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By MATTHEW MAHONEY
Assistant Editor
MLMSO39@PSU.EDU
Through cold days and warm days;
wet days and dry days; this year at
Penn State Harrisburg was one to
remember, not only for the efforts of
our teams, but also for the efforts of
their supporting fans.
This fall sports season brings
memories of late nights and
hearing the screams of excited fans
carried across the crisp night air.
Students tiredly leaving the Olmsted
building, or the library would be
instantly woken from their near
study-slumber as their ears caught
the sounds of action being played
out on our sports fields. At first
most reactions were of confusion
as unspoken words from their
eyes said, “What the..and then
followed shortly afterward with
a grin of pride and confidence,
knowing that our men and women
were representing PSH with a fight
the likes of which our competition
had never seen.
Maybe it was just the start of a
new semester for some teams that
spurred them onto greater heights
and excellence in performance.
Maybe it was the addition of new
players on the teams that gave fresh
hope to some. But for our men’s
baseball team it seemed they felt
it necessary to shake the stigma of
a title long forgotten to everyone
here at PSH. Forgotten by everyone,
except for the baseball
team themselves.
Henceforth, let it be known to all,
both near and far, that the men’s
baseball team of PSH shall no
longer be known as the “Bad News
Bears”. In recognition of their
distinguished service this season,
said blasphemous title shall be
stricken from the record, wiped
clean of the Tomes of Knowledge,
and be forever unspoken by the lips
of the PSH proud.
Who knows what started their
miracle turnaround. The coach could
have had some extra fire in his pep
talks, or the practices could have
been more intense. The thought on
many a student’s mind though is that
it had something to do with whiffle
ball home run derbies in front of
the library.
Maybe it was a trade secret stolen
from the Yankees, but somehow
that poignantly yellow colored bat
connecting to the whizzing white
ball drove up batting averages
beyond expectations. Remember,
in this league clearing the bushes to
the library sidewalk grants you
a home run.
Of course this would imply that
there is some greater title to bestow
upon these proud warriors of the
diamond, soldiers of the mound, and
shock-troopers of the outfield, but in
actuality all most people have to say
is, “Good job guys.” Have no fear
though; a title is in the works.
Our sports teams did us proud even
when it seemed like no one was
watching. The women’s volleyball
team put up an impressive season
of hard work that would make
anyone’s legs quiver when thinking
about how many times you would
have to be jumping in the air. If
you don’t know what the ladies’ job
entailed then let’s see any one of
you get off of your plush Olmsted
building lounge chair and do three
consecutive 25 point games back
to back.
Ladies, do not feel under
appreciated in any way. It’s only a
matter of time before the dorms are
emptied out into the Capital Union
Building for game night. With any
luck you can talk some guys into
painting PSH on their chests and
starting a “We are... Penn
State!” chant.
To all of our teams, we here at PSH
salute you. You have done us proud;
made good on the family tradition;
showed them who’s boss and all
that other good stuff in between.
We look forward to being there with
you again as you proudly where the
blue and white. As your legend on,
and off, the field grows, so shall we
be there to cheer you on to glory.
A fabulous fall season for Penn State 'Burg
By MEGAN RESSER
Staff Reporter
MKRIS7@PSU.EDU
Penn State Harrisburg’s Fall sports
season has recently come to a close,
with many of the teams having
enjoyed remarkable success. Their
success has come despite the fact that
intercollegiate athletics just returned
to our campus last year.
Men and Women's
Soccer
After making it through the semi-final
round of the Penn State University
Athletic Conference playoffs by
beating Penn State Hazleton by a score
of 7-2, the men’s soccer team suffered
a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to
Penn College in the championship
game on November 5. With around
one minute left in regulation, the
PSH men were winning the game
by a score of 2-1. That is when Penn
College scored their second goal
of the game to send it into the first
overtime period. Unfortunately, only
about a minute had passed in the
sudden-death overtime when the ball
took a tricky bounce and ended up in
the back of the PSH net.
However, this tough loss should not
overshadow the superb season that
the men’s soccer team had en route
to the championship game. The men
played many tough games and came
The newly formed women's
with a record of 5-3, and a
together well as a team to accomplish
an overall regular season record of
11-4 and a PSUAC record of 10-3.
Women’s soccer, which was a new
program this Fall, also enjoyed a
winning season, ending with an
overall record of 5-3 and a PSUAC
record of 3-1. Both teams were
coached by Mark Brown.
Men's Baseball
The Fall portion of the baseball season
proved to be a very successful one,
with their overall record ending up at
9-5 and their regular-season PSUAC
record ending up at 8-1. When
asked if there were any outstanding
performers he would like to mention,
head coach Bob Masehmeyer said,
“Our pitching was outstanding this
Fall. Our four main starting pitchers
- Matt Berfield (3-1, 2.13 ERA, 15
KS, 15 BBS), Wes Erdman (2-0, 2.77
ERA, 13 KS, 13 BBS), Adam Wright
(3-2, 1.50 ERA, 24 KS, 11 BBS)
and Greg Yetter (1-1, 1.92 ERA,
5 KS, 6 BBS) - all pitched with
a plan and confidence. They had
guys behind them that were going to
make the plays - last year that was
not the case. We committed four less
errors than our opponents this fall.
