Friday, April 17,2009
Lions sweep
JULIE KOMAN RECORDS HER EIGHTH WIN AND A SHUTOUT
By Nick Blake
sports editor
npbso4 1 psu.edu
The Penn State Behrend
softball team has continued
their outstanding play with a
(3-1) week with sweeps of
AMCC foe Pitt-Greensburg
and Westminster.
In game one of a double
header with Pitt-Greensburg
on April 11, senior pitcher Julie
Koman led the way to a com
manding 11-1 victory.
She held the Bobcats to one
run on four hits and tallied six
strikeouts, while recording her
eighth win of the season.
Katie Whitby and Nikki
Kaschauer led the way offen
sively for the Blue and White.
Whitby was three-for-four with
three RBI and Kaschauer was a
perfect three-for-three with
two RBI.
In game two the Lions struck
first when Whitby doubled in
the top of the first. She crossed
A Behrend softball player connects with a pitch
Athlete Spotlight: Rachelle Lawrence
ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Rachelle
Lawrence
Softball
Senior
the plate later in the inning on
a double-steal to give the Blue
and White a 1-0 lead.
Freshman pitcher Emma
Hahn got off to a rough start in
the bottom of the inning, walk
ing three straight batters to
load the bases.
Pitt-Greensburg's Kelly
Walsh was then intentionally
walked to bring in the tying
run. Hahn then settled in and
pitched her way through the
inning with no further damage,
keeping the game at a 1-1 tie.
In the second inning, the
Lions blew the game open with
a batch of runs.
The Blue and White loaded
the bases for Allison Babish
who wrapped a triple clearing
the ducks off the pond to give
Behrend a 4-1 lead.
Rachelle Lawrence also
tripled in the inning and the
Lions scored three more runs
to take a 7-1 lead.
The third inning brought a
scare for the Blue and White
AMCC
wins with Westminster
when Pitt-Greensburg loaded
the bases, threatening to make
the game closer. However,
Behrend managed to get out of
the inning while giving up only
one run.
In the fourth inning, the
Lions would take the run back
extending their lead to 8-2.
Behrend got the bats going
again in the seventh, putting
the game away with five more
runs, which led to a 13-2 victo
ry.
Behrend dominated against
Pitt-Greensburg and the hits
became a trend.
"We played well in both
games," Kaschauer said. "The
difference between the two
games, was against Pitt-
Greensburg, our hits became
contagious."
On April 14, the Lions would
take on Westminster in a dou
ble header at the Behrend soft
ball field.
Game one would prove to be
a pitching duel between the
two teams. Westminster would
threaten to score in the fourth
by putting runners on first and
third.
Koman would force the bat
ter to hit a grounder, though,
which ended the threat and got
Behrend out of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, the
Blue and White would get the
bats going, loading the bases
on three consecutive hits with
two outs.
Kaschauer then stepped to
the plate and ripped a drive up
the middle, scoring Whitby,
which gave the Lions a 1-0 lead
Koman would prove that one
run would suffice by shutting
down the Titans the rest of the
way.
Koman pitched a complete
game shut out giving up only
By Nick Blake
sports editor
npb5041 ,,, psu.edu
This week's ENTERPRISE
RENT-A-CAR Athlete of the
Week is Penn State Behrend
softball player Rachelle
Lawrence.
Lawrence, a senior majoring
in accounting, plays shortstop
for the Blue and White and put
up some impressive numbers
last week.
Lawrence posted a .667 bat
ting average on the week going
10-for-15 overall from the
plate, helping the Lions to a (3-
1) record.
In a two game sweep of
Thiel, Lawrence was four-for
seven, and then she went six
for-eight against AMCC foe
Pitt-Greensburg.
Lawrence tallied two triples
and a homerun. She also
drove in eight runs while scor
ing five herself, and struck out
only once.
Lawrence has posted a .406
batting average for the season,
has driven in 16 runs and has
26 hits. She credits her out
standing numbers to enjoying
the game and being confident.
"I really didn't do anything
different this year," Lawrence
said. "I just go up to the plate
relaxed and confident, but for
the most part, I just have fun
with it."
Lawrence credits education
and softball to her choosing
Behrend. However, being able
to continue her softball career
from high school was a major
reason that she decided to
attend the Erie campus.
"My decision was based on a
little bit of both, but getting to
continue to play softball was
one of the big things that
helped me make that final
decision," Lawrence said.
SPORTS
foe Pitt-Greensburg and split
two hits and recording seven
strikeouts.
Kaschauer went two-for
three in the game with the
game winning RBI.
The win gave the Blue and
White their 20th win of the sea
son.
In game two, the Lions
loaded the bases in the bottom
of the second, but the Titans
pitcher would get a strikeout
and a fly out would end the
inning with no runs scored.
In the top of the third,
Westminster's Erica Kimmick
would tag a pitch, sending it
out of the park giving the
Titans a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third,
Kaschauer would step up a
launch a bomb of her own.
The home run would tie the
game at 1-1.
Westminster exploded in the
top of the sixth, sending four
runs across the plate on a
three-RBI double by pinch hit
ter Kelly Fee.
Behrend would attempt to
get a rally going in the bottom
of the seventh, and even
though they got one run, they
wouldn't be able to overcome
the deficit and fell to the Titans
5-2.
Kaschauer stressed the fact
that the Lions played well
against Westminster, they just
couldn't produce the runs.
"Against Westminster, we out
hit them, but we didn't have
people on base," Kaschauer
said. "We didn't process many
runs but we played well."
The Blue and White will host
La Roche on April 18 in an
AMCC double header and then
will host Frostburg Stated on
April 19.
Lawrence has accumulated a
number of great memories and
experiences from her career at
Behrend.
"I would have to say my
favorite memory, so far, is
when Nikki (Kaschauer) and I
turned our first true double
play against La Roche,"
Lawrence said. "I really don't
have one favorite experience.
The past four years have been
the greatest. Getting to play
softball with an amazing group
of girls and having fun while
we do it has been an experi
ence of a lifetime."
After she is done with her
education, Lawrence plans on
staying in Erie and getting a
job at an accounting firm in the
area.
Be sure to catch Lawrence
and the rest of the Behrend
Lions softball team as they
continue their quest to win
back-to-back AMCC champi
onships.
Top: Julie Koman delivers a pitch against Pitt-Greensburg
Bottom: Katie Whitby runs across the plate, scoring a run for the Lions
Top: Lawrence prepares to field a ball from her shortstop position
Bottom: Lawrence looks on as she drives a pitch to the outfield
The Behrend Beacon I 9
Keegan McGregor Theßehrendßeacon
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO(TopI
Keegan McGregoriTheBehrendßeaconll3oHomi