Wildcats see Spring Break action

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s baseball and softball teams combined for nine wins and seven losses during spring break play in South Carolina over the past week, while the men’s lacrosse squad split in its two outings. This coming Saturday, the men’s and women’s tennis teams begin their spring season.

BASEBALL
In a Monday twin bill against Eastern Nazarene College, Dallas Griess of Williamsport went yard twice and doubled, finishing with three hits, three RBIs and three runs scored in a 7-2 first-game win. Starting pitcher Jonas McGrath of Ashland got the win as he fanned eight in four innings of work. The Wildcats also won the second game, 7-4, getting a three-run homer from Adam Aldenderfer of Trout Run and a solo shot from Quinn Hanafin of Sayre to back starting pitcher Ryan Sawyer of Cornwall, New York, who earned the “W.”

On Tuesday, in a morning game against Penn State DuBois, DuBois won 6-4, handing Penn College its first loss. In an afternoon contest, the Wildcats fell to Westminster College 12-1. Penn College took an early 4-0 lead against PS DuBois before the Nittany Lions came back to pull out the win. Shawn Townsend of Hatboro led the Wildcats offense with three hits. Against Westminster, Townsend added two hits to his day, but they were the only ones for Penn College.

Facing new foe St. Elizabeth University, a team that competes in the United East Skye Division, the Wildcats lost 10-9 on Wednesday. Penn College trailed 5-2 after three innings, led 8-6 after six and got outscored 4-1 the rest of the way. Kevin Cute of Glenside had a two-run double in the fifth and Jaydon Goebel of Honey Brook ended with three RBIs. Starting at catcher for St. Elizabeth was junior Alexia Jorge, who earlier in the week became just the second woman to start at catcher in NCAA history and one of fewer than 20 to play college baseball in NCAA history, according to the St. Elizabeth website.

Closing out its week on Thursday, Penn College fell behind Penn State Hazleton 7-3 after 5.5 innings before a five-run sixth got it back into the game that went into extra innings and won 10-9 in 10 innings. Later in the day, the Wildcats finished with a 4-4 week after an 8-3 loss to Worcester Poly Institute. Against PS Hazleton, the Wildcats hammered out 17 hits as Logan Hinnershitz of Quakertown went 4 for 5, and Townsend finished 4 for 6. Brandon Shane of Boyertown had three RBIs. In the second game, five Penn College errors helped lead to seven Worcester unearned runs. Shane and Jaiden Augustine of Dillsburg both had two hits for Penn College.

Townsend ended the week hitting .379, while Augustine hit .348 and Shane .300. As a team, the Wildcats hit .269, as did their opponents. Penn College pitchers had a 5.59 staff ERA to its opponents’ 4.74 and Penn College posted a .946 fielding percentage and its opponents’ .950.

Reflecting, coach Chris Howard said, “I was overall pretty happy with our play. This week is about getting out there and competing and I was really happy with our effort.

“I thought our defense played rock solid, and I was happy with how our pitchers went out there and attacked hitters.

“Offensively, we started to heat up as the week progressed.

“We have some really talented freshmen that are going to play big roles this year.

“We, of course, have a lot of work to do and areas that need improving, but I love the direction we are going.”

Schedule/Record/Series History
Overall: 4-4
UE Volt Division: 0-0
Spring Break at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Monday, March 4 — vs. Eastern Nazarene College (2), W, 7-2; W, 7-3
Tuesday, March 5 — vs. Penn State DuBois, L, 6-4
Tuesday, March 5 — vs.  Westminster College, L, 12-1
Wednesday, March 6 — vs. St. Elizabeth University, L, 10-9
Thursday, March 7 — vs. Penn State Hazleton, W, 10-9 in 10-innings
Thursday, March 7 — vs. Worcester Poly Institute, L, 8-3
Thursday, March 14 — at Juniata College, 3:30 p.m. (Juniata leads 4-0)
Friday, March 14 — at Lancaster Bible College (UE), 3 p.m. (Penn College leads 17-7)
Saturday, March 15 — at Lancaster Bible College (UE, 2), noon

SOFTBALL
After falling behind 2-0, Penn College rallied in the seventh inning for a 4-2 season-opening win on Monday morning against Immaculata University. Ivvy Morder of Mechanicsburg delivered a two-run single to plate the winning runs and make a winner of starting pitcher Mackenzie Weaver of Montoursville. Weaver struck out nine and walked only one. Facing Delaware Valley in the second game of the day, the Wildcats lost 7-0. Grace Lorson of Jersey Shore led the offense with three hits.

Tuesday’s action saw Penn College fall in a morning game to Centenary University, 2-0, and rebound with a 5-2 win over Eastern Nazarene College. Against Centenary, Lorson had two of the Wildcats’ five hits and Weaver took the mound loss. In its second-game win, Penn College took advantage of three Eastern errors and a wild pitch to score three unearned runs and help starting pitcher Fayth Anderson of Lykens even her record at 1-1. Morder and Jesse Brumbaugh of McClure both had two hits and Morder scored three runs.

After a day off on Wednesday, the Wildcats posted a 2-0 win over Cedar Crest College on Thursday morning and then topped Norwich University, 3-1, in the afternoon. Against Cedar Crest, which plays in the United East Skye Division, Morder and Lexi Snyder of Hegins had RBI singles in the sixth inning for the game’s lone runs and Weaver tossed an eight-strikeout, no-walk shutout. Against Norwich, RBI doubles by Weaver and Lorson helped make a mound winner of Anderson, who fanned five and walked one.

