Women's Tennis - Malone loses to:
                                   Slippery Rock (PA) University  9-0
                              CURRENT RECORD:  0-1

 

Men's Basketball Team Earns Direct Bid To NCCAA National Tournament

     Having declared to compete in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) East Region tournament, the Malone College men's basketball team (17-13, 7-11 AMC) will represent the East at the NCCAA National Tournament in Oakland City, Indiana March 15-17 without having to play an NCCAA East Region contest.  Malone has earned a direct bid to the national event after being declared the East region representative since three of the other four schools in the region were not eligible (or chose not) to participate and the fourth, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, will have earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Div. II national tournament and thus would not participate.

     Each of the eight participants at the NCCAA national tournament, which will not be determined until early next week, will be guaranteed three games which will determine first through eighth place at the tournament.  The tournament will be hosted by Oakland City University and four first-round contests will be held on Thursday, March 15th (pairings, times TBA).

 

Baseball Posts 1-5 Record During Trip To Kentucky

     The Malone College baseball team, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Tom Crank, began its 2007 season by traveling to Kentucky last week to participate in the Cancer Awareness Classic.  The Pioneers played six games during the busy three-day trip starting last Thursday with a 6-1 loss at Lindsey Wilson (KY) College.  Later that afternoon, the Pioneers took on Campbellsville (KY) University (game also played at Lindsey Wilson College) and fell by a 4-0 final.  On Friday at the Campbellsville University field, Malone recorded a 7-2 victory over Siena Heights (MI) University before dropping a 7-0 contest to the host Tigers.  Malone concluded the trip on Saturday as the squad lost a pair of contests to the University of Rio Grande by the final scores of 7-0 and 7-6.  After the tough road trip, the Pioneers currently hold a 1-5 record and are 0-0 in the AMC North Division.
     In the season opener against Lindsey Wilson, junior Troy Richeson’s (Minerva H.S.) second-inning single knotted the game at 1-1, but the Blue Raiders then proceeded to tally five runs over the next three innings to pull away for the 6-1 victory.  Junior Zach Winkhart (Canton Central Catholic H.S.) started and took the loss for Malone after giving up five runs (only three earned) over three innings pitched.  Junior Josh Spencer (Canton Central Catholic H.S.) went 2-4 at the plate with one stolen base while sophomore Jon Lutton (Louisville H.S.) tallied a pair of singles in three at-bats.
     Against Campbellsville on Thursday, the Pioneers were held to just four hits in the 4-0 defeat.  Sophomore Adam Boudler (Louisville H.S.) started and went the distance on the mound for Malone, taking the loss after surrendering four runs on five hits over six innings pitched.  Sophomore Scott McIlvain (Marlington H.S.) went 1-3 with a double from the leadoff spot.
     In Friday’s win over Siena Heights, the Pioneers used a big five-run second inning to pull away for the 7-2 victory.  Sophomore Sam Campitella (Jackson H.S.) notched the win after pitching six innings in his first Pioneer start, surrendering just two unearned runs and striking out seven.  Malone pounded out nine hits in the contest including a solo homerun by senior Bob Dubovec (Kenston H.S.) and a two-run double by McIlvain.  In addition, junior John Stallings (Louisville H.S.) stole three bases and scored two runs.
     In Friday’s game with Campbellsville, the Pioneers gave up seven runs on nine hits in the 7-0 defeat.  Freshman Todd Liberatore (Tusc. Central Catholic H.S.) suffered the loss after surrendering five runs over 4.1 innings pitched.  Malone tallied six hits in the contest, including a double and a single by Campitella, but was unable to convert with runners in scoring position.
     In game one with Rio Grande on Saturday, Rio senior southpaw Nate Chau tossed a two-hit shutout, striking out seven Pioneer batters to give the Redmen a 7-0 win. 
     Game two with Rio Grande on Saturday also appeared to be headed for a shutout as the Redmen led 6-0 after five innings but Malone stormed all the way back with six runs over the last two innings to tie the game at 6-6.  The Redmen were able to pull out the thrilling one-run victory, though, with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.  Dubovec crushed a grand slam in the seventh inning to key the Pioneers’ rally.
     This week, Malone will travel to Phoenix, Arizona for its annual spring break trip.  The Pioneers will face the University of Saint Mary (KS) in a doubleheader next Monday (April 5th).  Malone will play a total of nine games in Arizona in addition to several exhibition and junior varsity contests.

