SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Despite playing the season without an on-campus facility, the Susquehanna University baseball team qualified for the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship Tournament for the fifth time in its history by finishing second in the Commonwealth Conference. The Crusaders (13-14-1) will open the double-elimination tournament Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. with a first-round game at Freedom Conference champion and tournament host Allentown College (20-16).
Commonwealth champion Elizabethtown College (22-10 prior to a game Sunday) will host Freedom runner-up Delaware Valley College (19-12 with three games left) in Wednesday’s other first-round game, also scheduled for 2:30.
All four teams will resume play on Friday at Quakertown Memorial Park with the losers of Wednesday’s games playing at 11 a.m., and the winners meeting at 3. Elimination games will be played at 7 Friday, and noon and 3 p.m. Saturday (if necessary).
Second-year head coach Tim Briggs has guided Susquehanna to the MAC postseason for the fifth time (1985, 86, 92, 95), last appearing in 1995 when it won its only conference title. The Crusaders have gone 5-4 (.556) in regularly-scheduled conference postseason games, but also lost a special tiebreaker game with Elizabethtown in 1987 for the right to get to the MAC playoffs.
Briggs was MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year in his debut season and has now compiled a 29-27-1 record (.517). He is the younger brother of Susquehanna head football coach Steve Briggs, serving as his defensive coordinator in the fall, and was an assistant coach for the Crusader baseball team for two years before taking over the head position.
This season’s team is one of the best offensively in Susquehanna history – presently with the second best team batting average (.339) while scoring the sixth most runs (211) for the second-best per game average (7.5). On the flip side, the Crusaders have a 6.29 staff ERA and have given up the third most runs in a season at the school with 213. Their .927 fielding percentage is also lowest among the four tournament teams. Some of those numbers can be attributed to the team having to play its games at the short fences of the Selinsgrove Area High School Field (32 HRs in the nine games played there), and not having a regular practice facility. A new Harold Bollinger Field has been built near West Hall, but it was unplayable this season due to insufficient grass and drainage problems.
Despite the practice woes, the Crusaders swept Elizabethtown this season (13-2, 3-2 on March 18) in their only meetings with tournament teams.
“If we continue to hit the ball and get some solid pitching and defense, we should certainly hold our own. We’re happy to be in it and I think we’re looking forward to playing,” said Briggs.
Among the field, Allentown won the MAC title in 1998, with Delaware Valley winning the Freedom League and finishing runner-up in the tournament to the Centaurs that year. Elizabethtown was the conference champion in both 1997 and 1993.
SCOUTING SUSQUEHANNA
Senior Andy Berwager (Hanover/South Western H.S.) has been a back-to-back second-team MAC Commonwealth All-Star at shortstop, and is also the top pitcher on the Crusader staff. The lead-off hitter leads the team in hits while batting .351 (39-for-111), Berwager leads the MAC Commonwealth Conference in home runs while tying for the sixth most in a season at Susquehanna with six (now 0.21 per game). He has also scored the ninth most runs in a season (34). Defensively, he has the third most assists in a season with 86 — needing just seven more for the record (Record: 92, Jim Hanlon, 1988). Berwager ranks fourth in career assists (238), ninth in hits (106) and 10th in runs (76) at Susquehanna. On the mound, he has compiled a 5-3 record and 4.50 earned run average, pitching eight complete games in his nine starts. He has a staff high 53 stikeouts in 60 innings (7.95 per game).
Senior outfielder/pitcher Denny Bowers (Westminster, Md./Westminster H.S.) was a two-time MAC Commonwealth All-Star and All-American defensive end in football. Also a first-team baseball All-Star at designated hitter in 1998, the 6-2, 235-pounder has the fifth highest batting average all-time at the school (.367), is sixth in on-base percentage (9.456) and tied for ninth in RBI (68). This season he is batting .357 (35-for-98) with a team high 26 RBI out of the clean-up spot. On the mound, he started the season as the closer, but is now back in his more familiar role as a starter – compiling a 1-0 record with one save and a 6.75 ERA in just 18 2/3 innings.
