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RELEASE DATE: 5/8/05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIES
RETURN TO PSAC PLAYOFF THIS MONDAY – MARKS 12TH APPEARANCE IN
HILLSON’S 19 SEASONS
 MANSFIELD
– The Mansfield University baseball team will take a familiar step when they
visit a familiar place to play a familiar foe in the opening round of the PSAC
Baseball Playoffs starting Monday morning at 9 a.m. at Shaner Sports Complex
outside State College.
The Mountaineers, who are making their
12th visit to the PSAC playoffs in head coach Harry Hillson’s 19
seasons at the helm will take on California University (PA) in the opening round
in a rematch of last season’s PSAC opening round game. Mansfield lost that game
by a 12-5 score.
This year, the PSAC has expanded playoff
participation to the top three teams in each division. West Chester is the #1
seeded team from the East with Mansfield second and Kutztown third. Clarion is
the #1 seed from the West with California second and Shippensburg third.
“We excited about the new format and
about our chances,” said Hillson who has won six overall PSAC
crowns in his career. “We’ve been pretty consistent all season long. We hit
well, field well and for the most part pitch well. You need to do all three of
those things well and have a little luck to boot to win this thing.”
Led by senior second baseman Eric
Baker, the Mountaineers are the top hitting team in the tournament with
a team .313 batting average. Baker not only leads the PSAC in batting by 96
percentage points with a .514 batting average, he also tops NCAA Division II in
hitting while ranking second in the PSAC in home runs (9), runs batted in (50,
1.14 pg), doubles (19) and is fifth in stolen bases. He tops the conference in
on-base percentage (.593) and slugging percentage (.824).
Senior first baseman D.J. Hoshauer
tops the PSAC in home runs (14) and RBI’s (52) while ranking fifth in batting
average (.391) and sixth in doubles (15).
Sophomore Nick Grove will
get the start on the mound against California. Grove was the winning pitcher in
a early season matchup between the two teams and is 5-4 on the season with a
5.98 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 58.2 innings pitched. The Mountaineers other three
regular season starters are Adam Lorson (7-3, 3.40 ERA, 55.2 IP,
29 K’s), Matt Allegretto (3-3, 3.97 ERA, 45.1 IP, 41 K’s) and
senior Kane Stein (7-0, 2.30 ERA, 43.0 IP, 11 K’s).
Mansfield split the regular season
series against California (1-1), Clarion (1-1), and West Chester (2-2) while
hold a 3-1 advantage over Kutztown. They did not meet Shippensburg in the
regular season.
All Mansfield games will be
broadcast live on WELM 1410 AM in Elmira and can also be heard live on the world
wide web on the Mansfield University website by going toe
www.mansfield.edu and clicking on athletics from the other links tab. A link
to the internet broadcast will be on the sports page.
PSAC Baseball Championship
Preview
(May 6, 2005)
The 2005
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is set to get under
way Monday, May 9 at the Shaner Sports Complex in Boalsburg, Pa. The opening
round of the three-day tournament begins with a pair of contests at 9 a.m.
For the first time since it was inaugurated in 1960, the tournament will feature
a six-team field. The top three seeds from the league's Eastern and Western
Divisions have qualified for this year's championship.
The top seed from the East, West Chester, will square off with No. 3 West seed
Shippensburg in one of the 9 a.m. contests. That game will take place on the
complex's "lower" Uni-Mart Field. At the same time, the No. 2 seeds from each
division will play on the "upper" field of the complex. In that game, Mansfield
(East) will oppose defending champion California (West) on the S & A Homes
Field. The completion of the opening round and the first elimination game will
take place at 12:30 p.m. The West's top seed, Clarion, takes on East No. 3
Kutztown on Uni-Mart Field, while losers of the first two opening round games
will meet on S & A Field.
A complete listing of the schedule can be found below. In addition to bleacher
seating on the lower field, there is plenty of additional hillside seating on
both fields. Fans are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to view the
contests. More information on the Shaner Sports Complex can be found at this
site:
www.championbb.com.
A look at each team:
East No. 1 seed West Chester (33-10, 17-3)
With 33 wins, West Chester is three shy of tying the school record... The Golden
Rams have a league team-best ERA of 2.67, nearly a full run better than
second-place California...
Frank Gailey (1.16 - 1st)
and Kyle Frees (1.64 - 3rd), Jeff Brennan (2.63 - 12th) and Ryan Gerber (2.93 -
15th) are all ranked among the PSAC's best... Brennan (9-1) is tied for the
league lead in wins... 2B Mike LaRosa (.397) is fourth among league hitters...
C Brett Wallace (17 extra-base hits) is fifth in the league with 13 doubles,
while 1B Mark Gilliford is fourth with seven HRs... This is West Chester's
second tourney appearance in three years.
East No. 2 seed
Mansfield (28-16, 15-4)
Mansfield returns to the Shaner Sports complex for the second straight season,
and this is the Mountaineers third trip in four seasons... 2B Eric Baker fits
well into Mansfield's traditionally strong power-hitting unit... NCAA II's
regular-season batting champion (.514 avg), Baker has a chance to become the
first player in school history to hit over .500... He has a team best 19
doubles, along with nine home runs... Another source of power comes from 1B D.J.
