: the 100 meter, long
jump, shot put, high jump, 400
meter, 110 meter hurdles, dis
cus, javelin, and 1500 meter.
Mazany, a management
major, has no rituals or super
stitions before he competes in
his events.
"No rituals or superstitions
for me. I just come out ready
to do my best," said Mazany.
SPORTS
A K
By Christine Newby
sports editor
censos6vi psu.edu
The Behrend Lions placed
third at the Marietta Open with
103 points which put them just
10.5 points behind second
place Marietta.
Mazany won the long jump
and triple jump events as he
recorded 6.62 and 13.67
meters respectively. He quali
fied for the ECAC meet for
both events.
"Everyone did amazing [at
the ECAC Championships],
and it was awesome hanging
out with all of them [team
mates]," said Mazany.
The ECAC Championships
were held in Boston, and over
100 Division 111 schools were
represented. Mazany took
fifth place in the long jump
with a jump of 21 feet 7.25
inches. He set a Behrend
record in the triple jump with a
leap of 44 feet 8 inches which
placed him tenth.
He has two main goals that
he wants to accomplish in the
upcoming outdoor season.
"I plan on improving on my
current record in long jump,"
said Mazany. 'And to do as
well as I can in the decathlon."
The outdoor track & field
season starts March 27 as the
team travels to West Virginia to
compete in the Wheeling
Invitational.
,' AI
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Behrend Beacon 9
, 40.A0.
Interested in writing
sports for The
Behrend Beacon?
E-mail Christine Newby at
censos6gpsu.edu or Nick
Blake at npbso4l@psu.edu