Last fall, we tripled our opponents’
mistakes. Our pitchers had an earned
run average of 2.60 this fall. Last fall,
it was well above 5. That is a major
improvement and is a tribute to the
four guy s listed above and our defense.
Offensively we had 6 guys hit above
.300 this Fall. As a team, we had a
batting average of .325 compared to
.252 last fall. Sean Frailey led our
offense (.463 average, 25-54, 10
RBl’s), followed by
Garret Piper (.389,
21-54, 16 RBl’s),
Matt Carroll (.364,
16-44, 12 RBl’s),
Kevin Kredier(.333,
11-33), Austin Kulp
(.313, 15-48) and
Kris Aumiller (.302,
13-43, 13 RBl’s).
We had better
pitching this Fall,
we had better bats
this fall and we had
better gloves. One
of our goals was to
win every inning,
knowing that if we
did that we could
not lose.”
When asked, about how well he
perceived the team to be working
together, Coach Maschmeyer said,
“The Fall version of our baseball
squad came together as a unit very
quickly. We had some freshmen and
transfers step in at key positions and
start, but nobody let their pride get
in the way. Every player showed up
ready to play - and if they were not
in the lineup - they were rooting for
their teammate in front of them. They
picked each other up when needed.”
“I think we opened some eyes
during the Fall semester. I believe
there were some teams that thought
we were going to continue to be
the doormat of the league. Two
of our biggest wins came against
PS Delaware, the 2-time Eastern
Penn State Harrisburg completed the season
of 3-1.
soccer team at
PSUAC record
division champs. They beat us twice
last spring (7-3 & 14-0) and I know
they thought that would cruise right
past us, but our kids showed up
ready to play baseball. We beat them
on their home field (10-4) behind
a great pitching effort from Wes
Erdman and we did the little things
offensively and took advantage of
their mistakes. We handled them
again (10-4) at home a few weeks
later and lost a heartbreaker to
them (7-6), but they now know that
we have a very solid baseball team
and that our 8-1 divisional record
is not a fluke. Although we lost to
Penn College (7-5) and PS Beaver
(7-6) in the fall classic tournament,
I think they know that we have a
very legitimate ball club. We were
1-3 against Penn College last year,
Zach Dixon completed the season with an impressive undefeated 10-0 regular-season,
#1 men's singles record, and 10-0 regular-season #1 men's doubles record with his
partner, senior Jonathan Barber.
No longer the "Bad News Bears", the PSH men's baseball
season with a 9-5 record.
having lost those 3 games by a total
of 40 runs. We were 0-4 against PS
Beaver last year, losing by a total
of 32 runs. Nothing against the
team we had last year - as those
kids gave their all - but we were out
matched, out played and out coached
against those two teams. This year,
we are 0-2 against them, losing by
a total of 3 runs. That is a sign of
our vast improvement,” said Coach
Maschmeyer when asked if there
were any memorable games which
would gamer special mention,
As far as goals for the rest of
their season are concerned, Coach
Maschmeyer said, “As we head into
the off season, I believe our goals and
expectations for the spring are going
to be very high. We will need to spend
some time on learning how to focus
in key situations. We
have all 16 kids from
the fall roster returning
for the spring, plus
we have a few kids
Photo by Victor! Honnigan/Capital Times
handled ourselves on
and off the field. We have 16 young
men that are respectful of their
sport and University. We are only
getting better.”
The fledgling co-ed tennis team
enjoyed a fun and successful season,
ending up with a winning overall/
PSUAC record of 7-3. Two players in
particular achieved amazing success
in their respective singles and when
they played together in doubles.
Junior Zach Dixon completed the
season w ith an impressive undefeated
10-0 regular-season #1 men’s
singles record and 10-0 regular
season #1 men’s doubles record
transferring in next
semester that should
have an immediate
impact on out team.
The kids have to do the
little things between
now and the start of the
spring semester. We’ve
come a long way since
last fall and spring. We
are no longer the PS
version of the Bad News
Bears, as we were once
labeled. We currently
have 16 kids that have
excellent baseball
abilities and understand
the intricacies of
the game. I am very
proud of the way we
Co-ed Tennis
team succes:
with his partner, senior Jonathan
Barber. Barber finished the regular
season with a 9-1 record. At the
season-ending PSUAC conference
tournament, Dixon and Barber each
won their respective # 1 and #2 singles
flights and the #1 men’s doubles title.
Freshman #2 singles player Jess
Karl accomplished a 7-3 record,
with two of those wins coming from
forfeits. Megan Resser, senior, and
Kay Makishi, freshman finished the
regular season with a 7-3 women’s
doubles record, including two wins
because of forfeits. Resser and Karl
each made it to the semi-final round
of their respective singles flights
in the conference tournament and
together reached the semi-final
round of the women’s doubles flight
before bowing out. Other players
who contributed greatly to the team’s
success were freshmen Donny
Smith and Will Powell and junior
Jim Coyle.
