FINAL RECORD:  42-16  (21-5 final AMC)
                           * - NCCAA National Championships (Struthers, OH)

Women's Golf - Malone finished 22nd at the NAIA National Championships (Lake San Marcos Country Club; San Diego, CA)

Men's Track & Field Finishes Seventh, Women 22nd At NAIA Outdoor Nationals; One Relay And Seven Individual All-America Honors Recorded (Including National Title By Aaron Melhorn)

  

     For the Malone women, Becky Rospotynski (So., Copley H.S.) took third place in the pole vault with a 11' 9.75" effort to earn All-America accolades while Kalie Hauenstein (So., Ashland H.S.) also earned the All-America award for the Malone women by taking sixth in the 10,000 meters (36:33.71).  Hauenstein nearly pocketed the AA honor in the 5000 meters but came up just one spot short as she placed seventh in 17:55.06.
     Lori Ickes (Fr., Smithville H.S.) nearly captured the prestigious distinction as she finished eighth in the javelin (130' 4") while Laura McElrath (Sr., Tallmadge H.S.) was also close as she finished ninth in the heptathlon (4185 points).  Beth Costello (Fr., Canton South H.S.) and Ickes also competed in the heptathlon and placed 14th and 15th, respectively, with 3760 and 3534 points.  Ickes also competed in the discus and placed 23rd with a toss of 131' 2".
     In the 3000-meter steeplechase, Sarah Hines (So., Northmor H.S.) and Lindsey Pifher (Fr., Colonel Crawford H.S.) finished 10th and 11th, respectively, in times of 11:21.30 and 11:22.09.  Rebekah Genter (Jr., Crestview H.S.) placed 12th in the 5000 meters in 18:12.00.  In the 3000-meter race walk, Kortney Sekulich (Jr., Smithville H.S.) placed 14th in 17:49.32.
     In addition, Megan Patton (Jr., Perry H.S.) finished in 17th  in the 100-meter hurdles (15.09), just one spot out of qualifying for the semis, while Kristin Downing (Fr., Lake H.S.) was 18th in the 10,000 meters (38:36.17).
     Katie Bagley (Jr., Van Wert H.S.) finished 20th in the prelims of the 5000 meters in 18:22.08 but did not qualify for the finals.  The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Kim Winton (Jr., Medina H.S.), McElrath, Patton and Vallie Scott (Jr., West Branch H.S.) finished in 14th place in the prelims in 3:57.83 but did not advance. 

Baseball Team Finishes Third At NCCAA National Tournament

     The Malone College baseball team claimed a third-place finish at the ten-team, double-elimination NCCAA National Tournament last week after posting a 3-2 record over the four days of tourney competition at Bob Cene Park in Struthers, Ohio.  Top-seeded Malone began play at the event on Wednesday evening with a 7-5 win over eighth-seeded Oakland City (IN) University.  The Pioneers then set a new single-season record for victories on Thursday afternoon as the squad picked up its 41st win of 2008 with a 13-6 triumph over Indiana Wesleyan University.  Malone opened play on Friday with a 9-0 loss to the tournament’s only other remaining undefeated team, second seed Mt. Vernon Nazarene University.  Indiana Wesleyan then squared off with MVNU in Friday’s second contest and handed the Cougars their first defeat of the tournament by a final score of 7-3.  Malone returned to action late Friday evening and was able to avoid elimination by recording a 5-2 triumph over third-seeded Chowan (NC) University. 

     Following the completion of Friday’s three contests, Malone, Indiana Wesleyan and Mt. Vernon Nazarene each remained alive in tournament contention with one loss apiece but since MVNU was the last of the three remaining teams to lose a game, the Cougars received a bye into Saturday’s 4:00 p.m. championship contest.  Malone’s season then came to a close on Saturday afternoon as Indiana Wesleyan advanced to the NCCAA title game with a 6-3 victory over the Pioneers.  IWU later fell to Mt. Vernon Nazarene 8-3 as the Cougars captured their sixth NCCAA national championship.   Malone ended a very successful 2008 campaign with a final overall record of 42-16, marking the highest single-season win total in the history of the Pioneer baseball program (previous record was 40 set in 2006).

     Junior catcher Jon Lutton (Louisville H.S.) clubbed a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday evening to lead his squad to a come-from-behind 7-5 win over Oakland City in Malone's first game of the event.  Senior centerfielder Troy Richeson (Minerva H.S.) tied the game at 5-5 with a solo blast in the bottom of the fourth and Lutton put Malone ahead in the sixth with a clutch two-run drive over the outfield wall.  Oakland City, which had moved on to face Malone after defeating ninth-seeded Cedarville University 9-7 in an earlier contest on Wednesday, scored three times in the top of the second inning and once in the top of the third to take a 4-1 advantage.  Malone answered back in the bottom of the third, however, as the squad scored three times to knot the contest at 4-4.  The Mighty Oaks reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth with a two-out, RBI double before Richeson pulled the contest back to even with his solo home run in the bottom of the frame.  Lutton then stepped to the plate with one out and one runner on base in the bottom of the sixth and ripped his first home run of the season to put Malone ahead for good at 7-5.  Freshman Bryan Bayer (Fairless H.S.) entered the game in the top of the fifth and tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn his sixth win of the season (6-1).  Junior Sam Campitella (Jackson H.S.) started the game for the Pioneers and worked the first four innings, giving up five runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking two.  Malone posted ten hits in the contest as Richeson led the way from the leadoff spot, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored.  Junior shortstop Scott McIlvain (Marlington H.S.) also made significant contributions with two hits in four at-bats.

