Spalding University’s Tyler Brown threw a perfect game as Spalding remained alive in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Small College World Series.

Brown, a freshman, threw the first perfect game in USCAA World Series history as Spalding (29-12) beat Rochester (Mich.) College 3-0 at Old Orchard Park, Maine.

Brown struck out six and threw just 74 pitches in seven innings.

“I really didn’t think about the perfect game until after the fifth,” Brown said. “I was getting ahead well so I knew if I could establish the fastball inside I was going to keep getting outs.

“The defense was great all day; I have to tip my hat to them.”

The final inning was anticlimactic as Brown coaxed Rochester batters to ground out to first, pop out to the shortstop and ground out to first to end the game.

Spalding is one of six teams remaining. The championship is scheduled for Wednesday.

“I could coach for 50 more years and never be a part of a perfect game again,” Spalding coach Michael Stawski said. It’s really special and even more so that he did it in the World Series . I can’t be more proud of his performance.”

Courtesy of the Courier Journal

Tags: Men's Baseball by mstawski
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The Spalding University Softball team just finished up their best season in recent years posting an overall record of 21-14 and a conference record of 11-5 which was good for 3^rd place. Also for the first time, the team advanced to the Small College World Series in Akron, Ohio where they lost in the semi-finals and took home 3^rd place.

The season would be a rollercoaster for the young women as twice they went on 4 game losing streaks only to come back with a 5 and 6 game winning streaks respectively. The team earned big wins in matchups vs. Hanover and Centre and found themselves in the hunt for the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship all year.

After being selected as a top 8 finalist in the country, the team traveled to the Small College World Series where they would take on the likes of Penn College, Rochester College, and Judson. The team once again found themselves in the hunt for a national championship when they dropped a heartbreaking extra-inning game to eventual national champions, Rochester College. The team would go on to take 3^rd place at the World Series, the third best finish of any sport in the athletic department’s history. Peyton French would go on to be named to the All-Tournament Team.

The successes of the Softball team would not go unnoticed as they young women garnered many post season awards. Starting with the SLIAC All-Conference team, Spalding had 4 women receive awards. First was Tia McIntosh who posted a 10-6 record on the mound with a 2.82 ERA and struck out 102 batters in only 96 innings of work. She also was an offensive threat hitting .304 and leading the team in homeruns with 3. Next was Peyton French who led the team in batting average (.382) and hits (39), and played an important role on defense making only 3 errors all year. Also making the team was senior Sarah Goff who hit .303 on the year and led the team in doubles (9), and RBI’s (26). Rounding out the All-Conference Team was Rena Philpot who posted an 8-4 record on the mound with a 2.91 ERA. Rena also chipped in at the plate hitting .263 and collecting 8 RBI’s.

The awards would not stop there as the USCAA would hand out their All-American awards. First to receive the award was also an All-Conference selection in Rena Philpot. Hannah Stucker was also chosen as an All-American as she hit .337 on the year and collected 32 hits, 10 extra base hits, and team bests 19 walks and 10 stolen bases. The 3^rd All-American from Spalding was Amanda Zwicker. Amanda, who started 30 games for the Golden Eagles, hit .333 with 9 doubles and 12 RBI’s. The USCAA would also recognize four players from Spalding who excelled both in the classroom and on the field as they were a part of the All-Academic Team. Those players were Sarah Goff, Katie Phillips, Liz Schooler, and Amanda Zwicker.

Coach Williams has already secured what he believes is a tremendous recruiting class. The bright spot for the program is they only have to say goodbye to two seniors, Amanda Zwicker and Sarah Goff. With the core of the team returning for another season, the future is bright for Spalding Softball.

Tags: Women's Softball by mstawski
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Coming off the heels of its first 20 win season in the past 4 years, the Spalding University baseball team set the new standard this year; 30 wins. The team recently finished up one of the best seasons in the programs history compiling a 30-13 record and finishing second in the SLIAC Conference with a 20-4 record. The team also advanced to the Small College World Series for the first time in program history where they finished 4^th overall in the nation.

