Believe it or not, the spring semester of 2016 is half way done, and that means it is crunch time for many of the Griffin sports teams.
The majority of spring sport teams are above a .500 record with baseball leading the charge at .722. The Griffins have competed in the diamond for the top of the PSAC conference each year for the past few years, and hope to make another run for the NCAA tournament. The Griffins are lead on the mound by sophomore and two time PSAC pitcher of the week, Perry DellaValle, who has held hitters to a .183 average the whole season.
Senior first baseman Zac Heide has also made his presence heard around the PSAC with consistent performances throughout the season. He has been a two time PSAC West athlete of the week and leads the griffins in hitting percentage at a .426.
The softball team is sporting a record just below .500 but hasn’t shied away from PSAC recognition this spring. The first baseman for the Griffins, Abbey Suhoski, has received
two player of the week honors from the PSAC for her performance at the plate with a .459 batting percentage. The Griffins will also look for a spark into the postseason for the PSAC playoffs as they are about three quarters through their 2016 season.
Both the men and women lacrosse teams are grinding to compete in the ECAC playoffs and the PSAC playoffs, respectively. The men’s team has a record of 7-3 that included a three game skid in the middle of the season with losses from Mercyhurst, Limestone and Lake Erie, who are all top 10 ranked teams.
The team is looking for an ECAC playoff push, and sophomore Sean Stanners is optimistic even with the bump in the middle of the season. “This team has a lot of potential and we just need to string together all of the talent at the end of the season,” said Stanners, a midfielder.
As far as the women’s team goes, they are getting over a losing streak that put a damper on their playoff hopes, but they have started to string together some wins recently. The team has grinded their way back into the PSAC and redshirt junior Nicole Nath has a similar view of Stanners in their own right. “I would have to say that we’ve really grown during the second half of the season and have definitely been able come back from the rough start that we had,” said Nath.
The lady Griffins are led by redshirt senior Emily Fagan, who is in her last year in the states and will be returning to Canada. Fagan has been putting up a .534 shot percentage and has already reached 61 points in only three quarters of the way through the season. She is followed by fellow redshirt seniors Renee Kania and Alessandra Nicholas.
The women’s tennis team on the hill has a record of .500 and has gained victories from Clarion, Shippensburg and Millersville in the PSAC. They will end the PSAC play with Slippery Rock, Edinboro and Mercyhurst for the end of the season. This will carry them into the individual and doubles championships at the end of the season for both the PSAC and the NCAA.
The doubles teams of Isdora Knezevic/Sara Ruiz and Paula Carvajalino/Madison DeBone have been very successful. The performance of freshman singles Kiana Murdock has aided the team in PSAC play as well.
All of the Griffins will enter the playoffs very soon and are looking for the support of the fellow Setonians in their respective sports, so check the schedule online on the Griffins Athletic Site.
Published By: Laramie Cowan