Hoshauer, who has league bests of 14 HR and 56 RBI... RHP Kane Stein is the
team's ace and sports a 7-0 record... In the most dominant run of any decade,
Mansfield won five of six championships from 1992-97.
East No. 3 seed Kutztown (34-16, 10-8)
Kutztown is a dangerous No. 3 seed, being one of the league's most
tournament-tough teams in the past nine seasons.... During that span, the Golden
Bears have two PSAC crowns and played in the title round two more times... RHPs
Matt Keller and Kyle Sadlowski join the long list of KU pitching greats which
include major leaguers Ryan Vogelsong (Pirates) and Tim Bausher (Red Sox)...
Keller (9-1) is tied for the league lead in victories, just a game better than
Sadlowski (8-3)... The bats are propelled by infielder Kyle Costello, who boasts
a team-best 51 RBI and is tied with OF Jeffrey Craig (41 runs) with 17
extra-base hits.
West No. 1 seed
Clarion (25-20-1, 12-8)
Clarion could be considered the league's Cinderella story, making its first trip
to the postseason since 1984... The Golden Eagles are a solid all-around club...
The top four hitters are all over .370 - C Jason Warner (.415, 15 2B, 5 HR), OF
Kevin Gledhill (.387, 13 2B, 6 HR, league-best 9 3B), OF Jared Frey (.387, 12
extra-base hits) and freshman C/DH Corey Rogers (.371 12 extra-base hits)...
Frey, a lefty, also powers the pitching staff with a 6-1 record and 1.32 ERA...
Chuck Roller is the team's closer, claiming a PSAC-high nine saves... The Golden
Eagles won their lone PSAC title in 1967.
West No. 2 seed California (29-18, 12-8)
California looks to become the first team to win back-to-back baseball titles
since Mansfield won four straight from 1992-95... California has the longest
active streak of any league school in qualifying for the PSAC tournament at five
straight... Having dropped six of eight coming into the postseason, the Vulcans
hope to recapture the magic that ignited a school-record 16 consecutive
victories earlier this season... The West's top pitching staff has a 3.66 team
ERA, led by RHPs Ian Heisel (2.10 ERA, 69 K) and Chris Doerschner (2.79 ERA, 64
K)... C Patrick Sadler (.342, 19 2B, 6 HR) was among Cal's top hitters in last
year's tourney... 2004 West MVP, OF Mike Larson (.360, 13 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR), will
also provide some pop... Cal's only other PSAC Championship came in 1979.
West No. 3 seed
Shippensburg (30-23, 12-8)
Shippensburg hopes to add to its league-best 11 baseball titles, which includes
two from this decade (2000, 2003)... The Red Raiders endured a midseason slump
when they lost 15 of 20 games, rebounding to win 16 of their last 21... OFs Nick
Erdman (.378, 11 2B) and Chad Stecker (.331, 15 2B, 5 HR, 46 runs) are the top
power hitters, while six other players hit .315 or better... LHP Lee McClintock
(6-2, 1.82 ERA, 68 K, 9 BB) is the staff ace... He is a school career record
holder in strikeouts (237) and victories (27 -tie)... RHP Frank D'Agostino (6-3,
3.26 ERA, 52 K) is another top threat... Shippensburg is in its third straight
tourney and eighth in 10 seasons under coach Bruce Peddie.
2005 Tournament Schedule (Bracket attached)
Monday, May 9
9 a.m.
Game 1
(E1) West Chester vs. (W3) Shippensburg
Game 2
(E2) Mansfield vs. (W2) California
12:30 p.m.
Game 3
(W1) Clarion vs. (E3) Kutztown
Game 4
WC/Ship loser vs. Mans/Cal loser
4 p.m.
Game 5
WC/Ship winner vs. Clar/Kutz loser
Game 6
Mans/Cal winner vs. Clar/Kutz winner
If FOUR teams remain after Game 6
Tuesday, May 10
Noon
Game 7 - Winner Game 5 vs Winner Game 6
3:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6
7 p.m.
Game 9 - Loser Game 7 vs Winner Game 8
Wednesday, May 11
1 p.m.
Game 10 - Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 9
4:30 p.m.
Game 11 - If necessary
If FIVE teams remain after Game 6
Tuesday, May 10
Noon
Game 7 - Loser Game 5 vs Loser Game 6
3:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 4 vs Winner Game 5
7 p.m.
Game 9 - Winner Game 6 vs Winner Game 7
If TWO teams remain after Game 9
Wednesday, May 11
1 p.m.
Game 10 - Winner Game 8 vs Winner Game 9
4:30 p.m.
Game 11 - If necessary, same two teams
If THREE teams remain after Game 9
Wednesday, May 11
1 p.m.
Game 10 - Winner Game 8 vs Loser Game 9
4:30 p.m.
Game 11 - Winner Game 9 vs Winner Game 10
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