FIVE MORE ALL-AMERICANS

For the third consecutive year, the track team brought home All-American honors from the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships held last weekend at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind.

Luke Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) had the Fighting Scots’ best finish, picking up his seventh and eighth All-American honors. His fourth-place finish in the 400-meter dash was the Scots’ highest placing in the two-day meet. The senior’s time of 49.23 was less than a second off the winning pace of 48.33 set by Hanneus Ollison of McMurry University.

“Luke had a solid performance, both days,” said Roger Haynes. “After being second a year ago, fourth wasn’t quite the finish or the time that he wanted. He got out at an appropriate time in the first 200 meters, but the three kids he was with were a bit faster in the 200. We’ll work more on his 100 and 200 speed now that we’re outdoors. It was a good effort overall, but not one that he’s satisfied with.”

Reschke’s eighth All-American award came in the 4x400 relay where he teamed with classmate Jacob Stott (Morris, Ill./Coal City), sophomore Logan Hohl (Orion, Ill./Orion) and junior Ryan Hardman (Broadview, Ill./St. Joseph) to place seventh. The foursome clocked a 3:19.58 to earn Stott and Hohl their second All-American honors and Hardman his first. The time was just over two seconds behind the winning relay team from the State University of New York College of Oneonta which ran a 3:17.19.

“Jake got us out in good shape in 49.10 with the leadoff leg,” praised Haynes. “We weren’t quite as good on the final three legs as we were a week ago and at this level, that’s all the difference in the world. If you’re a half-second off per man, it makes a big difference. We went from second going into the race to finishing seventh. We just didn’t run our best time.”

Shannon Turczyn (Peru, Ill./LaSalle Peru) picked up the Scots’ other All-American award. A three-time All-American outdoors, Turczyn picked up her first indoor award with a seventh-place finish in the women’s 55-meter hurdles. The senior ran an 8.29 in the finals after breaking her own school record on Friday with a time of 8.26. Frostburg State’s Sumer Rohrs won the event in an NCAA record time of 7.84.

“Shannon had a good weekend,” reported Haynes. “She ran the two best times of her career Friday and Saturday. Had she run the 8.29 on Friday, she wouldn’t have made the finals. She ran her best when she absolutely had to. She’s set some big goals for her outdoor season and the indoor season has her set up about where she wants to be heading into her final season outdoors.”

Hohl, Stott and Gloria Lehr (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville) missed the finals in their individual events. Lehr’s shot put of 43’0-1/2 missed the cut by less than a foot in her first trip to the championships.

“It was extraordinarily good field to take 44-feet to place ninth,” said Haynes of the women’s shot put. “That’s one of the highest performances in our memory. Gloria threw her best throw on her first attempt, so we felt pretty good about that. Throwing 43-feet on your very first throw ever at the national meet is a good way to start. Many years, that would have been good enough to make the finals, but not this year. That shows you what a quality field we had there.”

On Friday, Hohl ran a 7.82 in the men’s 55-hurdles, missing the cut by less than two-tenths of a second. Stott missed the cut in the men’s 400 after clocking a 50.44.

“Jake was in fourth going into the second lap,” said Haynes. “It’s very much a position race and the ones ahead of him were hard to pass. Logan in the hurdles, much like Shannon, is better once he gets out of the blocks and can open it up. We’ll increase the quality of the workouts now that we’re in the outdoor season.”

Monmouth’s men finished 31st of 73 teams at the meet. The women were tied for 54th of 68. The Scots open their outdoor season next Saturday at Augustana.

D3HOOPS HONOR

Melissa Gorski (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) has netted another post-season basketball honor.

Recently named a top 10 finalist for the prestigious Jostens Trophy given to the nation’s outstanding Division III basketball player, Gorski this week was named to the D3hoops.com All-Central Region third team. The senior guard ended her playing career with 1,273 points, making her the Fighting Scots’ fourth-leading scorer in the women’s program history, and her 312 career assists ranks her third. She was second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Gorski compiled a 13.8 career scoring average and a 6.1 rebound average. The Scots completed a 14-9 season, finishing with the second-most wins in school history.

“It’s a fitting honor to end Mitt’s great four years here as a Fighting Scot,” said coach Melissa Bittner. “She leaves as one of the best all-around performers in the program, placing her mark in countless statistical categories.”

A three-time All-Midwest Conference selection, Gorski was previously named to the ESPN the Magazine All-Academic District V first team. She has also been named to the Monmouth College Dean’s List seven times and is a two-time Midwest Conference All-Academic selection.

The D3hoops.com all-region teams are selected by a vote of college sports information directors within the region. The Central Region includes 54 schools in five states representing seven conferences and two independent institutions.