Wrapping up the week on Friday, Penn College made quick work of Cairn University with a 20-0, five-inning win against a United East Skye Division member and then fell to Bridgewater University 12-8. Against Cairn, a UE Skye Division team, Weaver tossed a two-hit, 10-strikeout, no-walk gem and was backed by an offense highlighted by Morder, who had three hits, drove in five runs and scored twice, and Sofia LaSpina of Bellmore, New York, who had three hits, plated four runs and also scored twice. During the win, Weaver recorded her 300th career strikeout. Against Bridgewater, the Wildcats led 8-5 through four innings before the Bears scored three in the fifth and four in the sixth to win. Weaver fanned five in relief and took the loss.

During the week, Morder batted .458, Anderson .385, Lorson .357, Madison Shaffer of Trout Run .333 and LaSpina .318. Weaver posted a 1.58 ERA. Teamwise, Penn College hit .296 and its opponents .257. The Wildcats’ staff ERA was 2.56, and their opponents’ was 3.64. Penn College had a .957 fielding percentage and its opponents’ was .923.

“Overall, I am happy with our 5-3 record. We had fantastic pitching on this trip and were able to see a lot of different defensive rotations at work,” coach Angela Stackhouse said.

Stackhouse continued, “Our bats came alive as the week went on and we saw a lot of growth in the batter box. We had some rookies step in and fill big roles, and veterans producing as expected!

“I am very excited to get this team home and back to work as we continue to prepare for conference play.”

Schedule/Record/Series History
Overall: 5-3
UE Volt Division: 0-0
Fast Pitch Dreams Classic at North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Monday, March 4 — vs. Immaculata University, W, 4-2
Monday, March 4 — vs. Delaware Valley University, L, 7-0
Tuesday, March 5 — vs. Centenary University, L, 2-0
Tuesday, March 5 — vs. Eastern Nazarene College, W, 5-2
Thursday, March 7 — vs. Cedar Crest College, W, 2-0
Thursday, March 7 — vs. Norwich University, W, 3-1
Friday, March 8 — vs. Cairn University, W, 20-0 in 5-innings
Friday, March 8 — vs. Bridgewater University, L, 12-8
Friday, March 15 — host Rosemont College (2), 3 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Saturday, March 16 — host Penn State Altoona (2), 1 p.m. (Penn College leads 2-0)

MEN’S LACROSSE
Trailing 8-6 at halftime, the Wildcats outscored Greensboro College 7-2 in the second half for a 13-10 road win on Wednesday. Devin Page of Pine City, New York, scored three goals to lead the Penn College offense and Harrison Schlachta of Collegeville scored two goals and an assist. The Wildcats led in shots on goal 31-14 and goalkeeper Alex Hammond of Lincoln University made four saves.

Hosting Shenandoah University on Saturday, Penn College trailed 8-3 after the first quarter, closed to within two at 9-7 in the third quarter and 11-9 in the fourth before the visitors pulled away with a 14-10 win. Schlachta had two goals and an assist; Sam Hills of Maynard, Massachusetts, had two goals; AJ Dotson of Wilmington, Delaware, had a goal and three assists; and Aidan McFalls of Gilbertsville had a goal and two assists for the Wildcats.

Schedule/Record/Series History
Overall record: 2-4
UE record: 0-0
Wednesday, March 6 — at Greensboro College, W, 13-10
Saturday, March 9 — host Shenandoah University, L, 14-10
Saturday, March 16 — at Immaculata University, 3 p.m. (Penn College leads 2-0)

ESPORTS
(All events at Wildcat Den)
Schedule/Results
iRacing
CIL Cup Series
Monday, March 4 — Las Vegas, ppd.
Monday, March 11 — The Leg Dog 150, 8 p.m.

CIL Formula World Championship
Wednesday, March 6 — US-Circuit of the Americas, ppd.
Wednesday, March 13 — Petit-Road Atlanta, 8 p.m.

Rocket League Varsity
Overall record: 4-0
Monday, March 4 — vs. Kettering University, W, fft.
Monday, March 11 — vs. Minnesota State-Mankato, 7 p.m.

Overwatch 2
Overall record: 4-0
Tuesday, March 5 — vs. Concordia College, ppd.
Tuesday, March 12 — vs. Dallas Baptist University, 7 p.m.

Valorant
Overall record: 3-2
Wednesday, March 6 — vs. Texas A&M-San Antonio, L, 2-0
Wednesday, March 13 — Old Dominion, 7 p.m.

Counter Strike 2
Overall record: 1-2
Friday, March 8 — vs. George Mason University, ppd.
Friday, March 15 — vs. Stockton University, 7 p.m.

MEN’S/WOMEN’S TENNIS
Schedule/Series History
Saturday, March 16 — host King’s College, 1 p.m. (Men: King’s leads 7-0; Women: King’s leads 7-0)

GOLF
Schedule
Friday, March 29 — Pennsylvania Classic Day 1 at Penn State White Course, 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 30 — Pennsylvania Classic Day 2 at Penn State Blue Course, 11 a.m.

ARCHERY
Schedule
Saturday-Sunday, April 20-21 — USA Archery East Region Outdoor Championship and Adam Wheatcroft Memorial at Harrisonburg, Va.

For more about the United East, visit the conference website.
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.