                Even though the team fielded only two seniors’ expectations for the season were high from the get go. Head Coach Mike Stawski, in a preseason banquet, stated he thought this could be one of the most storied seasons the program has ever seen and he was right. Spalding would be challenged early on in the season by teams such as Brockport St. and Messiah College, both representatives in the NCAA National Tournament. After a spring trip to Florida the team saw themselves 6-5 and hungry to start the conference schedule. There would not be much losing after that. The team went on to win 16 of their next 17 games and found themselves in the hunt for their first ever conference championship all the way to the last day of the season. However, as great as their effort was it would not be enough and found themselves one game back in the standings.

                However, the team quickly received good news when it learned it had been selected to the Small College World Series in Old Orchard, Maine. There the team lost their opening game only to win the next two both in dramatic fashion. First, senior Barrett Dugger took the mound in what would be his last collegiate game. Dugger, for the first time in his career threw a complete game shutout and kept the hopes alive for Spalding. The next game would see even more drama as freshmen Tyler Brown threw the first perfect game in World Series history after he sat down all 21 batters that he faced. For his effort, Brown was named to the World Series All-Tournament team. After Brown’s stunning performance, the team lost a well-played game to eventual national champions Briarcliffe College in a pitcher’s duel 2-0. The team would go on to take 4^th place overall.

                For its achievements on the year, the team reeled in numerous post season awards. First, the team had 7 players named to the SLIAC All-Conference Team. Starting the list was Jake Wardrip who posted a 7-1 record on the mound with a 2.64 ERA and had a team high 64 strikeouts on the year. Another lefty pitcher, Tyler Brown, earned the award for his 8-1 record with 1.68 ERA. A final member of the pitching staff was selected in Taylor Reilly who posted a perfect 4-0 record this year with a career best 4.17 ERA. Three infielders would see themselves receive the SLIAC award. First was Kyle Just who hit .325 on the year with 12 extra base hits and a team high 26 stolen bases. Newcomer Derek Ferch was also awarded for his stellar play in the field and his .367 batting average which was good for second on the team. He also led the team in runs (44), hits (47), and slugging percentage (.563). Bryan Clemmons, Ferch’s double play mate, hit a team best .381 as he collected 15 doubles and 20 RBI’s. Catcher, Steven Schanz was also honored for his .280 batting average and his team high 33 RBI’s. Jordan Messex received the award for the first time after hitting .327 with 27 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases.

                On top of that, Tyler Brown, who had a record breaking season, was honored with two major post season awards. He was named the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year which goes to the top freshmen player in the conference, Furthermore, Brown was named the 2011 SLIAC Pitcher of the Year, the first time a member from Spalding has won the award. SLIAC honors would not stop there as Head Coach Mike Stawski, in only his second year was crowned the SLIAC Coach of the Year. Stawski has compiled a record of 50-33 over his two year tenure at Spalding after the program went 32-75 in the previous three years before his arrival.

                The awards would continue to come in for the players as both Jake Wardrip and Tyler Brown were named to the 2011 USCAA All-American Team. Wardrip and Brown join a short list of Spalding baseball players that have been honored with this award. For his stellar performance on the field and in the classroom, Cameron Norris was named to the USCAA and the SLIAC All-Academic team, the first time he has earned this award.

                Although the team will have a tough time replacing its two seniors, Coach Stawski has stated that he has brought in the best recruiting class of his career. The future is not only bright for the Spalding baseball team but the future is now.