LINKSTERS TAKE FIRST…AND THIRD  

The men’s golf team got their spring season off to a strong start, capturing the individual title and the Fighting Scots “Red” team taking third at last weekend’s Millikin Spring Opener.

“We had a relatively good spring trip,” said Dave Ragone of their over-the-road odyssey that covered over 1,100 miles ranging as far south as Tunica located in the northeast corner of Mississippi. “We didn’t play up to our ability, but we have a month and a half before the conference meet. Our short game wasn’t where we would like it to be right now, but we’ll work hard on that this week.”

Rodney Clayton (Plano, Ill./Plano), playing on the Scots “Red” team, took the medalist honors after firing a 36-hole total of 146. The sophomore followed Friday’s opening round 75 with a one-under 71 Saturday to clip Illinois College’s Mark Strain by a single stroke.

“Rodney has matured tremendously,” praised Ragone. “His game is on right now. We were very pleased with his three rounds in the 70s going back to the Rhodes match on Wednesday.”

Junior Ryan Tapscott and senior Jake Kilberg were also “on” at the Oak Terrace course last weekend. Tapscott carded rounds of 78-79-157 and Kilberg toured the course in 79-80-159. Greg Jones checked in with a two-day total of 82-86-168. Ryan Harvey fought back from an opening round 94 to post a 79 for the closing round and finished with a 173 total.

“Ryan (Tapscott) and Jake were both very solid for us,” said Ragone. “Jake has really come out firing for his senior year. He understands this is his last go around and he wants to go out playing his best. Greg and Ryan (Harvey) just need to be a bit more consistent.”

Monmouth’s “Red” team opened the meet with a 314 and carded a 309 for a two-day total of 623, just four strokes off the lead. The “White” team placed eighth after firing a 347-322-669.

Junior transfer Ted Starkey (Springfield, Ill.) led the “White” team, posting an 80-75-155 to tie for eighth as all of the “White” team improved their second day scores.            

“Ted was a little inconsistent last week,” reported Ragone. “I think he started to find his game at Millikin with a couple of nice rounds. That should have boosted his confidence to play well on a tough course.”

Zach Coles and Sean McNamara each carded 172s. After an opening round 90, Coles checked in with an 82 on the final day.

“Zach had a rough start,” said Ragone. “The first day he went 15 over on the four toughest holes. The second round he played them at two under. That was a remarkable turnaround. He told me it was all due to mental preparation.”

McNamara shot an 88-84 for the weekend. Ben Olson posted a 36-hole score of 89-84-173 and Joe Hoffman shaved 14 strokes off his first day 95 to card an 81 Saturday and finish with a 176.

“Sean and Ben, our two freshmen, were very solid in the collegiate debuts,” said Ragone. “I expect great things from them as their careers develop.”

Wednesday, the Scots fell in a dual meet with Rhodes College, the No. 11 ranked team in the nation. Rhodes downed the Scots 319-330.

“We had to count an 88 against Rhodes,” reported Ragone. “If we get the scoring we’re capable of, we may have narrowed that losing margin to single digits. It’s early and we have a lot of golf ahead of us. We’re off this weekend and that will give us time to work on our short game. We should be around 309 or 310 every time out.”

The Scots won’t see action until next Friday and Saturday when they compete in the Prairie Fire Classic hosted by Knox College.

Monmouth has adopted the slogan “Ride that train to Florida” in reference to this year’s site of the NCAA Golf Championships in Port St. Lucie. They would just as soon take a jet, but Ragone hopes they can stay on track for the Midwest Conference title and their second trip to nationals in three years…and even if they DO take the train, after their spring road trip, the 1,300 miles to the national meet shouldn’t seem like that long of a journey.

BACK FROM THE DESERT…PART 1

The best record on a spring break trip since 2004 has softball coach John Goddard feeling good about his team’s potential for the 2009 season.

The Scots returned from Tucson, Ariz., with a 3-4 record, winning their opener, their closer and the game in the middle of the seven game series.

“I was very pleased with the way we played in Tucson,” reported Goddard. “All the women played well and I think we learned a lot.”

Not only did the Scots learn a lot, their opening opponent, SUNY-College at Oneonta, and at least one umpire learned the correct ruling on the NCAA tie-breaker.

The Scots and Oneonta were locked in a struggle in the opener for both teams. Each team put three runs on the board through the first two innings, but SUNY-O took a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the fifth. After Maggie Dort singled and Brooke Twohill was hit by a pitch, Britta Dixon – pinch running for Dort – scored on a wild pitch and ensuing throwing error by the catcher. Brittany Forney’s base hit put the tying runs on for Colleen Zumpf. The freshman designated player promptly delivered a two-run single and the Scots pulled to within one. Monmouth knotted the game at 7-7 in their half of the sixth when Morgan Seiler’s double scored Ashley Parer.

