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Baseball
2007 PSAC Championships
May 2-5 - Slippery Rock, PA
all games at Critchfield Park last updated
03/25/08 08:42 AM
Tournament Schedule
May 2
4 PM -- Game 1 -
(W2) Slippery Rock 13 (E2) West Chester 5
7 PM -- Game 2 - (W1) California (PA) 7 (E3) East Stroudsburg
1
May 3
9 AM -- Game 3 - (E1) Kutztown 2 (W3) Shippensburg 0
(RECAP)
Noon - Game 4 - Slippery Rock 8, California (PA) 2
3 PM -- Game 5 - Shippensburg 3, West Chester 2 (WCU
eliminated)
6 PM -- Game 6 - East Stroudsburg 9, Kutztown 5
(RECAP)
May 4
Noon -- Game 7 - California (PA) 4 Kutztown
3 (RECAP) (KU eliminated)
May 1, 2007
KUTZTOWN BASEBALL LOOKING TO DEFEND PSAC TITLE
KUTZTOWN, PA – The Kutztown University baseball team
is headed to Slippery Rock, PA, for the 2007 Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference (PSAC) Playoffs this Wednesday-through-Saturday,
May 2-5.
The #1
team in Division II and the two-time defending PSAC champions, the
Golden Bears are the first seed from the PSAC East. KU will open
the tournament against the PSAC West’s #3 seed, Shippensburg on
Thursday at 9:00 AM, in the six-team, double-elimination
tournament. The tournament will take place at Jack Critchfield Park
on the campus of Slippery Rock. This is the third year of the
six-team format. At stake in the tournament is the PSAC’s automatic
berth in the NCAA Division II Championship.
The
number two seeds, Slippery Rock and West Chester, will begin the
tournament on Wednesday (Today) at 4:00 PM. California (PA), the
number one seed from the west, will face East Stroudsburg, the
number three seed from the east, at 7:00 PM Wednesday.
If KU
defeats Shippensburg, the Golden Bears would face the loser between
California and East Stroudsburg at 6:00 PM Thursday. If Kutztown
would lose, it would play the loser of the Slippery Rock / West
Chester game at 3:00 PM Thursday.
The rest
of the tournament schedule is determined by how many teams remain
after the first full day of games. Contests resume at noon on
Friday and continue through Saturday’s championship round. Tickets
are $7 for adults, $2 for students and PSAC students will be
admitted free with a valid ID.
Kutztown has qualified for the PSAC
Playoffs in each of the past four seasons, and in eight of the last
11 years. In the last nine years, the Golden Bears have won the
PSAC title in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2006, while placing second in
2001 and 2004. KU’s first-ever PSAC title came 41 years ago in
1966.
KU will enter the PSAC tournament as the
#1 ranked team in Division II with a record of 44-3 overall,
finishing 19-1 in the PSAC East. KU's 44 wins match the program's
single-season record for victories, set last year.
KU is under the direction of fifth-year
head coach Chris Blum, who has a career record of 189-66.
The Golden Bears enter the championship
tournament with a balanced offensive attack and a deep pitching
corps. Kutztown has a .324 team batting average and leads the PSAC
with a 3.30 team earned-run average.
Starting pitchers Darin Gorski (fr.
Mount Joy/Donegal), Matt Keller (sr. Fleetwood/Fleetwood),
Jason Mills (sr. Hatfield/North Penn), Mike McCardell (sr.
West Chester/Henderson) and Philip Rummel (jr.
Exeter/West-Mont Christian)
comprise Kutztown’s
rotation.
Gorski is 4-0, with a 2.54 earned
run average and 35 strikeouts in 39.0 innings pitched. He also has
two saves. Keller sports a 4-1 record, with a 4.81 ERA and
43 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. Mills is 6-0, with a 1.37 ERA
and 40 strikeouts in 46.0 innings. McCardell pulls double
duty as a starter and closer. He has started four of his 17
appearances, most in the PSAC, and is 6-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 53
strikeouts in 40.1 innings. He also has four saves. McCardell
and Mills are 1-2 in the PSAC in ERA. Rummel is 7-1
with an ERA of 5.17. He is tied for the most wins in the PSAC.
Rounding
out KU’s pitching staff are Ryan Cassidy (fr.
Langhorne/Archbishop Wood)
(2-0, 1.83), Justin Jachowicz (jr. Summit Hill/Panther
Valley) (2-0, 2.66), Ryan Loper (sr.