In reflecting on the season, coach
Becky Cecere said, “I would like to
include that we surpassed general
expectations and perhaps surprised
even ourselves at how well we did. If
we would be playing in that conference
again next year, there would be some
serious paybacks taking place (even
though we only lost 3 matches!) I was
most proud of how everyone cheered
on and supported each other in our
individual sport, even in some of the
difficult individual losses we had.
Next year will bring new challenges
of gathering both women’s (Fall) and
men’s (Spring) teams. I’m already
planning an intramural program
for the spring that I hope will bring
together both the varsity players and
others on campus for a good time.
Stay tuned for more information on
that program.”
Women's Volleyball
The women’s volleyball team played
a very full season of matches and
struggled somewhat because of their
small roster size. They ended their
season with an overall record of 7-
12 and a PSUAC record of 7-9. One
outstanding performer was junior
Jayme Michael, who led the team in
four statistical categories including
145 Kills (2.54/game), 64 Aces (1.12/
game). 24 Total Blocks, and 233
Total Points (4.09 Pts/game). Jayme
served as co-captain for the second
year and was the team leader on and
off the court. Another outstanding
performer was senior Vera Kanova,
who led the team with 266
Assists (4.67 Assists/game)
and with a .166 Hitting
percentage. Kanova served
as co-captain and filled
the setter position for the
team the last two seasons.
A natural outside hitter,
Kanova was versatile
enough to run the offense as
the setter and still lead the
team in hitting percentage
and recorded the second
most kills and aces on
the team with 75 and 40,
respectively. One more
player worth mentioning
is freshman Xiaoxi Yang,
who led the team with 164
Digs (2.93/game). Xiaoxi
played great defensively as
a first-year player.
Memorable matches for
the women’s volleyball
team include their five
game win against Penn State
Delaware County on October B,h8 ,h and
the playoff loss to Penn State Mont
Alto on October 28 lh . Both were
extremely close contests. The Del Co.
match went back and forth as PSH
won games 1 and 3 and Del Co won
games 2 and 4. Game 5 was close
early on with the score 8-7 in Del
Co.’s favor, however PSH won 7 of
the next 10 points and won the game
15-10. In the best-of-three playoff
match against PS Mont Alto, PSH
nearly pulled off a great comeback
after losing Game 1, 30-15. In Game
2, PSH faced a 28-22 deficit but
then won 9 of 10 points to win the
game, forcing a deciding Game 3. In
the final game, PSH trailed from the
beginning and could not comeback to
gain the lead. PSH lost Game 3 by a
score of 15-12, bringing the season to
an end.
Golf
The new golf team had a good
season, finishing solidly in the top
three or four teams in eveiy meet in
which they competed. The season
averages (6 rounds total) for each
member of the team are as follows:
freshman Mike Yetter - 85.6; senior
Cory Calvert - 86.8; sophomore Nick
Reed - 87; freshman Josh Goodling
- 89; junior Mike Raines - 90; senior
Max Grill - 91.3; and senior Mike
Sherman - 91.5.
When asked to reflect on their
season, head coach Brad Kane said,
“I thought the season went very well.
Being the first year for the team, I
was more concerned with laying the
groundwork for the program than
actual wins and losses. However, we
seemed to do well in that department
too, finishing above .500. There were
a couple bumps here and there along
the way, but that’s what you get with
a learning experience. I thought
the guys on the team got along
very well; lots of good chemistry.
Although golf is an individual sport,
good team chemistry certainly can’t
hurt. The depth of the team was a
real strong suit for us. All seven of
my players are very close in terms
of talent, and our sth, 6th, and 7th
players were almost always better
than the corresponding rank on the
teams we played. The only drawback
was that sometimes our top players
couldn’t quite keep up with the
number one or two ranked players of
our opposition.”
When asked if there were any
particular performances which
should gamer special mention, Coach
Kane said, “we did have a couple top
performances, like Cory Calvert’s 79
at Penn National and Josh Goodling’s
82 at Irem Temple CC. Both courses
are not easy, and each score placed in
the top 10 of their respective match.”
In closing, Coach Kane said,
“The only real disappointment this
season was not getting to finish the
conference championship at State
College. The second, and final, day
was rained out. We ended up in
fourth, out of eight, but were only
one shot out of third, with second
place easily obtainable. My players
were ready to play the second day
and were off to a good starts before
the tournament was called (after
3 or 4 holes). I really thought we
could have finished second if given
the chance; that would have been a
tremendous achievement. For the
future, we’ll need to work on being
more consistent.”
Cross County
As of press time I had not heard from
the coach of the cross country team.
Based upon the information reported
on their website, the team consistently
finished within the top three in each of
their contests. Their most impressive
finish came when they placed first
out of eleven teams at a conference
meet at Penn State Worthington-
Scranton on September 20.
They finished their season on a
strong note, placing 2 nd out of six
teams at the PSUAC and PCAA State
Championship at Penn State Scranton