Playing outdoors for the first time, the Penn State New Kensington softball team came away with two wins during spring break, March 5-9, at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Squeezing seven games into five days, coach Mike Masili’s squad, finished with a 2-5 tournament record against teams from Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina and eastern Pennsylvania. Behind the pitching of sophomore Jenna Swank (Ford City), the New Kensington Lady Lions defeated Wentworth (Mass.) College, 10-9, and Penn State Berks, 5-3. New Kensington fell to Sauk (Ill.) Valley College, 10-1 and 4-3, Rivier (NH) College, 2-0, Juniata College, 12-7, and Guilford (NC) College, 16-2.
Sophomore third baseman Tara Oravec (Kiski Area) topped the squad in hitting, both for average and power, by going 10 for 24 (.416) with a home run, three doubles and five RBI. Swank was equally proficient at the plate, going 8 for 22 (.363) with three doubles and three RBI. Sophomore shortstop Bridget Fisher (Burrell) batted .250 and collected 2 doubles and two RBI on five hits.
Returning to campus means back to indoor workouts, as the fields in the area remain unplayable due to the weather. The New Kensington Lady Lions have less than two weeks before opening the season Saturday, March 24, at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. Marsilli hopes the team’s home field at Wolf Pack Park in Lower Burrell will be playable for the home opener March 31 against Penn State Worthington Scranton.
"We have had so much precipitation, the fields will take time to dry out," said Marsili. "I scheduled Chatham as an away game because they have a synthetic turf field. I don’t expect to get on our field until the end of the month."
Last year, Marsili guided the team to a 6-6 PSUAC record and a fifth-place finish in the conference. He is a certified coach and conducts numerous clinics throughout the year. His assistant is Brian Eshbaugh, who was the head coach of the Lady Lions for three years, 2002-05. Eshbaugh guided New Kensington to two PSUAC championships.
For the full softball schedule, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/StudentLife/Athletics/39086.htm online.