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The Behrend Beacon
ens' tennis team takes down Alfred, Frostburg
Hit or miss
Lions win two in a row lose ne
by Kevin Fiorenzo
staff writer
Snow, April, and baseball don't
exactly go together, but that is exactly
what the baseball team had to deal with
this past week. The only games played
were against Pitt-Greensburg and Thiel
thanks to inclement weather.
On Saturday, the Lions traveled to
conference opponent Pitt-Greensburg for
a doubleheader. In the first game,
Greensburg got off to a strong start by
scoring two runs in the bottom of the
first.
Behrend was able to respond, though,
in the next inning. Thanks to untimely
errors on Greensburg's part, the Lions
erupted for a four-run inning. The Lions
never lost the lead, as they scored three
more runs before emerging victorious by
a score of 7-3.
"Those errors were crucial," said
second baseman Tony Azzato. "That's
when we had our big inning. They didn't
do the little things and you saw what
happened. We took advantage of it."
Aside from Greensburg's mistakes,
Behrend also won because it got strong
play from everyone, particularly
outfielder Adam Best and pitcher Ryan
Seyler. Best's bat was smoking
throughout the game. He came away
with four hits, including a triple.
A key ingredient for Behrend has been
powerful pitching. That didn't change
on Saturday, as Seyler played
outstanding. He finished with a
complete game and three strikeouts
while giving up 11 hits and three runs.
The win raised Seyler's record to 3-2.
In the second game, the contest took
an unexpected turn. In the second
Water polo picks up two more wins
by Lauren Packer
assistant sports editor
Ask Christine Williams how many times this
season she's been bit by her opponent. Or, ask
hole set Sarah McGarvey how many times this
season she's had her suit ripped off.
The women are finding out the hard way what
college water polo is about.
During the Grove City Invitational this past
weekend, Behrend was to play Salem International
in the last action of the day. The game never
materialized. In Salem's previous game, a player
repeatedly punched her opponent. Salem was
forced to suspend its player one game, leaving it
one player short of a full team, and giving Behrend
a 5-0 forfeit win.
But that wasn't all the drama Lions encountered
on the weekend. In game-one, the Lions battled
against rival Grove City. The Wolverines shut
down the Lions 6-3 in a highly anticipated
rematch.
"We started off the game strong and ran with
them until the fourth quarter, but the game sort of
got away from us," said Erin Troester.
"Defensively, we are 100 percent, but offensively,
we aren't quite there yet."
In game two, Behrend squared off against
Connecticut College. It took the Lions two
overtime periods to down the Camels, 5-4.
top of the AMCC
ejected after he continually argued with
the umpire's calls.
"From my understanding, it was
because he was complaining about every
pitch call," said Best. "Pretty much
anything the umpire did that went against
him, he complained. The umpire got
tired of it so he tossed him."
Because the coach was ejected, the
game was forfeited and Behrend got the
win by a 7-0 score. Regardless of the
events that took place, the players believe
it was a legitimate win.
"Rules are rules and we have to play
by them," Azzato said. "We weren't
pleased that we won by forfeit, but in
the end it was a win."
It was also an im • • rtant win that raised
"It was our first overtime game of the year. It's
good to know we can go six periods," said head
coach Josh Heynes. "It shouldn't have done six
periods though. We stayed strong and overcame
some obstacles caused by both ourselves and the
refs."
"The overtime win really boosted our spirits and
let us realize that making nationals is still a
possibility," said junior Tara Braden.
Williams scored four of the five goals and goalie
Lauren Packer blocked 73 percent to lead the
Lions to victory.
Behrend's last action of the day came against
Queens. The Lions held a lead for much of the
game but couldn't hang on for the victory.
"We ran with them until the last 30 seconds:'
said Heynes. "We ran with a Division I team. We
knew these games would be tight."
Behrend travels to Bucknell for what could be
the last tournament of the season. If the 11 seed
Lions can upset seeds 9 and 10, otherwise known
as rivals Washington & Jefferson and Grove City,
then a national championship bid could be
awarded.
"It's a very positive outlook. The brackets fell
into our hands and we should see our rivals," said
Heynes. "For a third year team, we have a very
viable shot at making it to nationals."
SPORTS
Friday, April 11, 2003
Youth prevailed as the Behrend mens' tennis team walked
away with a pair of victories last weekend. Behrend faced off
against Alfred on April 4 and Frostburg on Sunday.
The team is comprised of freshmen, sophomores, and only
one senior. Young blood didn't stop the team from winning its
match against Alfred 7-2 and from beating Frostburg 5-4.
Freshman John Marini had a good week, ending up 2-1 in his
singles and doubles matches. This was good for a Best of the
Rest mention in the AMCC for the week.
"We needed a good performance against both teams and our
team stepped up and played very well," said team captain Jacob
Hillmann. "I was really impressed with Mike Oey. He was
down in his match against Frostburg and came back to win,"
Coach Jeff Barger wasn't completely in agreement, though.
