The Collegian Wednesday, March 14,1990
Sports
Men f s baseball
Lions hope to improve
on disappointing
'B9 campaign
by Tony Viola
Collegian Staff Writer
The Behrend nine hopes to
improve on their disappointing 5-
26 season that they went through
last year. Hopefully, the first
week of the '9O campaign is not
an indication of how this year
will be.
The Lions started their season
last weekend against West
Virginia Wesleyan and Davis &
Elkins down in West Virginia.
The game against Davis &
Elkins was cancelled due to bad
weather conditions.
The Lions dropped the first
game with West Virginia
Wesleyan, 12-2, last Friday. The
Lions were also defeated in the
second game, 12-2.
Fifteen players are not
returning this season for
Baseball C6ach Mike Bari.
Several of the players not
reluming could have been major
contributors.
Some of the key returning
players include the four captains,
who are pitcher Ray Cerqua, right
fielder Scott Fleshman, second
baseman Percy Gum, and left
fielder Darin Wotus.
Junior Robert Toth, a transfer
from the Penn State-Mckeesport
Campus, is expected to help the
team in the Field. Center Fielder
Jim Goard and Wotus arc the
other juniors returning from last
year.
Sophomores returning this
season-include left Fielder- second
baseman Kirk McKinney, right
Fielder Bill Taylor, and catcher
first baseman Ffeul Bcnim.
Captains Cerqua and
Fleshman are the main pitchers
March Madness
Writer makes his
predictions as NCAA
tournament play begins
by Tony Viola
Collegian Staff Writer
The Ides of March have
arrived, and with them comes the
beginning of the NCAA Division
> Basketball Tournament
The Final Four will be played
at high altitude Denver, so
endurance will be a major factor
in this year's championship.
The toughest region is the
Southeast and the weakest is the
Bast Region.
A record setting seven teams
from the Big Ten landed bids in
the tourney. They include
Michigan, Michigan State,
Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State,
Minnesota, and Indiana.
for Behrend. For the Lions to
become a better ball club, they
will have to come up with a
couple more tough pitchers .
The schedule is more
promising this season. Behrend
doesn't play as many Division II
schools, but the Lions still play
colleges located near Eric which
Behrend usually plays tough.
Behrend plays more Division 111
teams this year so the Lions will
be playing teams closer in caliber
of play.
The Lions have average speed
in running the bases, but Coach
Bari plans to use the hit and run
to their advantage.
Behrend is more of a line
drive, contact hitting team versus
a powerful hitting club.
If the Lions do get any power
production, some is expected
from freshman Alex Horwath,
who is one of die power hitters
for the Lions. Sophomore Bill
Taylor is also expected to hi', a
long ball threat for Coach llaii.
The freshmen are going to be
a major part of the chance to turn
things around since there arc only
nine returning upperclassmen
playing this season.
Sophomore Kirk McKinney
stated, "Coach Bari has helped llic
freshmen adapt to college life and
athletics, which shows in their
pcrfonn:tncc."
NOTES: Behrend travels to
Virginia next weekend to play
Shenandoah and Gettysburgh
Colleges....ln Division 111 play,
the Lions will play only one
ranked team, Allegheny College.
The Gators are ranked ninth in
the nalion....Behrend plays nine
more games this year than last
season.
Michigan State got the
number one seed in the region
and should have no trouble
making the sweet sixteen. The
last time Michigan State was
seeded First they went on to win
the national championship. It
won't happen this year because
Magic Johnson isn't playing for
them.
LSU plays Villanova in one
of the best matchups in the first
round. The winner will take on
the Georgia Tech-E. Tennessee
St. victor. Georgia Tech should
win both of these games with
very little trouble.
Watch out for Bobby
(continued on page 12)
Members of Behrend community
participate in the Erie Rugby Club
photo by Rick Brooks
Rugby members: Several Behrend students are members of the
Erie Rugby Club. Four of them are Robert Druschel (far left) Marty
Cunningham, Todd Raible, and Mike Piotrowski.
by Jennifer Flanagan
Collegian Staff Writer
The men who play for the
Eric Rugby Club all have a
very high regard for the game
and the tradition that surrounds
it. John Downey, a member of
the Behrend faculty, has been
playing the game for almost
four years and can't get
enough of it.
