The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 28, 2001 9 The Dallas Post _. Sports | Rich Patton is key player on top Division Ill baseball team By SUMMER PIERETTI Special to the Post @ LAKE-LEHMAN - For Lake-Lehman graduate Rich Patton, it all started with pee-wee baseball. Patton, 19, son of Richard and Holly Patton, is a member of the Keystone College Giants Baseball Team, ranked 15th among Division III schools. Re- cruited by Mike Collins, Associate Di- rector of Athletics at the college, Patton has loved baseball since he was 5 years old when he started playing on a pee- wee team. He played other sports as he grew up, but baseball has been his mainstay. In fact, it was one of the reasons he decided to go to college. “If I didn’t go to college, I wouldn't be able to play base- ball. I'd say college is a big deal,” he said. f8 College baseball is a ¥ big deal, too. Just ask Collins about some of the challenges he faced when he joined the Key- stone family in 1997. At that time, the Giants were ranked the worst team in their region. Since then Collins has tak- en them to the second position in 1999, and the third in 2000. Both years the RICH PATTON “Rich is a strong, quiet leader behind the plate. He's a calming influence on the pitchers.” Joshua Michael Balk captain team lost only to the team that took first place in the National Champi- onship. As they rise to the top, Collins is fo- cusing on the team’s one weak link - of- fense. Offensively the team has strug- gled in the past, but Collins is opti- mistic this time around. “This appears to be our best offensive team on paper,” he said. “When we were making up the lineup, we didn’t see any holes. We see a lot of potential.” That potential is apparent in Patton. A sports management and recreation major, Patton plans to get a four-year degree before thinking about his possi- ble career in baseball. He has come close to the big league before. While playing in the district championships his sophomore year at Lake-Lehman, Patton hit a home run at Lackawanna Stadium which tied up the game. “I thought it was really cool hitting a home run in a minor league stadium.” It was this game that grabbed his fu- ture coach’s attention. “I knew I had to get involved with Rich Patton,” Collins said. He focused a lot of his attention on Patton the next two years until he decided to attend Keystone. “My entire staff was very pleased when Rich came | to Keystone,” he said. The school was right to be excited with their new - catcher. He was a proven leader on the field in high school and has demonstrated those skills with his new team. “Although he’s a great guy off the field, he’s not afraid to speak up on the field. He's a leader and proves to be good in that role,” Collins See PATTON, pg 10 Gate of Heaven will play for state championship The Gate of Heaven Gators in Dallas has earned the chance to compete at the state level after clinching the Diocesan champi- onship in Scranton recently. The Gators needed three wins to earn the spot, defeating Nativity BVM, Our Lady of Peace and in the final game, defending state champs St. Paul's. In the first game, Matt Wilson ®t a 3-point shot with 4 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime. Gate of Heaven then pulled out a 62-56 victory. Matt Wilson, Brian Ostrowsky and Tim Crossin combined for 51 points. In the second game the Gators defeated OLP 41-32, while Matt Wilson and Ken Re- gan combined for 23 points, @ coring 12 and 11 respectively. In the final game, Gate of Heaven defeated St. Paul's 47- 45. The Gators took a three point lead into the fourth quar- ter and sealed the win on the foul line. Matt Wilson hit two foul shots with wight seconds on the clock to seal the victory. Matt Wilson was high scorer with 18 points followed by Brian Ostrowsky with 15 and Tim Crossin with 12. The Gators completed their 2000-2001 season with some highlights. Matt Wilson reached the 2000 point mark and went on to become the highest scorer in the history of the school. Tim Crossin received the MVP award in the Solomon Junior High league in Plains. Matt Wilson and Brian Ostrowsky were co- winners of the sportsmanship award in a recent tournament held at Bishop Hoban High School. The Gators will open the tour- nament Friday, March 30 and play the diocesan champions from Harrisburg. Members of the team are Sean Leary, Tim Crossin, Matt Wilson, Brian Os- trowsky, Ken Regan, Ryan Mur- ray, Robert Baur, Connor Judge, Jim DeRemer, Jared Nothstein, Steven Goode, Michael DeRojas, Jonathan Stephens and Gregory SuhockKi. o 100k your fishing license on-line Pennsylvania fishing licenses are now available on-line. A Quick visit to the Pennsylvania fish and Boat Commission's homepage (www.fish.state.pa.us) ‘and a click on the “Outdoor Shop” al- lows outdoor enthusiasts to purchase fishing licenses. The Q:crvice can also be accessed through the PA PowerPort at www.state.pa.us. The majority of licenses will continue to be sold through 1,300 sporting good and depart- ment stores that serve as issu- ing agents for the Fish and Boat Commission. However, the in- ternet