For the first time in 13 years, the Malone College men's tennis team is headed back to the NAIA National Championships, this year in Mobile, Alabama May 12-16.  The team earned an automatic bid to the event by virtue of winning the four-team AMC/NAIA Region IX tournament last Thursday and Friday (hosted by Walsh University). 
     In the tournament semifinals on Thursday, top-seeded Malone defeated #4 Ohio Dominican University 6-3 after losing two of three doubles matches.  Through the first half of singles play, it appeared that Malone might trail by as much as 4-1 but the Pioneers rallied to take the match 6-3 after Kyle Bowers and Tim Springirth came back to win (after losing their first sets) and Jason Christman emerged with a three-set victory.
     In the tournament finals on Friday, Malone faced #2 seeded Walsh University which defeated #3 Cedarville University 5-4 in the other semifinal match on Thursday.  The Pioneers again lost 2 of the three doubles matches but once again rallied back strongly in the singles match to post the 5-3 team victory.  Tim Springirth provided the fifth and final point needed for Malone to advance to the national tournament as he bounced back to win his final two sets.  Since at that point, the overall outcome of the match was determined, Jason Christman, at #1 singles, did not need to finish his third and final set.  In addition, the victory for Malone snapped an 11-year string of the Walsh men's team qualifying for the NAIA national tournament and gave Malone its first national tourney bid since 1995 (when the team advanced to the national tournament for the second straight season).
     Scores for the two tournament matches (in order -- ODU, Walsh) were as follows:
#1 Jason Christman (Sr., McKinley H.S.)       W  6-3, 1-6, 6-3         DNF
#2 Kyle Bowers (Jr., Norwalk H.S.)                  W 6-7, 7-6, 6-4          W 6-1, 7-6
#3 David Cairns (Fr., Strongsville, OH)           W 6-2, 6-0                  W 7-5, 6-0
#4 Nathanael Rodd (So., Canton, OH)             W 6-1, 6-2                  W 6-1, 6-0
#5 Tim Springirth (Jr., Erie, PA)                         W 5-7, 6-4, 7-5             ----
#6 Tim Springirth                                                     -----                          W 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
#5 Tim Frazier (So., Beaver Falls, PA)                 -----                          L 6-0, 6-1
#6 Tim Frazier (So., Beaver Falls, PA)             L 6-1, 6-1                       ----
#1 Christman/Bowers                                        W  8-4                         L 9-8
#2 Cairns/Rodd                                                   L 8-6                           L 8-6
#3 Springirth/Dan Yard (Sr., Louisville H.S.)  L 8-4                           W 8-5
     This week, Malone (17-5, 5-0 AMC) is idle and will next compete at the NAIA National Championships at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama May 12-16.

Baseball Wraps Up Regular Season With Three Non-Conference Victories; Malone Wins AMC Regular-Season Title, Will Host NAIA Region IX Tournament This Week

     The Malone College baseball team picked up a pair of non-conference victories at NCAA Division III Baldwin-Wallace College on Thursday afternoon as the squad won the opening game of its doubleheader 8-5 before taking the nightcap 10-3.  The Pioneers then concluded their 2008 regular-season schedule on Saturday evening under the lights at Thurman Munson Stadium with a convincing 10-0, run-rule victory over visiting Notre Dame (OH) College.  Senior starting pitcher Zach Winkhart (Canton Central Catholic H.S.) combined with fellow pitchers Adam Boudler (Jr., Louisville H.S.), Todd Liberatore (So., Tusc. Central Catholic H.S.), and Sam Campitella (Jr., Jackson H.S.) to hold the Falcons hitless in the seven-inning triumph.  With the 3-0 week, Malone, ranked 22nd in the most recent NAIA national poll, improved its overall record to 36-11 (21-5 American Mideast Conference). 

     The Pioneers had entered the weekend in second place in the AMC standings but due to Ohio Dominican University’s two losses at Urbana University on Sunday afternoon, Malone jumped ahead of ODU to claim the AMC Regular-Season Championship.  The Pioneers will now host the four-team, double-elimination AMC/NAIA Region IX Tournament this Wednesday through Friday at Thurman Munson Stadium.  The tournament winner advances to the NAIA Super Regional where it will face the NAIA Region X Champion in a best-of-three playoff series with a berth in the NAIA World Series up for grabs.

