(Posted April 29, 2002)

SOFTBALL (14-14, 5-7 Commonwealth): Apr. 30 at Frostburg State (2).
The Eagles started the past seven-day stretch with a sweep of visiting Lebanon Valley in Commonwealth Conference action on Tuesday. The Eagles took the opener, 6-0, behind the shut out pitching of sophomore Amy Gable (Kennard-Dale/Stewartstown), and then got home runs from senior shortstop Brandy Preslovich (Bald Eagle Area/Moshannon) and sophomore right fielder/second baseman Jean Silvey (Red Lion/Airville) during a 7-2 triumph. In the first game, Gable went the distance, scattered five hits and walked four, while striking out two. Only two runners got past second base for the Dutchwomen. Sophomore catcher Sarah Patterson (Danville/Danville) was 2 for 3, scored two runs and had an RBI for Juniata. Sophomore third baseman Cassandra Dutzer (Danville/Riverside) went 2 for 3 as well and plated one runner. In the second game, Preslovich belted a two-run home run to left center in the bottom of the first to give the hosts a 2-0 cushion, while Silvey ripped a solo home run to left field in the sixth for the final runs of the day. Senior pitcher Christie Matthews (South Williamsport/South Williamsport) benefited from the run-support. She tossed all seven innings, gave up nine hits, two earned runs, walked none and struck out two. Preslovich was 3 for 3 with three RBI and two runs scored. She also had a stolen base to go with her home run. Gable was 2 for 4, scored twice and had a stolen base as well for the Eagles. On Friday, the Eagles traveled to Susquehanna for conference action and dropped a pair, 4-1, and, 2-1 (11 innings). In the first game of the day, Gable had two of Juniata's four hits in the game. She was 2 for 4 and had a stolen base. Sophomore left fielder Amber Helsel (Claysburg-Kimmel/Claysburg) was 1 for 2 and had and RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth. In the second tilt, the Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first inning, but Susquehanna answered back with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Gable went 1 for 5 for Juniata with a run scored, while Helsel was 1 for 4 and Preslovich was 1 for 2. Juniata played the role of spoiler on Saturday afternoon by taking two games from Commonwealth rival Messiah College, 6-0 and 1-0, and knocked the Falcons out of the conference playoffs with the two-shutout triumphs. In the first game of the day, Gable set the tone for the afternoon by tossing a complete-game blanking against Messiah. She allowed just five hits in her seven innings of work, walked two and struck out one to improve to 5-4 on the year. Offensively, Gable was 2 for 3 with a double, Preslovich was 3 for 4 with a double, a stolen base and three runs scored. Patterson went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while sophomore first baseman Becky Herr (Hamburg/Hamburg) was 2 for 3, including a double, a run scored and an RBI. In the second game, Preslovich snapped a scoreless game in the sixth when she walked to lead off the inning. Herr then singled to center, but the centerfielder misplayed the ball and allowed it to get past her. Preslovich moved to second on the single but was able to come the whole way around and score on the fielding error. That was all the run support that Matthews needed in the outing. The Eagle hurler gave up just five hits in seven frames of action. She walked one, struck out one and moved to 9-8 with the complete-game victory. Herr was 2 for 2 in the outing, while Preslovich finished 1 for 1 with a pair of walks, a stolen base and a run scored.

MEN'S TENNIS (2-10): season complete.
The Eagles sent three representatives to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Individual Championship hosted by King's College and Wilkes University on Friday and came away with one victory on the day. Junior Satoshi Kimura (L.B. Pearson College (CA)/Nasano, Japan) defeated Alex Leon of FDU-Madison, 6-1, 6-0, in the opening round of the singles tourney, but then fell to seventh-seeded Chris Hileman of Lebanon Valley, 7-5, 6-1. The Juniata doubles team of freshman David Bullock (Central Bucks East/Jamison) and senior Ethan Gibbel (Warwick/Lititz) lost their opening outing on Friday to Matt Califano and Rich Carrione of Albright, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).