provides an option for Pennsylvania's anglers to pur- chase licenses from the conve- nience of their own home any time. The availability of on-line li- censing comes as anglers are gearing up for the annual open- ing of trout season, this year at 8 a.m. on April 14. For the next few weeks, fish- ing licenses and trout stamps will be mailed. Within a month or so, purchasers of fishing li- censes and trout stamps should be able to purchase “instant” fishing licenses and trout stamps online. Purchasers will print their li- censes and stamps on their home printers. These instant li- censes will contain various safe- guards to ensure their authen- ticity. Senior Night for L-L boys basketball Seniors were honored at a banquet on March 25th at the Apple Tree Terrace sponsored by the Lake-Lehman Boys Basketball Booster Club. From left: JV Coach Joe DeCesaris, April Eaton, John Pop- ko, Al Sennett, Matt Dunn, and Varsity Coach Jim Spencer. Absent from photo; John Sharkus. DYB tournament teams results POST PHOTOS/JIM PHILLIPS Tim Crossin (left photo) looked for an opening around Lake- Lehman defender Brandon Burkhart in a game played last week. Above, Matt Wilson drove to the baseline past Matt Shiskowski. Lehman wrestlers advance to regionals The Knights placed 15 wrestlers in M.A.W.A. Districts and will compete at Shamokin Sat., Mar. 31 and Sun., April 1 in the North- eastern Regionals. The top 4 place winners will advance to East Stroudsburg to compete in the Eastern National Championships. They were: Bantam; Jake Winters, 52lbs., 2nd place; Ryan Mur- phy, 60lbs., 1st place; Josh Zacharias 52lbs., 3rd place; Derick El- lard; 65lbs., 3rd place. Midget: Tyler McDonald, 80lbs., 2nd place; Shane Stark, 66lbs., 2nd place. Junior: Rick Bower, 9llbs, 2nd place. Intermediate: Matt Dragon, 128lbs., 1st place; Matt Davis, 136lbs., 1st place; Joe Klamunes, 145lbs., 3rd place; Andy Josh- weit, 115lbs, 2nd place. Advanced: Derek White, 110lbs., 3rd place; Jeremy Schutz, 130lbs., 1st place; Scott Carter, 135lbs., 3rd place; Kevin McHugh, 145lbs., 3rd place. an SS 4 DHS Soccer craft show The Dallas High School Soccer Club is sponsoring the annual Spring Craft Show on Sunday, April 1, at the Dallas Senior High School from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 100 vendors from Penn- sylvania and New Jersey will be represented and selling various crafts. Soccer Club members will be selling lunch and baked goods. Admission is free. eated from left: Kay Love, Blanche George, craft show co-ordina- tor and Pam Pambianco. Standing from left: Christine Shiber and Rita Recchia. 5th Grade Tournament Team Mark Covert scored 11 points and Eric Tucker eight as, the DYB 5th Grade Team defeated Regis Academy 36-28 in the CYC 5th Grade Tournament. Mike Kravitsky added six points. 8th Grade Tournament Team Jimmy Schwerdtman scored 17 points and Matt Kelly 14 as the 8th Grade Tournament Team defeated Northwest 68-43 in the consolation game of the Gate of Heaven Tournament. Earlier in the tournament, Dal- las edged Sacred Heart 26-18 behind Doug Harding's six points and the defense of Joe Kaiser and Michael Gross. The team lost to Valley West 34-25. DYB was led by Kyle Arnaud and Daniel Taroli with four points each and Peter Steve with three. Also scoring for DYB were Ryan Marascio with eight points, D.J. Molino with seven, John Paruls- ki and Matt Daube each with six each, and Curtis Montz with five. In the opening round game, DYB lost to Lehman by 16 points as Eric Samanas and Michael Lloyd led the offense. Baseball travel teams seek members The Wyoming Valley Huskies traveling baseball teams are seeking players for the 2001 season. Players born on or after Aug.1,1990 are eligible for the ten and under team, while players born on or after Aug.1,1988 are eligible for the 12 and under team. The teams will play a 40 plus game schedule against all-star caliber teams from through out the United States. Majority of games will be played on Saturdays and Sundays. Prospective players from the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton/Hazleton areas should email player profiles to wyvalhuskies@netscape.net, or call Chris at 820-0510 for more in- formation. 1 HL White Dragons score gold Members of the White Dragon Martial Arts School from the Back Mountain area recently attended the prestigious Coal Kickin Karate Tournament at Marion High school in Tamaqua Pa. hosted by tour- nament Director Jon Bonner. The students scored well, taking tro- phies and several scored the top prize in karate competition. Pic- tured from left are White Dragon stylists David Haas Sr. taking third in adult intermediate Fighting and third in Kata competition; Michael Weisenbacher taking First Place in intermediate youth Kata Division and Chris Marcikonis taking First Place in Junior Begin- ner fighting Division. They are commended for their professional- ism, conduct and good sportsmanship. The students are trained in the art of Pai Lum, known in English as White Dragon KungFu, un- der the direction of Sifu William Lamoreux.
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