Junior first baseman Lyle Hosler (Lititz/Manheim Township H.S.) was a second-team MAC Commonwealth All-Star last season and is arguably one of the best defensive players in school history – earning runner-up honors for the 1999 Easton Redline Defensive Award by Collegiate Baseball magazine – making him one of the top seven defensive players nationally in Division III according to the publication. Hosler went his first 239 chances in college without an error, and after committing two in the opener this season, has now gone his last 157 chances and 24 games without making one this season. He has the highest career fielding percentage in program history at .992, ranks fourth in career putouts with 448, and is sixth in chances accepted at 490. Offensively, he is hitting an even .300 (24-for-80) this season with three doubles and 19 RBI. He is second on the team in runs scored with 31.
Senior leftfielder/designated hitter Chad Walters (Oley/Oley Valley H.S.) was the runaway MAC Commonwealth leader in hitting as of last week, now batting .449 (35-for-78) with a team high eight doubles and .522 on-base percentage. Those numbers presently rank second in on-base percentage and third in batting average for a season at Susquehanna. Unfortunately, Walters saw his 19-game hitting streak end in the opener Saturday at Juniata, although he came back to go 3-for-4 in the nightcap. He also has a team high eight doubles.
A pair of juniors are next among the regulars in hitting in second baseman Chris Knickerbocker (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy) at .395 (34-for-86) and centerfielder Josh Pahl (Northumberland/Shikellamy H.S.) at .380 (35-of-92). Knickerbocker has four doubles, three home runs, 20 runs scored and a team high five stolen bases. Pahl, meanwhile, has six doubles and is second in home runs with four – ranking second to Berwager in slugging percentage (.576) while driving in 20 runs and scoring 28.
Sophomore catcher Travis Zook (Belleville/Indian Valley H.S.) may have the potential to be the program’s next professional prospect – with stellar defensive skills and a rifle arm behind the plate. Zook has thrown out 16 of 35 runners who have attempted to run on him this season (.457) while posting a .971 fielding percentage with just five errors. Offensively, he is easily the most improved hitter on the team – now batting .365 (31-of-85) with six doubles, a triple and three home runs, ranking second on the team in RBI with 25. Zook hit .588 (10-for-17) last week with two doubles, a home run (.882 slugging percentage) and 10 RBI (2.0 per game).
Freshman Chad Miller (Lewisburg/Lewisburg H.S.) will start in right when Bowers pitches and is now batting .500 (6-for-12), bolstered by a 3-for-3 day at Division I Bucknell in his return to his hometown. Freshman Tim Ronchi (Factoryville/Lackawanna Trail H.S.) started all but one of the first 25 games in the outfield and could also see time after batting .297 (27-of-91) with four doubles, a team high three triples, a homer and 16 RBI.
Junior Lee Rogers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry H.S.) is the shortstop when Berwager is on the mound and came up with the biggest hit in Susquehanna’s playoff clinching a 5-1 win at Juniata Saturday with a two-run triple. He is batting .407 (11-for-27) with six RBI. Rogers’ top role is as the Crusader closer, topping the team with two saves and a 2.34 ERA while ranked fifth in the Commonwealth Conference as of last week.
Other pitchers who Briggs expects to throw in the tournament include junior left-hander Josh Shipton (4-3. 6.98 ERA) (Mifflinburg/Mifflinburg H.S.), who started every conference doubleheader until last Saturday, and sophomore right-hander Patrick Quillian (1-1, 1 SV, 7.29 ERA) (Nichols City, Okla./Casady H.S.).
The Susquehanna Capsule and Lineup
SCOUTING ALLENTOWN
Allentown’s 11th-year head coach Tim Neiman is certainly the elder statesman of this tournament among the coaches, with Briggs being in his second-year and the other two being rookie skippers. Neiman began the year ranked 27th among active Division III coaches in winning percentage, now at 251-136-1 (.648).
Left-handed pitching has led the Allentown attack, led by returning first-team MAC Freedom All-Star senior Brian Gillow, as well as sophomore Bret Remel.
Gillow has gone 4-3 with a 3.93 earned run average and has 64 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings (10.93 per game). He was the winning pitcher last season as the Centaurs beat Susquehanna, 4-2, in a classic 14-inning affair – going two innings and giving up just one hit while striking out four. Don’t be surprised if Gillow pinch hits too, sporting a team best .365 average (19-for-52) with five doubles and 10 RBI.
