Sports
Local athletes take on MAC Track and Field Championship – Pottsville Republican Herald
Thought of the Day…There have been few greater minds in history than that of Leonardo da Vinci. Since we are often writing about young, developing minds, here’s what Leonardo had to say about them: “Learning never exhausts the mind.” Higher Education Yahoo (HEY) Awards…The first weekend in May marked the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Track […]
Thought of the Day…There have been few greater minds in history than that of Leonardo da Vinci. Since we are often writing about young, developing minds, here’s what Leonardo had to say about them: “Learning never exhausts the mind.”
Higher Education Yahoo (HEY) Awards…The first weekend in May marked the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Track & Field Championships, and the event was a tour-de-force for Eastern University senior women’s distance runner Hailey Shreffler (Panther Valley), who earns today’s first HEY award.
Shreffler was crowned a MAC Champion in two events, with a record-breaking win in the 1,500 meters, a win in the 800 meters and a third place medal as a member of 4×400 relay team.
In the 1.500, she ran a 4:32.63, breaking the long-standing existing conference record by close to two seconds and also setting a new championship meet record. After also winning the 800, Shreffler finished her senior season as a three-time MAC champion, second-team All-MAC in the mile and third-team All-MAC in two relays across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Prior to the conference championships, Shreffler had been named MAC Runner of the Week (for the second time) after an outstanding performance at the Hopkins Loyola Invitational. There, Shreffler won the 800 meters in a season-best time of 2:12.34, in a field of runners from all three NCAA divisions.
Lebanon Valley College (LVC) recently awarded one of its highest honors involving learning and community to senior women’s tennis team captain Sarah Kramer (Hamburg). At LVC’s spring awards event, Kramer was the recipient of the LVC Athletic Service Award and thus earns a HEY award.
Kramer, a four-year member of the tennis team, was inducted into Phil Alpha Epsilon, the honor society recognizing academic achievement and service, with more than 550 hours of service. Kramer is a first-year mentor helping to lead orientation services on the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, is a member of a team benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and has completed more than 350 volunteer hours with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
On top of that, Kramer is a pretty darn good tennis player, with a lifetime record of 27-19 in singles and 44-15 in doubles.
Two local softball players who have been named as second-team selections to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)-East All-Conference team.
The first is Kutztown senior right-handed pitcher Haley Gravish (Hamburg), who has been the workhorse of the 39-16 Golden Bears. Gravish has a 26-7 record and a 2.50 ERA, both of which lead her team. She also leads KU in appearances (39), starts (25), complete games (22), innings pitched (196.0) and strikeouts (164). She has one save, two shutouts on her own and was part of a third.
In the PSAC, Gravish ranks second in wins, is tied for second in starts, innings pitched and complete games, and her ERA places her eighth in the conference.
The second All-Conference selection is Bloomsburg senior center fielder Mia Nemeth (Marian). In a breakout season, Nemeth is second on the Huskies in batting average (.381), leads in hits (61) and ranks second in runs scored (34), doubles (11), triples (3) and RBIs (44). She is tied for third in home runs (4), has a .416 OBP and a .563 slugging percentage, all career-highs.
St. Joseph’s freshman softball right-handed pitcher Marla Freiwald (Blue Mountain) was recently named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. Freiwald, who has a 7-3 record (she ranks second in wins), has made 30 appearances and four starts. She has a team-leading five saves to go with her team-leading 2.94 ERA. In 71.1 innings pitched, Freiwald has struck out 33 while allowing only 11 walks.
Diamond Doings…In the last column, we talked about hot starts, notably that of Mansfield senior first baseman/DH Jacob Houtz (Schuylkill Haven).
Houtz has not cooled off. He bats cleanup for the Mounties and has started every game, leads his team and the PSAC in batting average at .445. He also tops his team and the conference in on-base percentage (OBP) at.566 and slugging percentage (.874). He leads the Mounties in RBI’s (44), and that puts him second in the conference.
Other statistical ares in which Houtz leads his team are runs scored (42), hits (53), doubles (15), home runs (12), total bases (104) and even being hit by a pitch (14). He ranks second in walks (19), third in at-bats (119) and has stolen six-of-seven bases.
Another former Haven Hurricane having an outstanding season is Widener sophomore left-handed pitcher Trae Sanders. Sanders is 4-3 and coming into the playoffs, his 2.96 ERA led the Pioneers’ regular starters, as did his 59.2 innings pitched. He has made 11 starts, one of his most recent a 7.0 inning gem in which he shut out Hood College, allowing only six hits and striking out five. Sanders’ 41 K’s ranks second on his team. In the MAC – Commonwealth Conference, Sanders ranks second in innings pitched and third in ERA.
Widener was the fourth seed in the MAC-Commonwealth Championships, but was defeated by top-seeded Messiah, where Pine Grove graduate Owen Hannevig is a freshman pitcher. He has made 11 relief appearances with a 2.92 ERA and one save.
Turning back to Hood College baseball (see Sanders above), senior starting center fielder Keegan Brennan (Nativity) has a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage. Brennan has handled 97 total chances, with 94 putouts and five assists, third in the MAC-Commonwealth.
Brennan is batting .235, but his 18 bases-on-balls ranks second, his 24 runs scored ranks third and he has a .371 OBP, 11 RBI’s, two doubles and a home run. He’s also tied for the team lead in stolen bases with 8 out of 10.
The top-seeded Lebanon Valley softball team has captured the MAC Freedom Conference with a 29-13 record. Freshman pitcher Maycee White (North Schuylkill) is 4-1 with a 4.26 ERA. She’s made 11 appearances with six starts, two complete games and two shutouts in 38.0 innings of work.
Eastern (29-9) made it to the finals of the MAC-Commonwealth tournament before being defeated by Messiah, and Tamaqua grad and junior pitcher Bryn Clifford is an integral part of the team. Clifford leads the team with three saves, and has a 2-0 record and a 1.97 ERA (2nd on the team) in 32.0 innings pitched (16 appearances, five starts). She’s struck out 16 and walked only five.
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