Friday, April 17, 2009

Spring, The Way It Should Be


Now this is what I'm talking about ... beautiful clear, sunny skies ... highs in the 70s ... and lots of important games around the Conference. It's promises to be a great weekend weather-wise, and a great weekend for the victors.

Franklin & Marshall at Haverford (Friday, Baseball)
The Fords (10-3 CC, 16-10-1) are fresh off a 10-2 win at F&M yesterday and look to move two games in front of the Diplomats (8-3, 15-10-1) with four remaining in their quest for a regular-season Centennial title. Can F&M pitching silence the big bats of Haverford's Dean Laganosky (.352), Charlie Carluccio (.351, 6 HR 38 RBI) and Jeff Butera (.361)?

McDaniel at Ursinus (Saturday, Baseball)
Two teams chasing Haverford and F&M for the top spot in the Conference meet in a key twinbill in Collegeville. The Bears (8-3, 17-8-1) may throw one of the CC's top pitchers in Zeb Engle (6-0, 1.75 ERA, 57 K, 56.2 IP), while the Terror (6-4, 13-8) counters with Tyler Persun (4-2, 4.96, 43 K in 45.1 IP).

Haverford at McDaniel (Men's Lacrosse)
The Fords (6-0, 10-2) look to make history on Saturday in Westminster against the Green Terror (3-3, 9-4). A victory gives Haverford at least a share of the regular-season Centennial title for the first time and secures homefield advantage for the Conference tournament on May 1-3. McDaniel is one of three teams tied for third place with three losses and could catapult itself right into the playoff field win a win.

Gettysburg at Swarthmore (Men's Lacrosse)
The Bullets (5-1, 9-3) have righted the ship after a 1-3 start and face the Garnet (3-3, 6-5) in a match that has playoff implications for both sides. Gettysburg needs a win to keep their hopes of hosting the Centennial tournament alive. Swarthmore, along with Washington and McDaniel, has three CC losses and is tied for third place in a Conference that puts four teams in its tournament. The Garnet looks to end Gettysburg's 15-game series win streak and beat the Bullets for the first time since 1985.

Women's Lacrosse - Four Games
Where do we begin? Four of the day's five games have a bearing on the five-team tournament field with only Franklin & Marshall (7-0, 12-1) and Gettysburg (7-0, 12-1) secured of a spot entering the day. Muhlenberg (5-3, 9-3) can lock down the No. 3 seed with a win at home against Washington. Dickinson (5-3, 9-6) gets back to the tournament with a win against visiting Swarthmore and can get a first-round bye with a victory and a Mule stumble. Of the three teams tied for fifth place - Haverford (4-4, 10-5), McDaniel (4-4, 8-7) and Ursinus (4-4, 5-10) - the Green Terror may have the advantage on the season's final day at home against Bryn Mawr. The Fords travel to #3 F&M while the Bears visit fifth-ranked Gettysburg. The Terror holds the tie-breaker edge on the other two with head-to-head wins, while Haverford has the advantage on Ursinus.

Gettysburg at Ursinus (Softball)
Two teams fighting for a Conference playoff berth meet in Collegeville. The defending champion Bears (7-2, 22-6) split a doubleheader with Haverford on Thursday to fall a half-game off the front-running pace of Muhlenberg. The Bullets (4-3-1, 19-8-1) currently sit in fourth position in the standings. Ursinus will throw standout pitcher Lauren Davis (20-6, 0.74 ERA) who has fanned 233 batters in 170 innings. Gettysburg will counter with the 1-2 combo of Kristy Rubino (9-5, 1.84) and Beth McCullough (9-3, 2.02) who have combined for 193 K's in 181.2 innings.

Dickinson at Swarthmore (Men's Tennis)
The Garnet (5-1, 7-6) welcome the Red Devils (3-2, 10-5) to Crum Creek looking to keep pace with first-place Johns Hopkins in the standings. Swarthmore #3 singles Zak Kelm is 9-1 in his last 10 matches and 12-5 overall. Dickinson #1 Ross Anstaett is 12-4 overall.

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