'Pack the Park' Pregame Honors Championship Wildcats

Students, employees and alumni were among the 1,963 fans attending Penn College's 16th annual “Pack the Park Night” in Susquehanna Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field this week. On the night after the Williamsport Crosscutters clinched their first Pinckney Division title in a decade, the celebratory air continued with the pregame presentation of championship rings to members of the college's Wildcat baseball team, who topped the North Eastern Athletic Conference this season. General admission tickets and shuttle service to and from campus were provided free of charge, there were games and giveaways throughout the evening, and a handful of students were chosen for the opportunity to win $10,000 toward college expenses. The 'cutters, who lost 8-4 to the Auburn Doubledays, play their first postseason playoff game Wednesday.

– Photos by Caleb G. Schirmer, student photographer

 

Fans, many in Penn College attire, watch the action.

Coach Chris Howard (right) and his NEAC champion Penn College Wildcats are introduced by Gabe Sinicropi Jr., the Crosscutters' vice president of marketing and public relations.

Howard (backed by assistant coach Levon A. Whitmyer, an instructor of building construction technology at the college) congratulates Noah Esposito as teammates await their rings. Esposito, of Williamsport, is a civil engineering technology student.

Boomer, the Crosscutters' mascot, entertains the crowd.

All hands on deck: The Penn College Wildcats, who knocked off SUNY Poly, Penn State Abington and Penn State Berks en route to the conference title in May, show off their championship rings.

The campus community helps "Pack the Park."

The view from home

Enjoying a night at the ballpark

Penn College Pride!

Waiting for that perfect pitch

Students vie for a windfall in a postgame contest ...

... including Emily D. Perry, a pre-applied health studies: surgical technology concentration major from Hanover, inspecting her prize package with Sinicropi.