     In game one on Thursday, the Pioneers entered the bottom of the fifth inning with a 4-2 lead before the host Yellow Jackets struck for three runs to grab a 5-4 advantage.  Malone quickly responded, however, scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to re-take the lead and then adding two more runs in the top of the seventh to pull away for the 8-5 victory.  Freshman pitcher Bryan Bayer (Fairless H.S.) picked up the win in relief (5-1) for the Pioneers after holding Baldwin-Wallace off the scoreboard over the final 2.2 innings of the contest.  Winkhart went 2-for-3 in the opener with a three-run homer and junior Ryan Baechel (GlenOak H.S.) plated both runs in the top of the seventh with a two-run home run.  Senior rightfielder John Stallings (Louisville H.S.) also made significant offensive contributions, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

     Malone kept its offense rolling in game two as the squad piled up 14 hits in a convincing 10-3 victory.  Winkhart continued his strong day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs batted in.  Stallings posted two hits with a two-run homer and two runs scored while senior centerfielder Troy Richeson (Minerva H.S.) and junior second baseman Mike Tozzi (Sandy Valley H.S.) each added two hits apiece.  Senior left-hander Jimmy Dowling (Tuslaw H.S.) earned his second win of the season (2-2) after tossing three innings of scoreless relief.

     The Pioneers racked up 15 hits in Saturday’s contest with Notre Dame as they pulled away for the convincing victory.  Senior leftfielder Chris Mandeville (Tuslaw H.S.), Richeson, and Stallings led the way for the Malone offense as the trio accounted for seven base hits and seven runs scored.  Mandeville went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a homer, Richeson was 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and a two-run double, while Stallings went 2-for-2 with a double, two steals, and four runs scored.  Junior catcher Jon Lutton (Louisville H.S.) and freshman second baseman Justin Shiflett (Zane Trace H.S.) also made significant offensive contributions as Lutton tallied two hits with four runs batted in and Shiflett went 2-for-2 with a two-run single, one run scored, and one stolen base.
     Winkhart worked the first three innings on the mound to notch his fifth victory of the season (5-0).  Boudler followed with two hitless innings, Liberatore retired the side in the sixth and then Campitella completed the no-hitter with a perfect top of the seventh.

     AMC/NAIA Region IX Tournament Information: The tournament field will consist of finishers one through four in the final AMC regular-season standings and all games will be slated for nine innings.  Top-seeded Malone (36-11 overall, 21-5 AMC) will face off against #4 seed Urbana (27-19 overall, 16-10 AMC) in game one on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.  Game two will follow at 1:00 p.m. with second-seeded Ohio Dominican (34-13 overall, 20-5 AMC) taking on #3 seed Mount Vernon Nazarene University (30-16 overall, 17-9 AMC).  The losers of games one and two will then wrap up Wednesday’s action (in a game three) at 4:00 p.m.  The tournament continues with two games on Thursday afternoon and will conclude with the championship game on Friday (see Malone College Sports This Week at top for a complete listing of games and times).

Softball Concludes Season By Splitting Doubleheader At Walsh

     The Malone College softball team wrapped up its 2008 campaign on Thursday night by splitting an American Mideast Conference North Division twinbill at Walsh University.  The host Cavaliers rallied to win game one 6-2 before the Pioneers bounced back in the nightcap to register a thrilling 7-6, nine-inning victory.  Following Thursday’s action, Malone concludes the year with a 14-22 overall record and an 8-12 mark in the AMC North Division.

     The Pioneers held a 1-0 lead in the opener before Walsh took command by plating four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Malone trimmed the deficit to 4-2 with a run in the top of the sixth but the Cavaliers then plated two more runs in the bottom of the frame to cement the 6-2 win.  Senior pitcher Kathryn Bzdafka (Avon Lake H.S.) started and took the loss (3-10) after surrendering four runs on five hits over three innings of work.  Freshman first baseman Karre Thompson (East Canton H.S.) led the way offensively for the Pioneers, going 3-for-3 at the plate with one run scored and one run batted in. 

     Malone entered the bottom of the seventh inning of game two with a 5-2 lead but the host Cavaliers then rallied for three runs to knot the score at 5-5 and send the contest into extra innings.  Pioneer freshman catcher Laura Ronk (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) then broke the stalemate in the top of the ninth with a clutch two-out, two-run RBI single that put Malone on top 7-5.  Walsh brought home one run in the bottom of the ninth and had the bases loaded with two outs before junior pitcher Ashleigh Ralston (Wadsworth H.S.) induced a fly out to escape the jam and preserve the 7-6 win.  Ralston went the distance on the mound, earning her eighth win of the year (8-8), after giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits over nine innings of work.  Ronk, Ralston, and freshman infielder Sarah Kosmos (Northwest H.S.) each ripped two hits in the game to account for Malone’s total of six base hits.

     With an 8-12 record in AMC North play, the Pioneers finished the year in a three-team tie with Point Park (PA) University and Carlow (PA) University for the third and final North Division playoff spot.  Malone unfortunately lost the tiebreaker to Point Park, though, because Point Park possessed a better record in the head-to-head series amongst the three teams.