BASEBALL (19-19, 11-10 Commonwealth): TBA.
Juniata opened the week on Tuesday with a 6-3 win at Frostburg State in a non-conference outing. Senior Tim Keeley (Caledonia-Mumford/Caledonia, NY) started on the mound for Juniata and got the win. He lasted five innings and gave up just three hits, one earned run, walked two and struck out two. Freshman Nate Capp (Camp Hill/Camp Hill) entered the game to record the final out and his first save of the year. Freshman left fielder Matt Garner (Bellwood-Antis/Bellwood) was 3 for 5 on the day, while senior first baseman Tim Dobson (Millville/Millville, NJ) was 2 for 5 with two runs scored, a double and an RBI. Juniata and Penn State-Altoona got together on Thursday afternoon in Huntingdon and produced a couple of football scores at Langdon Field. The Eagles and Cougars combined to pound out 30 hits during Juniata's 14-7 win in the opener, while Penn State-Altoona came back for a 10-3 win in the nightcap. In the day's first tilt, senior center fielder Lucas Kelleher (Bishop Guilfoyle/Altoona) was 3 for 5 with one run scored and three RBI. He had a three-run triple in the fifth. Dobson was 2 for 2 with three runs scored and four RBI. Dobson launched a three-run home run to right field in the fourth to give Juniata a 5-1 lead. His bomb was the 25th of his career and moved him into first place on the all-time home run list at Juniata. Senior third baseman Matt Slagel (Spring Grove/Spring Grove) went 2 for 4 with a double, three RBI and one run scored, while senior second baseman Jamie Campbell (Muncy/Muncy) was 2 for 3 with a double, a run batted in and a run scored. Junior pitcher Derek Tyson (Penns Valley/Centre Hall) tossed 2 2/3 innings of relief work for Juniata and got his first win of the season. He struck out one, gave up five hits and one earned run. In the second tilt, Juniata got a 2-for-4 showing from Keeley. He also scored once and had an RBI. On Friday, Juniata won 6-0 at Susquehanna as Dobson went 3 for 4 with a two doubles and a home run. Dobson also drove in four of Juniata's six runs. In addition, Juniata senior pitcher Clint Wevodau (Northern Lebanon/Annville) tossed a complete-game four-hitter and moved to 6-3 on the year. He faced just three over the minimum, walked none, struck out 10 and moved into a tie for first place on the all-time wins list at Juniata with his 23rd triumph. Kevin Neff posted 23 victories during his blue and gold tenure (1988-91). The Eagles went on top in the first inning, 1-0, when Dobson homered to straight away center field with two outs. His solo shot moved him into first place on the Juniata single-season home run list with his 10th blast of the year (breaking the former record of nine set by Grady Paul in 1983 and Neff in 1988). His four RBI on the day also helped him establish a school standard for runs batted in during a campaign. Dobson completed the day with 40 RBI this spring and that breaks the former mark of 37 set by Dobson in 2000. Juniata then posted a five-run fifth inning to complete the scoring on the day. Junior catcher Josh Weimer (Greater Latrobe/Latrobe) was 1 for 3 with an RBI, while Kelleher was 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. The Juniata completed the three-game sweep of Susquehanna on Saturday by taking the Commonwealth Conference doubleheader between the two programs, 6-5 and 13-6. Junior pitcher Steve Brink (Central Columbia/Nescopeck) got the wins in both outings and improved to 6-5 on the year. He worked in relief in both contests and did not allow a run on the day. In the opener, Juniata trailed, 5-1, through 3 ½ innings of action, but got within one run when Dobson ripped a solo home run to right field in the fifth for his 11th bomb of the year. Brink entered the game in the sixth inning and held the Crusaders to just one hit, while walking three and striking out one. He kept Susquehanna off the scoreboard and enabled a last-at-bat rally for the Eagles. Trailing, 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, Kelleher started the inning with a single. Senior second baseman Jamie Campbell (Muncy/Muncy) then doubled to right center to score Kelleher and tie the game at 5-5. Dobson was then intentionally walked, before one out was recorded on a strike out. Slagel followed with an RBI double to score Campbell with the game-winning run. Campbell was 3 for 4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while Kelleher was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and a double and Slagel was 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. In the nightcap, Juniata staked Susquehanna to a 3-0 lead after one half of an inning, but came back to take an 8-3 advantage after two full frames of action. The Eagles scored seven times in the second and sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning. Kelleher had a two-run single and Slagel had a three-run home run for Juniata during the scoring outburst. Brink entered the game in the fourth after Susquehanna had cut its deficit to 8-6, but allowed just four hits and struck out three in 3 1/3 innings worth of action. Kelleher was 2 for 3 with four RBI, a home run (inside the park in the first) and two runs scored, while Campbell went 2 for 4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Dobson was 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Slagel went 1 for 3 with three RBI and he scored once.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: May 2-4, MAC Championship at Susquehanna.
Juniata traveled to Carlisle, Pa., for the annual Dickinson College Invitational on Saturday. The Eagles took fifth out of seven squads with 41 points. Gettysburg earned the women's crown after tallying 127 points. Freshman Kira Troutman (Line Mountain/Valley View) placed first in the javelin (119' 6") and freshman Lynzee Alworth (Allegheny-Clarion Valley/Parker) was the runner-up in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (1:09.36). Sophomore Stefanie Rynkewitz (Lewistown/Lewistown) placed third in the 400-meter dash (1:00.92), while senior Jenni Anderson (Dubuque/Dubuque, IA) was third in the discus (110' 4") and junior Cheryn Courtney (Mercer/Mercer) was fourth in the same event (100' 6"). Freshman Stephanie Wasylyk (Honesdale/Uniondale) was fourth in the pole vault (8' 0") and freshman Betsy Kusniez (Boyertown/Gilbertsville) was fourth in the shot put (31' 9 ¼"). Earlier in the week (Thursday), Juniata's 4x400-meter relay team competed at the Penn Relays and placed 13th in its field of 15 squads with a time of 4:16.80.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: May 2-4, MAC Championship at Susquehanna.
The Eagles went to the annual Dickinson College Invitational on Saturday and placed fifth out of six teams with 39 points, while Messiah College won the outing with 134 markers. Junior Dusty Lehr (Bermudian Springs/New Oxford) was first in the 110-meter high hurdles (14.91) and he tied for fifth in the high jump (5' 9 ¾"). Freshman Jeremy Weber (Garden Spot/Mohnton) was first in the long jump (21' 10 ¼") and fourth in the triple jump with an effort of 41' 6 ½". Senior Ben Cole (Lakeland/Carbondale) placed third in the discus (121' 2") and was fourth in the shot put (41' 11 ¼"). Junior Scott Shacreaw (Blairsville/Blacklick) took third in the javelin (115' 4"), while senior Ashley Mort (Blue Mountain/Orwigsburg) was third in the 200 meters (23.22). Junior Noah Fredette (Weedsport/Weedsport, NY) came in fifth in the 800-meter run (2:01.16). On Friday, the Eagles competed in the 4x400-meter relay at the Penn Relays and took ninth out of 15 teams in their field with a time of 3:27.76.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.