Thought for the Day - With baseball in full swing, let's pause to recall the words of venerable broadcaster Vin Scully, who once said, "It's a mere moment in a man's life between the All-Star Game and an old-timer's game."
Baseball Bulletin
The Binghamton Bearcats entered the NCAA Tournament after surviving four straight elimination games en route to capturing their second straight America East League championship. Perhaps the stress of living on the edge caught up with them, as the Bearcats dropped two straight to nationally ranked programs and were eliminated.
Blue Mountain grad and Binghamton sophomore pitcher Jake Cryts started the first game against No. 7 Oklahoma State. Cryts gave up two runs and three hits in 2.2 innings and took the loss in what turned out to be an 8-0 OSU victory. Cryts finished the season with a 5-6 record and a 3.99 ERA.
Track Talk
Two Schuylkill County long-distance runners were honored by being selected to the Capital One Academic All-District Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The honorees are Bloomsburg's Vicki Davis (Schuylkill Haven) and Lebanon Valley's Kelsey Patrick (Tamaqua). Selection requires a grade-point average of at least 3.3 and being an outstanding athlete, of course. Davis, a grad student, carried a 3.76 GPA as an undergrad and has a 4.0 in her grad work. Patrick has a 3.91 GPA. Selection means both student-athletes are eligible for possible selection to the Capital One Academic All-America team.
In 2013-14, Davis was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year, winning both the conference and NCAA Atlantic Regional championships, and finishing 22nd in the NCAA Division II National Championships to earn All-America status. She was also named Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA. Davis went on to earn All-America status in outdoor track in both steeplechase and the 5,000 meters.
Patrick had five meet victories in cross country, capturing the NCAA Mideast Regional crown with the nation's fastest time in 2013. That earned her USTFCCCA Mideast Runner of the Year honors. She won the Middle Atlantic Conference title for the second straight year and was named conference Runner of the Year, first-team All-MAC and Academic All-Conference. In the track season, Patrick was the MAC outdoor 3,000-meter champ, and medaled in the indoor mile and outdoor 1,500 and 5,000 meters.
Preseason Football
Two local student-athletes who do their football playing in the MAC have gathered some preseason gridiron honors from two publications. They are Lycoming senior safety Tanner Troutman of Tri-Valley and Lebanon Valley senior linebacker Frank Gaffney of Blue Mountain.
Both were named pre-season All-Americans in Lindy's College Football and Sporting News. In addition, Gaffney was elected a captain for Lebanon Valley in 2014.
Both had dominating junior seasons. Troutman tied for the national lead in interceptions with eight, while Gaffney set a team season record and led NCAA Division III with 13 sacks.
- Bloomsburg recently played its spring Maroon & Gold Game, and several local players saw action. Taking some snaps under center was redshirt freshman Chris Palubinsky of Shenandoah Valley, who went 4-of-9 passing for 18 yards and a pick; and redshirt sophomore transfer Ryan Henning of North Schuylkill, who was 3-of-8 for 22 yards.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore linebacker Brynn Schafer of Blue Mountain made four tackles, two of them solo stops.
- Kutztown has announced its 2014 football recruiting class. It includes offensive lineman Skyler Panchari of Blue Mountain, safety Tristan Shoopack of Pottsville, defensive end Michael Feryo of Schuylkill Haven and offensive lineman William Ruch of Shamokin.
- Lebanon Valley College also announced its 2014 football recruiting class. Of the 43 newcomers to the Dutchmen's roster, six are from the Schuylkill League: Marian's Anthony Agosti, Lourdes/Mount Carmel's Michael Gilger, Mahanoy Area's Robert Van Horn, Panther Valley's Mark Williams and the Pine Grove duo of Ryan Heim and Guy Zimmerman.
Academic Awards
The Colonial States Athletic Conference has named its 2013-14 Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll, and it includes three area student-athletes. To earn a spot on the honor roll an athlete must have achieved a minimum 3.20 GPA.
Locals making the "grade" are: Marywood freshman softball player Brianna Kuperavage, an outfielder from Nativity who started nine games and saw action in 27; Immaculata sophomore baseball infielder Dan Ruppert of Hamburg, who saw action in six games; and Rosemont freshman lacrosse midfielder Bridget McFadden of Jim Thorpe, who appeared in four games.
- Kutztown has announced its 2014 spring semester Dean's List honorees, with a tough 3.6 GPA minimum requirement to make the cut. Local student-athletes on the KU Dean's List are men's track and field thrower Tyler Rolshausen of Blue Mountain, football player Garth Lakitsky of Tamaqua, wrestler Jackson Stabile of Hamburg, men's basketball player Brandon Bridy of Pottsville and women's soccer player Kailee Rottet of Tamaqua.
- Lebanon Valley College placed 73 student-athletes on the MAC's Spring Academic Honor Roll, with seven hailing from our area. Recipients had to carry a minimum 3.2 GPA through the fall 2013 semester.
Local honorees were: senior baseball player Michael Specht of Hamburg; senior softball player Mary Readinger of Williams Valley, who started all 40 games at shortstop, hit .205 with nine RBIs and made just six errors; sophomore men's tennis player Cody Manmiller of Hamburg; and women's track and field athletes Taylor Gerchak (Pottsville), Alyssa Keich (Tamaqua), Kelsey Patrick (Tamaqua), and Tori Stramara (Blue Mountain).
Potpourri
In women's track and field, Dickinson junior thrower Gillian Ferko of Marian set a school record in the discus of 118 feet, 5 inches to place fifth in the Centennial Conference Championships.
- In the Landmark Conference, Susquehanna's men's track and field team captured the outdoor title. Among the contributors was a sixth-place finish from Shamokin grad Brandon Mendoza in the 400-meter hurdles.
Susquehanna's women's team finished second in the conference championships with help from Shamokin's Renea Brocious, who took seventh in the shot put and discus.
And at the Bison Invitational, Susquehanna's Justin Skavery (Mount Carmel) and Matt Gass (Shamokin) set personal records in the 800-meter run.
(MacLaughlin's college column will resume in the fall. To make contributions or comments, email Sports Editor Leroy Boyer at Lboyer@republicanherald.com)