Tags: Men's Baseball by mstawski
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Newport News, VA – The USCAA released its Week 7 spring sport Coaches’ Polls today.  This week marks bid week for Softball.  For the first time in Coaches’ Poll history, we have a tie at first place.  Rochester College and St. Mary of the Woods both receive 182 points to top the leaderboard.  Other teams who have successfully been awarded bids include St. Joseph’s College of Brooklyn, Penn State Beaver, Spalding University, Penn State Mont Alto, and Judson.  Briarcliffe was forced to decline a bid due to significant team injuries.  Therefore, there is currently one spot open.  The Penn State University Athletic Conference tournament concludes this Saturday.  Penn College and Penn State Hazleton will fight to earn the final spot with a PSUAC Championship.  Otherwise, the bid will be distributed to the next qualifying team who has met their institution’s internal criteria to compete.  The 2011 Softball Championships take place at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio – May 5-8.  Firestone Stadium is home to the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch league.

With only two days remaining before bid day for baseball, Southern Virginia continues its dominance with a 28-6 season record.  Spalding makes the biggest jump of top 10 teams, moving from 7th to a tie for 4th.  This marks the first year that the baseball championship will be deemed USCAA Small College World Series.  The tournament will take place May 13-18 at the Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Scroll down to view the top 20 teams in USCAA baseball and softball.  For up to date scores, standing, championship information and more visit www.theuscaa.com.

Softball
Rank    Week 7  Total   Last Week
1(T)    St Mary of the Woods College    182     2
1(T)    Rochester College       182     1
3       St. Joseph’s College    178     3
4       Penn State Beaver       176     5
5       Spalding University     172     4
6       Penn State Mont Alto    160     6
7       Briarcliffe College     156     7
8       Judson College  147     8
9       Southern Maine CC       137     10(T)
10      Robert Morris Springfield       124     9
11      Penn College    123     10(T)
12      Clark State CC  122     17
13      Penn State Hazleton     119     12
14      Southern Virginia University    113     13
15      Southern State CC       112     19
16      Walla Walla University  104     14
17      University of Dallas    97      15
18      Talladega College       94      16
19      Washington Adventist    90      18
20      NHTI    79      NR

Baseball
Rank    Week 7  Total   Last Rank
1       Southern Virginia University    231     1
2       Apprentice School       207     4
3       Talladega College       199     5
4(T)    Briarcliffe College     198     3
4(T)    Spalding University     198     7
6       Selma University        187     8(T)
7       Penn State Greater Allegheny    184     6
8       Robert Morris Springfield       181     8(T)
9       Clark State CC  166     10
10      Rochester College       165     11
11(T)   Washington Adventist    142     12
11(T)   Vermont Tech    142     13
13      Penn State Brandywine   140     14
14      Penn College    135     15
15      Miami University Hamilton       128     16
16      NHTI    123     17
17      UC Clermont     122     18
18      Penn State Beaver       121     NR
19      Southern Maine CC       108     NR
20      Ave Maria University    107     19

Tags: Men's Baseball, Women's Softball by jwurth
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With the Softball Team riding 6 game winning streak, they traveled to Danville, KY last night to take on Centre College. The two teams met earlier this year at Spalding’s home field where the Golden Eagles got the best of the Colonels, winning the double header 8-7 and 4-3. Unfortunately these games would have a different outcome.

The first game of the night would be a pitcher’s duel with both starters going the distance. Spalding held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the 6th with the help of Peyton French who went 2-2 and recorded an RBI. However, in the bottom of the 6th, Centre capitalized on an error by Spalding and took a 2-1 lead. That would be all the Colonels needed as they retired Spalding in the 7th to win game one. Spalding starting pitcher, Tia McIntosh, pitched wonderfully striking out 6 and not allowing an earned run.

The second game would see Spalding fall behind to a quick 5-1 deficit. However, with the help of Amanda Zwicker who had 3 hits and a RBI, the Golden Eagles came roaring back to tie the game at 5-5. However, Centre would not be done scoring as they tacked on two more run in the bottom of the 5th and would go on to win the game 7-5.

The softball team runs their record to 13-11 on the year  and will play host to conference opponent, Fontbonne University, this Thursday at 6:00pm.

Tags: Women's Softball by jwurth
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