Penn College Softball Team Headed for NEAC Playoffs

Published 04.30.2017

News
Athletics
Wildcat Weekly

Despite a 4-4 week, the Pennsylvania College of Technology women’s softball team is headed to this weekend’s North Eastern Athletic Conference playoffs while the college’s tennis teams wrapped up their seasons this past weekend.



Softball
Hosting Keuka College in NEAC play on Monday, the Wildcats dropped both games, losing the first 6-2 and the second 4-2. In the opener, Taylor Krow, of Mechanicsburg, had two of Penn College’s five hits and, in the nightcap, Krow added three hits and scored a run.

At Keuka College on Wednesday, Penn College dropped two more, by scores of 5-2 and 7-3. Taylor Brooks, of Cogan Station, had two hits in the first game, including a triple, and added a hit and scored a run in the second contest.

On Saturday at SUNY Poly, the Wildcats solidified their position for the third and final divisional playoff berth with a doubleheader sweep by scores of 3-1 and 5-2. In the first game, Elizabeth Asher, of East Stroudsburg, plated two runs with a single in a three-run first inning for Penn College. Brooks went five innings on the mound for the win. In the second game, the Wildcats used a three-run seventh to pull out the victory. Kassie Winters, of Sayre, went 3-for-4 with a double and one run scored at the plate and improved to 7-3 on the mound after six innings of work.

Wrapping up the week on Sunday at SUNY Cobleskill, Penn College posted 6-1 and 5-1 wins, lifting their overall record to 20-11 and NEAC mark to 16-6. Offensively, Brooks had another big day by going 6-for-8, including a double and triple. On the mound, she tossed a three-hitter in the first game to improve to 7-2 on the season. In the nightcap, Amanda Kustanbauter, of Muncy, fired a three-hitter to go to 6-5 overall.

Looking ahead to the double-elimination playoffs being hosted by Penn State DuBois, depending on the outcome of Tuesday’s home games against Wells College, the Wildcats either will be the second or third seed in the North Division.

On Friday, the No. 2 seed from the North Division faces the No. 3 seed from the South and the No. 2 seed from the South will play the No. 3 seed from the North with the winners advancing against the top seeds from each division.

After Sunday’s play, Keuka College led the North with a 23-1 record, Penn College was next at 16-6 and Cazenovia College was third at 17-7. In the South, Penn State Berks was 19-1, Wilson College 15-5 and Penn State Abington 10-10.

Playoff action continues Saturday and Sunday.

“Our outlook is positive because we have played some tough competition this year. We’ve made some mistakes in tough games that we learned from. … We still have a lot more to give, so we know that we can compete,” second-year Penn College coach Jackie Klahold said.

“One of the things I’m really proud of is how our pitching staff has come together. We’re very balanced throughout our pitching staff,” she said. “Each pitcher has really fed off each other and it has just really brought the whole team together.

“We try to preach to them having that strong pitching on the mound and having that solid defense behind the pitcher. And then having those timely hitters … making the most of the opportunities we create for ourselves is definitely going to be a key.”

Early in the week, it was announced that Brooks, a sophomore, was named the NEAC Pitcher of the Week.

In North Eastern Athletic Conference action this week: Host Wells College (9-21 overall through Sunday), 5 p.m. Tuesday at Elm Park.

Last meeting vs. Wells College: Won on April 11 by scores of 14-3 and 3-1. Leading 14-5 in first game on April 20 when play was suspended by rain.

Statistically speaking through Sunday: Kustanbauter was third in the NEAC with a 1.49 earned run average and Brooks was fifth in two categories (2.07 ERA and 86 strikeouts.)

NEAC North Division standings through Sunday: Keuka College 23-1, Penn College 16-6, Cazenovia College 17-7, SUNY Poly 10-14, Wells College 8-14, Morrisville State College 6-18, SUNY Cobleskill 2-22.

Baseball
On Thursday, Penn College split in NEAC action at Lancaster Bible College, winning 6-2 and losing 10-7. In the first game, the Wildcats used a three-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run triple from Evan Vigna, of McAdoo. Ben Flicker, of Topton, added a solo home run in the fifth to back the five-strikeout pitching of Max Bair, of Centre Hall, who improved to 5-1 overall.

In the second game, Penn College led 7-4 after the top of the eighth but gave up six runs, all unearned, in the bottom of the inning. Richard Lennon, of Morgantown, hit two home runs during the game and plated six runs. The Wildcats had five errors in the game.