Through his influence,
several Behrend students have
gotten interested in the game.
Those students are seniors
Marty Cunningham and Todd
Raible, and sophomores Brian
Dwyer and Mike Piotrowski.
Dwyer, in describing the
spirit of die game, says, "You
(day as hard as you can with
good sportsmanship. The point
of the game is not to hurt the
other player.”
Downey elaborated,
explaining that "It's very
important, the spirit of it all.
It's very much a tension type
of fun. You're still competing
with them and you still want to
beat them, but they're still
friends. There's that
respecL..it's just accepted that
there's no fighting with it."
Another unique aspect of
rugby la that the players wear
no protective equipment. As
Downey puts it, "It really takes
a toll on you."
So why do these guys keep
playing?
%s give and take, it may
be hard on your body, but it's
just a really fun game,"
explains Raible. "Nobody else
really (days it, so it's sort of a
novelty. It's not your average
game."
Dwyer agrees. "It’s
different from any sport I've
ever played. It's new to me.”
Cunningham thinks of the
game as "an incredible stress
reliever. You're worried about
school and you go out there,
really get into it and forget
about everything else. People
aren’t playing to intentionally
hurt you, so it's not too bad."
They all agree that it's a
very team-oriented game.
According to Cunningham,
"While it is very team-oriented,
it's structured in a manner that
allows the individual to excel.
It’s very satisfying to me
personally." Elaborating,
Piotrowski says, "If you don't
work as a unit, the team breaks
down. It may not look like it
when you're watching, but
there is coordination in what is
going on."
Downey adds that "You just
can't hog the ball in rugby
because as soon as you get
tackled, you have to get rid of
the ball. Which is the exact
opposite of our instincts as
Americans because that's a
fumble, that's 'bad.' The key
in rugby is to either get off a
pass before you get hit or if
you get down, to let go of the
ball right away. So this tells
you, you have to be thinking
about the person you're going
to pass to; where are your
friends, so to speak."
Piotrowski also feels that
"The tradition surrounding tire
game is part of what makes it
so appealing."
Some of these traditions
indude giving three cheers for
die opposing team a the end of
a match, welcoming the
visiting ieam off the field,
giving the visiters a place to
shower, and then sponsoring a
party for them with food :
drinks, and festivities.
"That's the unique thing
about rugby," says
Cunningham. *You are able to
hang out with the other team
afterwards no mater how hard
you played, or who won or
lost."
Dwyer explains that "you
play against people as hard as
you can, but once the game is
over, you're as friendly as you
were fierce."
Raible adds, "You have all
these dries that play each other
from New York, Ohio, and
Page 11
Pennsylvania, but everybody
knows each other. It's like a
bunch of buddies and you
always throw a party for them
afterwards."
Rugby is a sport in which
everyone gets to (day.
"There is a certain etiquette,
if a player wants to play, he'll
play," says Downey. "If one
team comes with 30 men and
the other team comes with 15,
that team with 15 men plays
twice because you just don't
'not play.'"
When asked what he would
tell someone who was
interested in rugby, Piotrowski
said that "You don't have to
score to be proficient, but you
do have to play your position
well. When you run, you run
fast. When you hit, you hit
hard. When everyone on the
team is doing that, then you're
really operating as a whole,
which is essential."
"Playing is much more
important than winning," says
Raible. "It is hard to explain.
You can watch it and you can
go to practices, but until you
play a match, you just haven't
experienced it"
Dwyer says, "It's definitely
a sport I'd encourage someone
to play. It's a tough game
though, which borders on
dangerous if it's not played
right"
"It's not your typical run of
the mill type of sport that you
see in America," says
Downey. "But if you don't
have that competitive spirit.,
you're better off with some
other sport where it's more for
fun. It's also a contact sport,
to say the least If you are into
that and you want a spirit of
camaraderie to go along with
it, then it's definitely for you."
NOTES: The Erie Rugby
Club always welcomes new
players. Practices are Tuesdays
and Thursdays yt 5 pm at East
High field and Saturdays at 1
pm until rite season starts.