Penn College Baseball Team Wins PSUAC West Division Crown
Published 04.25.2006
The Pennsylvania College of Technology baseball team is headed for the Penn State University Athletic Conference championship series this weekend at Penn State against a still-undetermined opponent.
Penn College, 29-11 overall, earned a berth in the final Monday by beating Penn State Harrisburg, 15-0 in seven innings, and Penn State Beaver, 7-6 in 11 innings.
The college's East Division opponent will come from among Penn State Delaware, Penn State Abington, Penn State Wilkes-Barreand Penn State Hazleton. They will continue eliminations through Thursday.
In their PSUAC West Division semifinal game against Penn State Harrisburg, the Wildcats coasted, but it wasn't as easy in the divisional championship game against Penn State Beaver as they fell behind 6-0 midway through the fifth inning before rallying to pull out the gameand the title.
"The (divisional) championship game was one awesome game. In my career, I don't think I've been in one where the kids didn't hang their head or give up (like that). They just played truly professional-style baseball," Wildcats coach Rees Daneker said.
"There was no doubt in their minds that they were going to come back at some point; but, if they keep waiting that long, they're going to give their coach a heart attack," Daneker continued.
Pacing the team offensively on the day were Phil Woodring (Waynesboro), who went 9-for-10 at the plate with a home run, two doubles and six runs batted in during the first game; Mike Daciw (Sun Valley), who went 4-for-7, and Tai Mitchell, who went 3-for-6.
On the mound, Jordan Staib (Williamsport) and Dan Preston (Montrose) combined on a three-hitter in the first game, while Nate Hill (Loyalsock Township) picked up the win in relief in the second game.
Commenting on the second-game victory, Daneker said, "A base hit (by Matt Francis of Williamsport) won it in the 11th, but everybody that we put in did something. They sacrificed their bodies and everything else to win that ballgame."
"They were awesome all day,"he added.