By Tom Fox
MaxPreps.com
When you crown two state champions in one year, there’s no denying your conference is going to get some looks.
That’s the case with the Central Penn League last season.
Sometimes overshadowed by bigger conferences like the WPIAL in District 7, the CPL has always been known for its baseball.
When Bald Eagle Area won the Class AA title, Punxsutawney followed up with the Class AAA crown and State College reached the state semifinals at the Quad-A level, it put the state on notice.
As the 2008 season begins, so does the race for the league’s championship.
Of course, you might as well start with State College, the five-time defending league titlist. The Little Lions, who lost 10 players off their 2007 squad, hasn’t skipped much of a beat, jumping out to a 3-0 start. Since 1997, a Quad-A school has won the league title.
The latest victim for State College was BEA, which fell by 12-2 in five innings.
Not exactly what Eagles’ coach Jimmy Gardner was looking for. Then again, several BEA errors led to two large innings for the Little Lions.
“That’s what a good team will do,” Gardner told the Centre Daily Times. “They will capitalize on some small mistakes and put the game out of reach. Their pitcher was the best we have seen and might be the best we see this year in the regular season. He had good stuff. That’s definitely a plus for them having their ace.”
For State coach Bill Tussey, there’s no doubt about the bulls-eye. And it’s even tougher with all new players. Then again, the Little Lions have been known for reloading, not rebuilding.
“We work on being patient and we work on hitting strikes,” Tussey said to the CDT.
“When you have a pitcher like that who has a lot of change of speed, you have to make him work a little bit. He threw a lot of pitches. That makes it easier as a hitter. The kids have bought into it and they have really taken off with it.”
The early-season surprise has been Central Mountain. Riding a six-game winning streak, the Wildcats have been waiting for this day to come.
After several success runs by Keystone Little League teams, and a third-place state finish at the Junior American Legion level, those kids are beginning to grow up and filter into the varsity level for head coach Mike Kramer.
Credit the early-season success to the depth of CM’s pitching rotation and some flashy leather in the field as the Wildcats have turned seven double plays this season.
“When you look through our rotation, you have pitchers like Anthony (Houser) and Curt (Harpster) that have pretty good speed,” junior catcher Matt McGhee said. “Then, Zach (Rote) comes in and he does a good job of mixing up his pitches. He really throws people off because he keeps the ball so low.”
District 4’s lone team in the league, Williamsport, is also looking to contend. Under first-year coach Dave Cipriani, the Millionaires are 5-2 – all those losses coming in a tournament held in the state of South Carolina.
Recently, the Millionaires played a little small ball and squeaked out a 5-2 win over DuBois.
With strong arm Jake Fagnano, and home run threats Bob Donato and Nick Keener, the Millionaires might have what it takes to return to championship form.
“We got adjusted and buckled down and away we went which was good,” Cipriani said to the Sun-Gazette. “Everything that they were asked to do they did and they did it well. They gave it a good effort and it went real well. They have been playing good baseball.”
Softball: Rivals Meet
Around the state of Pennsylvania, it’s hard to match the rivalry of Bald Eagle Area and Philipsburg-Osceola in District 6 Class AA.
Both have recently won state titles.
There’s always an instant classic.
This week was no different as P-O’s Kelsey Gonder hit a walk-off home run in a 6-5, high-scoring affair between the teams.
It was BEA’s first loss of the season as the Lady Mounties are the defending state champs in Double-A.
“Of course, my kids were feeling disappointed but they (P-O) come to our place next time and I know we will bounce back,” BEA coach Dave Breon said.
How did the Lady Eagles respond in their next game? Like one might guess, their aggression was taken out. The team in the way was Tyrone.
BEA won the varsity game 27-2, behind a three-hit, five-RBI performance from catcher Brooke Klinefelter. The junior-varsity game wasn’t much better: A 33-0 Lady Eagle blowout.
Softball: Another Set of Rivals Meet
East of Philipsburg, one of District 4’s most intense rivalries resumed when Milton and Jersey Shore squared off.
While Milton returns a loaded team, led by junior pitcher Nicole Smith, Shore is in total rebuilding mode – losing every single starter from last season’s team.
Although the Lady Black Panthers were able to dispatch Shore 5-0 on a Smith one-hitter, Shore coach Dan Lazorka knows better days are ahead.
“It’s the third game of the season, and for a lot of these girls it was only their third game ever playing varsity,” he said.
“To come out and face Nicole who is a pretty dominating pitcher and not strikeout a lot is a gain. It’s a plus for us. It’s not a morale victory by any means. You walk on the field and you either get a win or a loss, and we lost. Nicole kept us from hitting, and we made a few mistakes. On the positive side of it, we did put the ball in play once. We’ll go from there.”
Boys’ Tennis: Three-Way Tie for SVL Title
In District 4, there is a three-way tie for the Susquehanna Valley League top honors.
With Loyalsock’s 4-1 victory over previously undefeated Hughesville, and Danville 3-2 win over Montoursville, it’s quite a logjam on top.
Loyalsock’s Chris Wyshock and Michael Haynes were able to defeat Spartans in the No. 2 and No. 3 singles to propel the Lancers to a victory.
Baseball: In the Win Column
Finally, St. John Neumann can celebrate.
After going nearly two years without a victory, the Williamsport-based squad (formerly known as Bishop Neumann) tasted a win – defeating Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech 11-5. In the game, Tyler Danneker threw a complete game with eight strikeouts. He also drove in five runs and his double in the sixth inning helped to snap a 5-all tie.
The Knights won their first game since May 2006 when the team defeated Bucktail.
Tom Fox is sports editor of The Lock Haven (Pa.) Express and covers Central and Eastern Pennsylvania for MaxPreps. He can be reached at tfox@lockhaven.com.