Boiling Springs/Cumberland Valley)
(6-0, 3.65), Garrison Rausch (jr.
Allentown/Parkland)
(4-0, 1.53 ERA), and Derek Reis (jr. Jim Thorpe/Jim Thorpe)
(2-0, 3.76 ERA).
Loper, the starting center
fielder, is hitting .354 with 28 runs, 29 RBI and four home runs.
He became the second KU baseball player to play in 200 games and
achieve 200 hits this season. Fellow outfielder Jeff Craig (sr.
Wilkes-Barre/Bishop Hoban) hits .353 with a team-leading five
home runs, 33 runs and PSAC leading 49 RBI. Dan Gavlick (sr.
Medford, NJ/Shawnee), Chad Lightcap (so. Boyertown/Boyertown)
and Rausch rotate KU’s third outfielder. Gavlick is
hitting .300, with 20 RBI and 23 runs scored, while Lightcap
is hitting .414 with 37 RBI and four homers. Rausch his .310 with
two homers and 13 RBI. Bryan Riggins (jr. Glensmoore/Downingtown
West) also sees time in the outfield.
McCardell anchors the infield when
he’s not pitching. The senior, who plays at both first and third
base, is hitting .373 with 25 RBI and four home runs, including two
home runs against West Chester. Nate Kranz (so. Silver
Spring/Cumberland Valley) splits his time between shortstop and
third base. Kranz is hitting .373 with 24 RBI. He has been
hit by pitches a PSAC-high 19 times this season.
Sean Bond (sr. Malvern/Great Valley)
plays the middle infield and Mills is at shortstop when he’s
not pitching. Bond, who transferred from West Chester this season,
is hitting .353 as the leadoff man. He ranks second in the PSAC in
walks, getting 30 free passes this season. He has scored 38 runs
and driven in 24.
Matt Dierolf (jr. Boyertown/Boyertown)
and Matt Kulbacki (fr.
Hershey/Hershey)
platoon
at catcher. Dierolf is hitting .286, while Kulbacki is
hitting .431 with 10 RBI.
Kutztown’s first-round opponent is Shippensburg. Kutztown was
1-0 against Shippensburg in the regular season. The Raiders are
coached by first year head coach, Matt Jones and enter the
tournament 23-21, 13-7 in the PSAC West. Center fielder Justin
Garber leads the team with a .386 average, with 56 hits and has 32.
Tyler Redick is hitting .354 with three homers and 22 RBI. Ross
Buckwalter (5-2, 3.23 ERA, 51 K, 69.2 IP) and Matt Wright (5-2, 2.47
ERA, 80 K in 62.0 IP) anchor the pitching staff.
The other
PSAC Championship participants are:
California – West #1 – Cal, #1 in the west, is
the #2 team in the North Atlantic Region. Under direction of head
coach Mike Conte, California has a 33-13 record this season. The
Vulcans are led by Lee Rohan, who is batting .419 with 13 RBI and 42
runs scored. Jeremy Potter has a .364 average. Dustin Woodring and
Chris Novia each have a team-leading six home runs. Chris
Doerschner is 7-1 this season in nine appearances. In 50.1 innings
pitched, he has struck out 44.
Slippery Rock – West #2 – SRU is the #2 seed in
the west. Head coach Jeff Messer led Slippery Rock to a 31-13
season, 14-6 in the division. Matt Adams is batting .415 with 27
RBI and four homers. Jacob Oswalt has a .407 batting average with
20 runs scored. Rich Hocanson has a 5-0 record with pitching 35.0
innings. In seven appearances, he has struck out 28.
West Chester – East #2 – WCU enters the
tournament as the #2 seed in the east. Head coach Greg Mamula has
led the Golden Rams to a 30-13 season, 13-7 in the PSAC East. Drew
Pare is hitting .429 with eight home runs and 41 RBI. The Golden
Rams pitching staff has three pitchers with five wins ad two with
four. Frank Gailey is 5-2 in 11 appearances. In 50.0 innings
pitched, he has struck out 53 batters.
East Stroudsburg – East #3 – ESU is the #3 team
in the east with a 22-20 mark, 9-11 in the division. ESU is coached
by WedDell Bolar. Jacob De Boer is hitting .386 with 47 runs and 21
RBI. Kyle Schaeffer is batting .377 with five home runs and 30
RBI. Anthony Clemens had made 16 appearances for the Warriors.
Ronald Manning leads the team with four wins.
Complete Kutztown results and links to live Webcasts
provided Slippery Rock University will be available at
kubears.com.
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