Stepping out of the conference on Friday at Penn State DuBois, Penn College fell, 2-1, in 10 innings. The game was well-pitched by both teams as only 10 total hits were recorded, six by the Wildcats, who also committed three errors.

Ending their week on Sunday, the Wildcats split a nonconference home twin bill against Alfred State, losing 9-8 and winning 6-3, to go to 20-10 overall. Cole Hofmann, of Newtown, had the hot bat, going 5-for-7 with two doubles, three runs scored and four runs batted in.

In North Eastern Athletic Conference action this week: At SUNY Poly (8-25 overall through Sunday), 1 p.m. Saturday; host Keuka College at Loyalsock Township High School (14-15 overall through Sunday), noon Sunday.


Last meeting vs. SUNY Poly: Split on April 2, 2016, winning 10-5 and losing 14-8.

Last meeting vs. Keuka College: Split on April 26, 2015, winning 3-2 and losing 3-1.

Statistically speaking through Sunday: Flicker was fourth in the NEAC with a .408 batting average; Lennon was fifth with 32 runs batted in; Bair was second with four wins and fourth with a 3.43 earned run average; and Bradley Walter, of Williamsport, was tied for third with 43 strikeouts.

Standings through Sunday: Penn State Abington 10-2, Penn College 9-3, Penn State Berks 9-5, Keuka College 7-5, Lancaster Bible College 8-7, SUNY Poly 7-7, Wells College 4-10, Gallaudet University 4-12, Cazenovia College 3-10.

Tennis
On Monday at Lycoming College, both the men and women lost by 9-0 scores.

On Tuesday at home against Misericordia University, the Wildcat men won, 5-4, to close out a 2-11 regular season. Winning in both their singles and doubles matches for Penn College were Ben Morton, of Red Lion, at No. 5 singles, and Stephen Helminiak, of Williamsport, at No. 6 singles, and the two of them at No. 3 doubles.

In the men’s portion of the NEAC Championships on Thursday and Friday, Blake Whitmire, of Shickshinny, at No. 1 singles; Ethan Rosler, of Bloomsburg, at No. 2 singles; Nicholas Pascual, of Doylestown, at No. 3 singles; Andrew Francisco, of Bronx, New York, at No. 4 singles; and Helminiak, at No. 5 singles, all went 0-2 as did the doubles teams of Whitmire-Pascual, at No. 1, and Rosler-Francisco, at No. 2.

In the women’s portion of the NEAC Championships on Saturday and Sunday, Melissa Stabley, of Cogan Station, at No. 1 singles, and Jane Herman, of Greencastle, at No. 3 singles, both finished third and were awarded All-NEAC Third Team honors after they both finished 1-1. In doubles action, Stabley and Morgan Blackwell, of Beech Creek, went 0-2 as did Herman and Emily Bell, of Jersey Shore.

Also, it was announced on Wednesday that Herman was named the NEAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week after going 4-0 in singles and doubles during two conference matches.

Men's Tennis
Final NEAC West Division standings:
Penn State Berks 3-0, Penn State Abington 3-0, Lancaster Bible College 2-2, Penn College 1-3, Bryn Athyn 0-4. (Penn State Berks won the championship 6-3 over Penn State Abington).

Women's Tennis
Final NEAC West Division standings:
Penn State Abington 6-0, Penn State Berks 5-1, Lancaster Bible College 4-2, Wells College 3-3, Penn College 2-4, Bryn Athyn College 1-5, St. Elizabeth College 1-5. (Penn State Abington won the division championship 5-2 over Penn State Berks).

Baseball
On Thursday, Penn College split in NEAC action at Lancaster Bible College, winning 6-2 and losing 10-7. In the first game, the Wildcats used a three-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run triple from Evan Vigna, of McAdoo. Ben Flicker, of Topton, added a solo home run in the fifth to back the five-strikeout pitching of Max Bair, of Centre Hall, who improved to 5-1 overall.

In the second game, Penn College led 7-4 after the top of the eighth but gave up six runs, all unearned, in the bottom of the inning. Richard Lennon, of Morgantown, hit two home runs during the game and plated six runs. The Wildcats had five errors in the game.