     The Pioneers racked up 14 hits in Thursday’s contest to pull away for the seven-run victory over fifth-seeded Indiana Wesleyan.  Malone exploded for six runs in the top of the second inning to take an early 7-0 lead.  The Wildcats plated four runs in the bottom of the third to trim the deficit to 7-4 but Malone then put the game away over the next three innings as the squad brought home six more runs to cement the 13-6 victory.  Sophomore left-hander Todd Liberatore (Tusc. Central Catholic H.S.) worked seven strong innings on the mound for the Pioneers to notch his eighth victory (8-1) of the year and sixth complete game.  Liberatore gave up six runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out six and walking three.  Richeson led the way offensively for Malone as he went 5-for-5 with three runs scored, one stolen base, and one RBI.  Senior leftfielder Chris Mandeville (Tuslaw H.S.) and junior first baseman Ryan Baechel (Glen Oak H.S.) each posted two hits with two runs batted in while junior third baseman Zac Barson (Canton South H.S.) plated four runs with a sacrifice fly and a three-run double.

     Against Mt. Vernon Nazarene in Friday’s opener, the Cougars notched 16 hits and scored two or more runs in four different innings as they pulled away for a 9-0 win.  MVNU starting pitcher Josh Estep worked seven shutout innings on the mound, striking out seven while limiting Malone to six hits.  Senior Zach Winkhart (Canton Central Catholic H.S.) started the game for the Pioneers and suffered his first loss of the season (6-1) after surrendering seven runs (four earned) on nine hits over 3.2 innings of work.  Richeson tallied two of Malone’s six singles in the contest as his lead-off single in the bottom of the first inning broke the Pioneers’ career hit record, giving him 207 career base hits to surpass Rob Roberts’ (1993-1996) mark of 206.

     Due to an extra-inning high school postseason game at Bob Cene Park, Friday’s final contest did not get under way until 9:00 p.m.  The late start did not hinder the Malone offense, however, as the Pioneers scored twice in the top of the first and twice in the top of the third inning to grab a 4-0 lead.  Chowan cut the deficit in half with two runs in the bottom of the third before Richeson delivered a run-scoring single in the top of the fourth to push the Pioneer advantage to 5-2.  Junior starting pitcher Adam Boudler (Louisville H.S.) then blanked the Hawks over the final four innings to cement the 5-2, complete-game victory.  Boudler improved his record to 8-4 on the year after giving up just two runs on eight hits while striking out seven over seven innings pitched.  Malone tallied seven hits in the contest as Lutton and Mandeville each went 2-for-3 at the plate.  With a two-out RBI double in the top of the first, Mandeville broke the Pioneer single-season record for two-base hits, pushing his season total to 20 (the previous record belonged to Bob Dubovec, who hit 19 doubles in 2006).

     A five-run fourth inning turned out to be the difference in Saturday’s contest with Indiana Wesleyan.  Malone had led 2-1 after three frames before the Wildcats put five runs up on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth to take command.  The Pioneers plated a single run in the bottom of the inning to cut the IWU lead to 6-3 but Malone was unable to get any closer over the remaining three innings, falling by the 6-3 final.  Freshman lefty Jeff Shenker (Twinsburg H.S.) started and took the loss (3-2) after giving up six runs (only two earned) on seven hits over 3.2 innings of work. 

     Pioneer Notes: The 2008 Malone baseball team had a significant impact on the record book as the squad broke a total of eight team and individual records.  New team marks that were set this year included wins in a season (42), highest batting average (.348), most hits in a season (576), most doubles in a season (90), and most hit by pitcher in a season (54).  Individual records included hits in a career (Troy Richeson, 210), doubles in a season (Chris Mandeville, 20), and hit by pitcher in a season (Zac Barson, 13)…In addition, head coach Tom Crank reached 150 career coaching victories with Friday’s win over Chowan.  Crank, who just completed his fifth season at the helm of the Pioneer baseball program, joins Bob Starcher as the only Malone baseball coaches to reach 150 career coaching wins (Starcher tallied an incredible 521-330-10 record over 23 seasons).

Women's Golf Places 22nd At NAIA National Tournament

     The Malone College women's golf team finished 22nd among a 23-team field at the NAIA National Championships in San Diego, California (Lake San Marcos Country Club) last week as the Pioneers posted a four-day total of 1467 (367-358-370-372).  Oklahoma City University won the national title (1267) while Embry Riddle (FL) University finished as the runner-up (1270).  Cal State San Marcos was third (1264), British Columbia (CAN) University placed fourth (1288) and Bethel (IN) College rounded out the top five (1300).
     Jennifer Snyder (Fr., Wexford, PA) paced Malone with a score of 362 (88-88-93-93) while Jen Blocker (So., Westerville H.S.) and Elena Duncan (So., Winona Lake, IN) followed with scores of 370.  Blocker posted rounds of 94, 91, 91 and 94 while Duncan came in with scores of 92, 90, 90 and 98.  Heather Hall (Sr., Bellefontaine H.S.) finished with a total of 377 (93-93-97-94) while Laurie Grubb (So., Lake H.S.) came in at 379 (103-89-96-91).