Softballers looking to stop hitting woes Penn State softball coach 4, Pat McTarsney is looking for '1 an improved hitting effort this afternoon when her Lady ; Lions host Brockport at 2:30 •I p.m. • McTarsney attributes, her team's hitting woes in the , • , X • `,,opener last Saturday to ,3ppening day jitters. "Wc were rtense in the batters box and a ,',., l Lacross,ers - face By JERRY LUCCI ;4 3 Assistant Sports Editor ' 'Ordinarily, it wouldn't be advisable to put down as a wager ` 1 on a 0-2 ball club one's house mortgage or,four years tuition money at Penn State (whichever's higher) the percentages just aren't there. • The Penn State lacrosse' team will try to forget about the I) percentages today when they travel to Lancaster for a match P i with d vastly-improved Franklin and Marshall squad. Instead lithe Lions will be thinking about the intangibles the little 'things that make minners out of "What if's" and rich men out F4of those that wager on the underdog. a That's not. to say the Lions are underdogs or favorites., Although they were shellacked, 18-6, by the Lions last year, ' Half is carrently 3-1, their only loss a 19-9 advantage by top .'franked Penn. ' The Lions, on the other hand, dropped their first two en tgcounters to Drexel and North Carolina. The latter was an especially bitter one to Coach Dick Pencek since the Lions held tough, rebounding from several deficits but still falling 111 Denver given edge to notch NBA title ~ By The AP Who's going" to win the s' , National • Basketball i;Association title? The 902- ;{game regular season is over, finally, and the survivors ilbegin playoff competition tonight. It's San Antonio at Boston, Detroit at Golden State and 11 Chicago at Portland in the ,f; opening game of the best-of three first-round series tonight. .The other first r6under opens tomorrow night with -Cleveland at COMPLIMENTS OF THE PENN STATE BOOKSTORE It could be m tomorrow! j4Lk .. A Paramount Picture 'rA, Daily . . r. 7:00 & 9:30 $1 Matinee Thurs. 2:15 . Relater-1./2377i6.57.:...' LOWPOP OR WIDE SCRUM 3-pimENsom COLOR #'4l l Y IST TIME IN 3-0 " e '• L• JOHN ENDS s HOLMES TUES. \ 0 • 1 A R I "THE DEEPEST X OF ALL" little overanxious," she said, "but we're going to be a better hitting team." , The Lady Lion's coach has juggled her lineup in an effort to beef up the, team's offense. Rocky Fuller moires from right to centet field, replacing Diane Dixon, and Sue Legutko will . take over Fuller's spot in right. Washington. Meanwhile, the division winners Philadelphia, Houston, 'Los Angeles and Denver wait on the sidelines, having received byes through the fiist round. A Reno, Nev., oddsmaker lists Denver as a 12-5 favorite to go all the way, followed by Philadelphia, 14-5, Portland, 3-1, and Los' Angeles, 16-5. That despite , Los Angeles' 53- 29 'regular season record, best in the league. (answers to page 4 pPzzle) The BEST In on-campus entertainment .. a JEM IN COLOR FOR LADIES & GENTLEMEN OVER 21 production for USG McTarsney has Moved Fuller into the second spot in the batting order between Pam Hoyes and Janet Scinto, in an effort to get some baserunners on for her power hitters. Cathy Cronin drops from the third spot in the order to fifth. The Lady Lions are not too sure, just what to expect this afternoon, since today is Brockport's opening game. Brockport's , new coach, Shirley Carmichael, has not announced her starting nine for the game. McTarsney has not yet named her. pitcher, since she improved FEt M short by a 19-14 score. The intangibles plaguing the Lions include at the top of the list, last year second team All-American Rich Mauti's inability to score. • • "When he and Jack Barry break loose, we're gonna get going," Pencek said. "Maybe I'll tell them a dirty joke before the game to loosen them up. "But I remember back when I played; you start missing a few shots and then you start thinking about it and the openings that were there go by. . "The younger kids on the team don't think about shooting, they just see an opening and go. But Jack and Richie are more experienced and they've been stuffed a few times so they start to think about it." , _ Another intangible is injuries and team defections. Dave Moylan, last year's top defenseman, was hurt in a preseason automobile crash and is out for the year. Another defenseman, Richie Keegan, decided not to come out this year. Steve Ezratty, an experienced middie, quit the team last week. Fellow , middie Bob Cooper contracted mono and will be sidelined for three weeks. But Pencek filled these holes with freshmen and his new lines are starting to mold. Encouraging intangibles like ex perience and team spirit now seem to outweigh the bad memories,of the earlier losses. Victory is Pencek's ultimate goal, however, and no one expects F&M to roll over and play dead like last year. "Tomorrow ( today) we'll know for sure just how far we've- , come," Pencek said. "It's a crucial game." INC. ' l3 .K ._____ o .0 # A FR G , - )' MAW" 218RAvailable for - Fall Term Furn. & Unfurn. Sutton Court