Men's, Women's Track & Field Teams Compete At Mt. Union; Malone Records Set, NAIA Qualifying Marks Posted

     The Malone College men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed at the Mt. Union College Invitational last Saturday and several Malone records and numerous NAIA national qualifying marks were posted at the event.
     For the women's team, Ashley Currence (Sr., East Canton H.S.) set a new Malone record in the triple jump at 37'6" which was also a first-place finish and an NAIA qualifying mark.  Currence also placed first in the long jump at 17' 9.25", which was a provisional NAIA qualifying mark.
     Brittany Davies (Sr., Cedarville H.S.) set a new Malone mark as she won the 500-meter run in a time of 1:18.01.  She also won the 300-meter dash in 42.71 seconds.
     Katie Bagley (So., Crestview H.S.) earned an NAIA automatic mark by winning the 5000 meters in 18:30.45 while Emily Alderfer (Fr., Urbana H.S.) turned in an NAAI provisional mark in the shot put with a first-place effort of 41' 0.5".  Holly Motter (So., Mt. Union, PA) collected an NAIA automatic qualifying mark in the triple jump (second place) at 36' 11.25").
     In addition, other provisional qualifiers for the women included Megan Patton (So., Perry H.S.) and Laura McElrath (Jr., Tallmadge H.S.), who finished first (8.68) and second (8.76), respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles, and Sarah Hines (Fr., Northmor H.S.) and Carrie Hart (Sr., LaBrae H.S.), who finished second (18:38.09) and third (18:51.09), respectively, in the 5000 meters.

     Vallie Scott (So., West Branch H.S.) posted a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash (1:00.82) while Aubree Horning (Jr., Salem H.S.) also took a first-place finish in the weight throw (44' 2.75").
     Others who posted a top-five finish included McElrath in the high jump (2nd; 5' 1.25") and long jump (4th; 16' 7"), Motter in the high jump (2nd; 5' 1.25"), Alderfer in the weight throw (2nd; 43' 3.25"), Horning in the shot put (3rd; 39' 5.75"); Sasha Clarke (So., Maple Heights H.S.) in the 55-meter dash (3rd; 7.70) and 300-meter dash (3rd; 45.22), Kim Winton (So., Medina H.S.) in the 800-meter run (3rd; 2:30.23), Brooke Gasser (Sr., Norwayne H.S.) in the long jump (3rd; 16' 9.75") and 800-meter run (5th; 2:37.87), Faith Nicholson (Sr., McMurray, PA) in the triple jump (4th; 33' 6.5") and high jump (5th; 4' 11.5"), Scott in the 55-meter dash (4th; 7.75) and Patton in the 400-meter dash (4th; 1:03.29).
     For the men's team, two individuals posted NAIA provisional marks as Chad Armstrong (Sr., Ashtabula H.S.) won the weight throw with a 50' 11" effort while Seth Sharp (Sr., West Branch H.S.) was right behind at 50' 10.75" in second place.
     Shane McLaughlin (Fr., Caldwell H.S.) finished first in the high jump at 6' 5.5" while Jon Easterling (So., Ashtabula H.S.) also captured a first-place finish in the 800-meter run (2:04.53).
     Others who earned top-five finishes included Josh Gortney (Jr., Sandy Valley H.S.) in the pole vault (2nd; 14' 0"), Jay Brueckner (Jr., Crestview H.S.) in the 800-meter run (3rd; 2:05.98), Andy Preston (Fr., Bradford, PA) in the 800-meter run (4th; 2:07.12), Mike Wright (Jr., N. Canton Hoover H.S.) in the pole vault (5th; 11; 6.5"), Brady West (Sr., West Muskingum H.S.) in the high jump (5th; 5' 9.75"), Trent Gardner (Fr., Northwest H.S.) in the long jump (5th; 19' 6.75"), Bryan Krieger (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) in the 300-meter dash (5th; 36.70) and Justin Jump (So., Wellington H.S.) in the weight throw (5th; 44' 6.75"). 
     The Mt. Union meet concludes the Malone teams' regular-season indoor competition.  The teams will send numerous athletes to the NAIA Indoor National Championships in Johnson City, Tennesee March 8-10.

Women's Tennis Team Loses Opener 9-0 To NCAA Div. II Slippery Rock

     The Malone College women's tennis team, led by first-year head coach Dan Bernard, lost its 2007 opener last Saturday on the road to NCAA Div. II Slippery Rock (PA) University, which had already played nine matches on the season, by the score of 9-0.
     Scores for the match were as follows:
     #1 Cami Urdea (Jr., Brasov, Romania)                L 6-1, 6-0
     #2 Ann Marie Burton (So., Wadsworth H.S.)      L 6-0, 6-0
     #3 Emily Farls (Sr., Beaver, PA)                          L 7-6, 6-2
     #4 Jackie Quilter (Jr., GlenOak H.S.)                   L 6-1, 6-3
     #5 April Victor (Fr., Tallmadge H.S.)                    L 6-1, 6-1
     #6 Lynsey Fuller (Fr., Canton South H.S.)           L 6-2, 6-4
     #1 Urdea/Burton                                                   L 8-1
     #2 Farls/Quilter                                                     L 8-4
     #3 Victor/Fuller                                                     L 8-4
     This week, the team will host Mt. Union College on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. (at HOF Fitness Center) and will then travel to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where they will take on Northern Kentucky University on Saturday in a 12:00 p.m. match in the first of five spring break matches.