Remel has a staff best 7-1 record with a 4.13 ERA – leaving him just one win shy of tying the school season record. He has 36 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings (6.19 per game).
Sophomore right-hander Derrick Wetzel also ranks fourth in Division III and first in the Freedom Conference in saves with seven, posting a 4.43 ERA.
Offensively, switch-hitting junior first baseman Corey Schneck is the leader with a .364 average which includes a team high 15 doubles and 29 runs batted in. Schneck needs just one double to tie the Allentown school record for doubles.
The Allentown Capsule and Lineup
SCOUTING DEL VALLEY
Rookie head coach Bob Altieri has the Aggies back in some form of post-season for the fourth-straight year – inheriting a team which made the MAC Tournament in 1997 and ’98, and won the ECAC South Region championship in 1999. Altieri was a part of that past success, serving as an assistant coach for six seasons under predecessor Frank Wolfgang.
The cupboards certainly weren’t bare for Altieri, as the Aggies returned a pair of first-team MAC Freedom All-Stars in senior shortstop Daron Swire and sophomore rightfielder Tony DeLude.
Swire is currently second on the team in batting at .372 (45-for-121) with a team best 10 doubles, a homer, 27 RBI and 28 runs scored.
Also last season’s MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year, DeLude is third on the team in batting at .358 (38-for-106) with four doubles, a homer and 27 RBI.
Senior third baseman Carter Leonards appears to also be destined for first-team honors this season as he sports a team high .449 average (44-for-98), ranking fifth in the Freedom Conference last week. He has six doubles, a triple, four home runs, 29 RBI and a team best 38 runs scored. Leonards was also tied for fourth in the conference in both home runs per game (now 0.13) and RBI (now 0.93).
On the mound, junior right-hander Matt Rush is the leader with a 7-2 record and 3.84 earned-run average. He also has a pair of saves among his staff high 63 1/3 innings, Rush was tied for third in the conference in saves and fourth in wins as of last week.
The Delaware Valley Capsule and Lineup
SCOUTING ELIZABETHTOWN
Like Altieri, new head coach Matt Jones certainly walked into a good situation at Elizabethtown as he took over a Blue Jay program which won the MAC Commonwealth title a year ago at 27-11. He has since guided them to back-to-back crowns.
There is no question that the Blue Jays have been riding the right arm of senior Derik Ausan, who is now 8-2 with a sparkling 2.00 ERA. He led the MAC Commonwealth stats in wins as of last week and earned Player of the Week honors a couple of weeks back as he started and picked up the wins in both ends of a doubleheader sweep over Juniata. Ausan has 44 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings (5.16 per game). Curiously, he didn’t pitch in the earlier doubleheader vs. Susquehanna.
Finishing off Ausan’s work, and the rest of the Blue Jay staff for that matter, is junior right-handed closer Bryan Pittinger. Pittinger is the MAC leader in saves with eight, tying for second in Division III, and also was second in the Commonwealth Conference in ERA a week ago at 1.07. With a record of 3-2, he has 27 strikeouts and just five walks in 33 2/3 innings.
Senior third baseman Chris Romig of nearby West Snyder High School is the top Elizabethtown everyday player and a returning MAC Commonwealth First Team All-Star. Romig is batting .353 (36-for-102) this season with 10 doubles, a triple, a team high six home runs, 38 RBI and 26 runs scored. He led the Commonwealth Conference in RBI per game last week (now 1.27) and was third in home runs (now 0.20).
Junior rightfielder Jared Ness is the Blue Jay batting leader at .393 (44-for-112), ranking second in the conference. He has a team high 13 doubles to also rank third in Commonwealth per game average (0.41), along with three triples a home run, 28 RBI and 26 runs scored.
The Elizabethtown Capsule and Lineup
ON THE AIR
The live play-by-play of all the Susquehanna games in the tournament will be broadcast on WQSU-FM — 88.9 on the FM dial — beginning with the pre-game show 15 minutes before the start of each game. Jack Burns, “The Voice of the Crusaders,” will be joined by Susquehanna juniors Bill Thomas (Sparta, N.J./New Hartford, N.Y., H.S.) and Jim Wagner (Shamokin/Shamokin Area H.S.), as well as Susquehanna Sports Information Director Mike Ferlazzo to provide the coverage.