Lexington House Indoor. Parking Available at 522 E-College Ave:, Downtown Rental Office 132 Sowers St. 234-6860 April 15-17, 1977 Frlday&Sunday Only $1 admission 121 Sparks 7:30/9:00/10:30 is awaiting word on the condition of Janice Presel. Presel's, knee injury has improved, but the doctor has not yet given the go-ahead for her to pitch. If Presel can't start, the assignment will go to Debbie Malone, who lost the opener against Temple. McTarsney • said she was "really pleased" with , the defense in the opener, giving special praise to freshmen Jan Carlson and Dee Dee Berard, the third baseman and shortstop. Now the coach is hoping that her hitters will, relax and improve on their performances. pa Alp )as initiate 00th B mem Attention: . Sophomore students with a minimum G.P.A. 3.00 are now eligible for admission • into Chimes Junior Honor Soci e ty. APOlibations are available at the HUB desk and at the Chimes general meeting to be held this Wednesday (4/13) in McElwain Piano Lounge at 7:00. Deadline to obtain an application will . be April-20th. Summer Co-ed Boarding at IN fraternity Right on campus next to Rec Hall Kitchen, laundry and parking facilities available. $2l 0/single $1 45/double Available June Ist. Storage spabe available over term break. Gall Paul DePan •238-9394 Lion nine host Bucknell By GARY SILVERS Collegian Sports Writer After pounding out 26 hits and sweeping a doubleheader at Rutgers last weekend, the Penn State baseball team (3-0)* returns to Beaver Field today, hosting Bucknell at 3 p.m. As the Lions enter their third week of the 1977 campaign, they still have one major problem they've probably had _ less work than the '77 football team. Thank you, Mother Nature. "We definitely looked a bit rusty against Rutgers," State catcher George Weigel said referring to Saturday's performance, "especially in' the opener. But I think that's customary for this point in the season." One thing that's not customary at this point in the season however, is a proficient pitching staff. But Penn State's hurlers have proved this theory wrong. "That's the reason this year's team should do better than last year's," Weigel said. "The pitching has. been Netwomen face Pitt; Maryland next The Lady Lion tennis squad begins an extensive week of competition this afternoon when it hosts the University of Pittsburgh Pantherettes. There will be a rearrangement in Penn State's lineup in hopes of having the squad at full strength for Thursday's showdown with Maryland and the Middle States Tour nament over the weekend. Today's match is the second outing this spring for Pitt, following its 3-4 loss to the University of Pennsylvania. outstanding. It's hard to believe hoil well (Jim) Farr and (Steve) Nelson are throwing already." Two other Lions who've jumped out to good starts are freshmen Bob Orwig and Bill Benner, the shortstop-second base combination. "The infield's looked real good," Weigel added. "Benner started hitting last weekend and Orwig showed us some strong defense. He seemed real tough under pressure, which, is very unusual for a freshman." Another State infielder under a tremendous amount of pressure is Wei gel himself. Last season he was the team's starting right fielder and hit a re spectable .271. This year, however, the southpaw was moved behind the plate to make room for Andy Onkontz and due to the presence of backstop Tim Searer (right hander), the junior will be forced to platoon. "So far our opponents have thrown all lefties against us,': Weigel said, "so I've been starting every game. I don't know Penn State has already taken commanding 8-1 victories over Madison .and West chester. Joy McManus holds down the number one singles for the Lady Lions and will be up The Daily Collegian Tuesday, April 12, 1977-9 against Pitt's Maria Paris. McManus gave Paris her only loss last season when the Lady Lions beat Pitt 9-0. . Pitt sophomore Janet, DeCostro will challenge Wendy Ga vett. DeCostro what's gonna happen when we start facing righties. All I know for sure is that we have more talent than positions. "I've caught all my life," he added, "so the position isn't strange to me. Last year I took Kevin Burke's place in right because apparently they wanted my hitting." Hitting is something Weigel has yet to show the Lions this year. "I was hitting real well in practice," he said. "Then we hit all the rain and snow. During that time, however, I also pulled a hamstring muscle, which put me out a couple of days. I just haven't been able to get it back yet." And the Lions haven't gotten Bucknell back yet for the humiliation they suf fered last season a 7-2 loss, snapping their five-game win streak. "We should never have lost to them last season," Weigel admitted. "And they couldn't be much better this year if they were beaten by Rutgers ( 10-1). We'll be out to get 'em this time around." transferred from Edinboro this year and was ranked third in the Western Penn sylvania la years old and under division. Joyce Tomana
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