Behrend's record to 15-6 overall, 3-2 in
conference. The Lions' next game was
supposed to be a doubleheader the next
day against Case Western, but because
of the bizarre April snow, it was
postponed. The same thing happened the
next day when Behrend was supposed
to play Lake Erie. That game was
postponed to today.
On Wednesday, the team caught a
break and was able to play its
doubleheader against Thiel.
Unfortunately, things didn't go
Behrend's way. The squad got off to a
good start by taking a 3-0 lead after two
innings. The Lions maintained that
margin up until the bottom of the sixth,
when Thiel tied u
by Lyndsey Boor
staff writer
e lame
Softball team skid
increases to six
21-0. Sounds like the score of a football game right? Wrong
La Roche College visited the softball team this past weekend for a doubleheader and downed the
Lions 21-0 in the first game. The AMCC undefeated Red Hawks cruised easily to victory with an
offense that couldn't be stopped. The Lions' pitching staff worked only five innings in the loss as the
game was cut short by the 10-run rule.
In game two of the doubleheader the Lions gave a much better performance. Behrend was able to
push across four runs across the plate but it still wasn't enough. La Roche continued its offensive
onslaught to push nine runs across, winning 9-4. This loss extended the Lions' losing streak to six
games.
The month of April has been especially rough on the pitching staff so far. The squad has allowed
46 runs in just four games. Adding to the team's woes has been a dismal offense that's scored only
five runs in those games.
The Lions are currently fourth out of the six teams in the AMCC. Their 2-6 overall record is better
than Frostburg, who is 1-3 and Pitt-Greensburg and Lake Erie, who have yet to win a game this year.
The AMCC is looking to be top-heavy so far this season, with Altoona, Bradford, and La Roche
dominating.
In comparison to the 2002 squad, 2003's squad has some catching up to do. Through April 11 of
last year, Behrend posted a 8-19 overall record, 6-2 in the AMCC. This year, the Lions are 4-16
overall, 2-6 in the AMCC.
The Lions offense is not producing. Behrend has scored only 58 runs so far this season and the
defense has allowed 135 runs.
The Lions tide may be turning. In the six remaining doubleheaders of the regular season, Behrend
squares off against only two AMCC opponents, Frostburg and Lake Erie. Frostburg sits just below
the Lions in the AMCC standings, while Lake Erie is at the bottom. They also will have the home
field advantage in four of the six games.
Scott Soltis, Sports Editor
Lauren Packer, Assistant Sports Editor
"I'm happy with our performance against Alfred. We looked
strong and played very well, but the game against Frostburg
wasn't pretty. We definitely weren't ready to play and it was
dissappointing."
Barger was impressed with the performance of freshman John
Marini.
"John played really well in both matches. He was rested and
it showed. He won all his matches both Friday and Sunday,"
said Barger
Even though the match against Frostburg wasn't as smooth as
Barger would have hoped, the team will meet up against
Frostburg again Saturday. Behrend also plays Pitt-Greensburg
on Saturday and Penn State Altoona on Sunday.
The team's record is 9-2. Behrend hopes to keep winning and
take home the AMCC championship that Penn State Altoona
claimed last year.
In the final inning, Behrend scored
three more runs and took a 6-3 lead. They
seemed to have the game in their grasp.
That was not the case, though. Thiel
responded with an offensive blast,
scoring four runs and taking the win from
by Behrend by a 7-6 score. The starter
for Behrend was Tony Kordecki. He
threw for 5 2/3 innings with four
strikeouts, while giving up three hits, one
walk, and three runs. Chris McCartney
pitched 1 2/3 innings and yielded eight
hits and four runs.
In the next game, the Lions must have
been discouraged because they couldn't
get any run production. Thiel won by a
commanding 8-0 score. The starter for
Behrend was Brent Gabel. Unlike his
by Lauren Packer and Scott Soltis
assistant sports editor and Sports editor
t two
IMIIIIIMM••••••11111•••
• •
• Adam Best
(pictured left)
S tat Box
Batting Average: .476
: First in AMCC •
Hits: 30 Second on Team
RBI: 11 Fifth on Team ;
• Runs: 31 First on Team
• •
Stolen Bases: First in •
•
AMCC •
•
■II 111 II • MI MI 111 • II • • • • • • • • • •
most recent starts, he and the team were
unable to contain Thiel's offense. He
pitched for 3 2/3 innings with two
strikeouts and gave up five hits, six runs,
and three walks. Also contributing to the
contest were Chris McCartney, Shane
Elzer, and Matt Szymanski.
What significantly hurt the Lions were
errors. The Lions committed two in the
bottom of the fourth, the same inning
they gave up four runs to Thiel.
"We took them too lightly and they
handed it to us," Best said.
The losses to Thiel dropped Behrend
to 15-8 overall. The Lions' next games
are on today and Saturday against Lake
Erie and Mount Aloysius, respectively.
A game against one of the top AMCC
teams, Pitt Bradford, is also looming.
" Lake Erie has been struggling but
we cannot take them lightly," Gabel said.
"Bradford is having a good year and we
just hope that we are ready mentally and
physically and be there to play baseball."
"We just need to be ready for them.
We need to play our game and go out
and beat them," said Best.