SPORTS DIGEST, 5-13-09 - 1

SPORTS DIGEST 1, 5-13-09

NATIONAL EXCITEMENT-

They wrapped up their bat bags, tucked their gloves in their duffles and shuffled out of Field 2 at the Little League complex Sunday evening. 

"They" are the Pennsylvania College of Technology baseball Wildcats. They have been a familiar sight over this spring on this field but on this day, at this practice, the Cats were in a special mode. It was to be their last team workout before their departure on Monday for the 7-team National Championship tourney in the United States Collegiate Athletic Conference. The tourney is a double elimination event being staged at the War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, Virginia. Penn College, seeded third in the pre tourney brackets off a PSUAC championship season and their 35-7 overall record, played their opener Tuesday against the sixth seeded Briancliffe College of Bethpage, N.Y. 

  During a phone conversation with Howard last week,

 the Wildcat coach said, "I've told the team it is so very important to get that first game. If you lose you can come back but it means you have to play extra games. A first game win sets the tone for the rest of the tournament." 

Howard went on, "We are on a quest to bring this title back to Penn College. We have just won the PSUAC title for the second year in a row. In past years that was as far as a Wildcat team could go. Now, we have this opportunity to play for a national title. If I didn't think these guys could play at this level we would have said No Thanks to the bid and packed our bags."

The former Williamsport Gray player (1989, Double A Eastern League), Howard added, "I like this team. We have a lot of senior leadership who know how to play baseball and know how I want the game to be played. We have a good mix of pitching and defense plus we are a solid offensive team. The problem is we don't know these other teams. If they are here they must be good so it boils down who is going to throw the ball the best and who is going to catch the ball the best. We have shown that we can do those things as well as the next guy."

At this practice I was watching, Howard had 24 players involved as they followed a practice plan that had been intact from Day One. Opening stretches, loosen the arms, batted infield grounders, batted outfield fly balls.  A basic infield and outfield team drill, catches and throws to bases.  All of this followed by a round of hitting off Howard BP pitches. 

In a sit down with Jim Carpenter,who is doing  Penn College Sports Information Howard, who is assisted by Tom Persing, former Montgomery great in four sports and a Montgomery Hall of Fame member, said he planned no changes with his team lineup. 

That meant that lefthander Mark

 Shaffer (9-2, 2.45 ERA) was slated as the first game starter. The Game 2 pitcher was to be Adam Thomke, who was taking a 7-0 seasonal record and a 2.25 ERA into the tourney. A third starter is Harrison Myers who has a 6-1 record.  Alex Gingerich and Brian Penyak are the top relievers.

When the Cats batted they would lead lead off with  senior Phil Woodring followed by  Garret Hornung, Adam Thomke (when not pitching), Devon Liquori, Tommy Hughes, Matt Mientus, Justin Crouther, James Craft and Dane Glick. Under the Howard system  those not starting knew their opportunity was right around the corner, maybe the next pitch. 

Woodring, anchoring the infield as the shortstop,  has been a Wildcat front runner for four years and is capping it off with his best seasonal effort. He is an All-American candidate and has the numbers to qualify. The stats kept by the USCAA show him as the Number one hitter (.591) in the USCAA membership. . He is also tops in slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, doubles and 6th in triples. Shaffer, Liquori and Hornung are the other names submitted by Howard for All American consideration.

Baseball is the fifth Penn College athletic program to qualify for play at the national level in the 2008-09 athletic season. The Wildcat men and women basketball teams plus the men's soccer team have challenged for a national title under the USCAA. Each one finished out of the money but, as is all of the college, they are showing campus support for the baseball Wildcats. 

THAT'S 30-1