Stepping out of the conference on Friday at Penn State DuBois, Penn College fell, 2-1 in 10 innings, to go to 19-9 overall. The game was well-pitched by both teams as only 10 total hits were recorded, six by the Wildcats, who also committed three errors.

In North Eastern Athletic Conference action this week: At SUNY Poly (8-25 overall through Sunday), 1 p.m. Saturday; host Keuka College at Loyalsock Township High School (14-15 overall through Sunday), noon Sunday.

Last meeting vs. SUNY Poly: Split on April 2, 2016, winning 10-5 and losing 14-8.

Last meeting vs. Keuka College: Split on April 26, 2015, winning 3-2 and losing 3-1.

Statistically speaking through Sunday: Flicker was fourth in the NEAC with a .408 batting average; Lennon was fifth with 32 runs batted in; Bair was second with four wins and fourth with a 3.43 earned run average; and Bradley Walter, of Williamsport, was tied for third with 43 strikeouts.

Standings through Sunday: Penn State Abington 10-2, Penn College 9-3, Penn State Berks 9-5, Keuka College 7-5, Lancaster Bible College 8-7, SUNY Poly 7-7, Wells College 4-10, Gallaudet University 4-12, Cazenovia College 3-10.

Penn College Honors Six Student-Athletes
Thursday evening, Penn College honored six student-athletes with three awards at its inaugural Athletics Banquet.

Kassie Winters, of Sayre, in softball, and Josh Velez, of Lewistown, in cross-country, were named Newcomers of the Year.

Winters started the season with a 5-0 record and was 6-3 at the time of the voting. Velez finished seventh at the NEAC Championship, earning All-NEAC First Team honors and Co-Rookie of the Year honors.

Thomas Ross, of Williamsport, in basketball, and Hanna Williams, of Marion, New York, in soccer and tennis, were named Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
Ross was a team captain, a member of Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and carries a very high GPA. He was a NABC Good Works Nominee and scored his 1000th career point this season. Williams is involved in numerous clubs and organizations, carries a very high GPA. She was chosen to represent the NEAC at the NCAA Convention in January and is the vice president of SAAC.

Flicker, in baseball, and Herman, in soccer, basketball and tennis, were named Athletes of the Year.

Flicker leads the Wildcats in six major offensive categories and is in the top five in the NEAC in several categories. Herman was an all-conference selection in both soccer and tennis (last season) and second on the team in scoring in basketball. Herman was 5-0 in conference play in tennis this season.

SCHEDULES/RECORDS/RESULTS
Baseball
Overall record: 20-10
NEAC record: 9-3
Thursday, April 27 – at Lancaster Bible College (NEAC, 2), W, 6-2; L, 10-7
Friday, April 28 – at Penn State DuBois, L, 2-1, 10 innings
Sunday, April 30 – host Alfred State at Loyalsock Township High School (2), L, 9-8; W, 6-3
Wednesday, May 3 – at Elmira College, 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 6 – at SUNY Poly (NEAC, 2), 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 – host Keuka College at Loyalsock Township High School (NEAC, 2), noon
Friday-Sunday, May 12-14 – NEAC Championships

Softball
Overall record: 20-11
NEAC record: 16-6
Monday, April 24 – host Keuka College at Elm Park (NEAC, 2), L, 6-2; L, 4-2
Wednesday, April 26 – at Keuka College (NEAC, 2), L, 5-2; L, 7-3
Saturday, April 29 – at SUNY Poly (NEAC, 2), W, 3-1; W, 5-2
Sunday, April 30 – at SUNY Cobleskill (NEAC, 2), W, 6-1; W, 5-1
Tuesday, May 2 – host Wells College at Elm Park (NEAC, 2), 5 p.m.
Friday-Sunday, May 5-7 – NEAC Championships

Men's Tennis
Final overall record: 2-11
Final NEAC record: 1-3
Monday, April 24 – at Lycoming College, L, 9-0
Tuesday, April 25 – host Misericordia University, W, 5-4

Women's Tennis
Final overall record: 2-12
Final NEAC record: 2-4
Monday, April 24 – at Lycoming College, L, 9-0
Saturday-Sunday, April 29-30 – NEAC Championships at Birchwood Tennis Club, Clarks Summit

Golf
Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23 – NEAC Championships at Bryn Athyn, finished fourth in a nine-team field

Archery
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, May 19-20-21 – Outdoor Nationals at Chula Vista, Calif.

For more, visit the Wildcat Athletics website.

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