Pa:e 12 Womens softball finishes Florida tour by Brian Gregory Collegial Star If you play softball at Penn State Behrend, you didn't spend spring break on vacation. Paul Benim's Lady Lion Softball team play ten games in five days. The Lady Lions finished the short Florida trip with a 6-4 record. But were they satisfied? "We went down (to Florida) and we started out the week strong. We went 5-1 with our only loss coming against Bridgewater, who lost the national title game last year, through Tuesday's game. However, we ended up 6-4," said Coach Benim. "No we're not satisfied," continued Benim. "We didn't meet our expectations which are very high. This team is capable of reaching them, but we just weren't doing this." Collegian File A player/coach relationship: Head women's softball coach Paul Benim instructs Lady Lion first baseman Martesse Schlott on the art of the game. Softball box scores Versus Worchester State ab r h bi Reed ss 4 2 3 3 Musante ff 1 1 0 0 Garin lf 2 0 1 0 Calhoun dh 1 2 0 1 Koza ph 0 1 0 0 Schbtt lb 2 0 1 0 Leone 1b 1 0 0 0 Stocker rf 3 1 2 Mazur 3b 4 2 3 Varrassa ph 1 0 0 Arnett c 3 0 1 Fishel 2b 1 2 0 Angel cf 3 1 1 2b- Reed 3b- Reed, Angel SB- Reed, Mazur, Arnett IP H R ER BB SO Norder- W 5 0 0 0 0 5 Pitching, which is one of the Lady Lions strongest points was strong at the outset, but inconsistent. "At times the pitching was very good. We had a couple of games where we really dominated," said assistant coach Bill Graham. "And then their were other times where it wasn't good. But, (Heather Norder and Beth Calhoun) are freshman and they will learn to improve and get better." Calhoun had three complete games in three starts and only gave up seven earned runs while compiling a 2.45 ERA and a 2-1 record. Senior Cherie Varrassa struck out 17 batters in 22 innings, but gave up 13 runs to bring her ERA up to 4.14. "Did she get hit hard," asked Coach Benim. "No. Did she get hit often? Yes. Our defense Versus Madonna College ab r h bi Reed ss 4 2 2 2 Musante N 4 0 2 0 Calhoun 2b 1 1 1 0 Schlott lb 4 2 2 1 Stocker rf 4 0 1 1 Mazur 3b 4 0 1 1 Arnett c 4 0 1 0 Norder p 3 1 2 0 Angel d 2b- Schlott HR- Reed SB- Schlott, Arnett 2 IP H R ER BB SO Norder- W 69 5 2 4 3 Varrassa- S 1 0 0 0 0 0 Pitching Records 3 Beth Calhoun 2-1 Heather Norder 2-2 Cherie Varassa 2-1 Sports made some mistakes at bad times." The pitching highlight came from Norder (2-2) who had a perfect game against while sporting a 1.94 ERA in five games pitched. "I tried not to think about it," admitted Norder. "I just kept focusing on each batter. One of the most exciting things for a pitcher to do is pitch a no-hitter." Assistant Coach Graham agreed saying, "It was awesome!! It was nice to watch and be part of. It was great because she compl Aay dominated the opposition." Right-fielder Julie Stocker thought this was one of the best games the team played on the trip. "We played basically a 'perfect' softball game. Heather Norder had the perfect game, our hitting was good, and we didn't have an error," commented Versus Worchester State Reed ss Arnett c Musante rf Norder If Koza ph Angel d Mazur 3b Fishel 2b Leone lb Carino dh 20 0 0 SB- Arnett Varassa- W 'hot° t io. •4 V k. k . V x x_A W P H R ER BB SOV 5 1 0 0 1 E 0 6.4 ~;or ab r h bi 33 2 2 32 0 1 4 •R 3 0 20 0 0 10 1 1 32 2 3 42 2 2 31 0 1 31 1 1 20 1 2 Stocker. "Overall, (with) 9 positions on the diamond and 9 positions in the batting order we played a solid softball game." On the offensive side of the diamond, the Lady Lions played extremely well. As a team Behrend batted .339. "Our numbers look very good. (Megan) Musante, (Becky) Reed, and (Sue) Mazur had a phenomonal week. Hitting was very stong for the most part. We just needed to adjust more to some pitching styles," said Benim. Becky Reed, this week's Athlete of the Week, earned praise from the coaches by getting 14 hits in 33 at-bats. She had two doubles and two home runs as well as 14 RBl's and 11 runs. She batted .424. "She's in great shape, a great player, and a great leader," said Benim. "She helped to keep us going." "I haven't changed much from last year. I had a feeling I would be batting first because Coach had confidence in me. My job is to work the pitcher and put the ball in play," said Reed. Senior third baseman Mazur played a rock with 13 base-hits, 5 steals in five attempts, along with nine runs and eight RBl's at the plate to post a .419 batting average. "1 opened my (batting) stance a iAff THE iffS CALL A CAB TAO A STAND pse am 1450 * * * THURSDAY * * * Call the "Nittany Lion Hotline" Season's Last Show at 6:06 p.m. 4;0 * * * SATURDAY * " kg "Saturday Polka Party" from 9 to noon with your host, Ron Slomski kiii i3::§ ,:i* * * * SUNDAY * * * : t o "Money Talk" at 11:00 a.m. iix v. with your host, Bob Dixon .v., ?f: ir.4.:,..4t. •CC.W.C.C.4.4..C . C.4::•::Viii:Ar.-e..1 : ::::1:::g V Thursday, March 16, 1995 little more this year," said Mazur. "I feel a lot more confident that I can hit the ball to all parts of the field." Also flying high with a .417 batting average was Musante. Musante returned after taking a year off for knee ligament rehabilitation. She had ten hits, four SB's and nine runs in 24 at bats. "When you spend a season watching people play you really want to play even more," said Musante. "Then you just come back and do the best you can." Also contributing to the Lady Lion effort were Stocker who batted .360 with nine hits and seven RBl's, Shannon Angel who hit .333 with two triples, and Michele Cation who had three hits, three runs, and three RBl's. Emmy Arneu also stole six bases in six attempts. "We found out a lot (in Florida)," said Coach Benim. "With Reed leading off she had two home runs. In the 2 spot we've been using Arnett and Musante who are good with the bats and the feet. Our 3-4-5 hitters are what need to be secured." Coaches Benim and Graham are beginning to put this information to work as the Lady Lions prepare for their home opener on Tuesday against Mount Union. The double dip begins at 3 p.m. FIENDS - ON"! !ET Flq%[lS
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