Neither team could muster a run in the seventh, sending the game into extra innings. The NCAA tie breaker was instituted in the eighth – that’s the practice of putting a runner at second base to start each inning. The runner is determined to be the player who would bat ninth in that particular inning – file that in your memory banks for future reference.

Oneonta took an early advantage, plating a run in the eighth, but the Scots answered in their half of the inning when Zumpf scored on a passed ball. Double plays ended the ninth, setting up 10^th inning drama – another file note, keep the double plays in mind for the 10^th.

SUNY-O put the pressure on the Scots, picking up two runs in their half of the inning. Monmouth placed Dort – who had lined out to begin a 9-6 double play to end the ninth – on second. Chelsea Merritt then singled, placing runners at the corners with the winning run stepping to the plate.

Whoa! Hold your horses, coach.

Seems Oneonta disputed the Scots’ ruling that Dort should be placed at second. The way SUNY-O and the home plate umpire interpreted the ruling, the player who made the last out of the previous inning should be at second, meaning Parer, not Dort would be at second.

The ruling? Dort is out.

What?! Wait a minute, that CAN’T be right.

Enter the base ump, first base coach Hank Shimmin and sports information director and keeper of the Scots’ official book, Dan Nolan, who had told Dort to go to second.

With the umpires disagreeing on the ruling, Goddard went to the dugout and pulled out the official NCAA rule book.

The correct ruling?

Rule No. 6.15.1 Tie Breaker Rule which states “the offensive team shall begin its turn at bat with the player scheduled to bat ninth in that half inning being placed on second base.”

Whew! SID Nolan was praying he was correct in telling Goddard Dort should be at second. For a second, thoughts of “The Bartman Incident” flashed into Nolan’s head.

With runners safely at the corners, Twohill dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt, so perfect that the first baseman airmailed her throw to right field, allowing Dort and Merritt to score and moving Twohill to third. Forney quickly ended the game with an RBI single to right bringing Twohill home with the winning run in an 11-10 win.

“We responded well for not having a lot of games under our belt,” praised Goddard. “We wondered if the freshmen would be able to respond to the situations they would face last week. They did that and more all week long.”

The Scots’ other two wins weren’t nearly as dramatic. Monmouth handled Northwestern College of Iowa 7-4 and outslugged Wesleyan University of Connecticut in the last game of the trip 13-7.

Despite giving up ten runs in each of their first three games, Goddard liked what he saw out of the pitching staff. Freshman Megan Butler picked up her first collegiate save and leads the team with a 1.62 ERA.

“Megan was a good surprise,” claimed Goddard of his reliever. “The starters – Sarah Christensen, Amanda Murdock and Ellissa Sexton – did well. I have no complaints about our pitching. Ashley Tocha and Brittany Forney did nice jobs in relief. Our bullpen is so strong that I have complete confidence in them if the starters are struggling.”

Opposing pitchers struggled with the bat of junior second baseman Val Stier who hit a blistering .538 in Tucson. 

“Val had the spring of her career,” said Goddard. “She’s changed her stance just a little and is making better contact. Like Megan’s pitching, Val’s hitting was a pleasant surprise.”

Stier leads the Scots in hitting, Forney is second at .421 and Seiler completed the trip at .409 with a team-best five RBIs after a four-for-five performance in the final game.

Goddard predicted his team would be able to score runs, and for the most part the second-year coach was correct. Even in a 7-0 loss to Peru State College, Monmouth was only out-hit 11-10.

“All things considered, I’d say we had a very good week,” claimed Goddard.

The Scots face Eureka this afternoon to open their home season and expect to bring their hot bats and solid pitching with them.

BACK FROM THE DESERT…PART 2

A 2-7 spring trip might have some baseball coaches a bit nervous, but for the Scots’ Roger Sander there were more positives than negatives for his young team when they returned from Arizona.

“We knew going into this season that we would have a really young lineup,” said Sander. “We made some youthful mistakes, but I told the guys, we were just as close to coming home 6-3.”

That’s not just Sander pumping his team up. Of the seven losses, four where by two runs or less, and the Scots had the lead in three of those four losses.

Monmouth opened the spring break week splitting a twinbill with Wheaton, falling in the opener 6-4, but bouncing back with a 6-5 win in the nightcap. Wheaton used a four-run second in the first game to pick up the win. The Scots plated three in the top of the seventh for a come-from-behind win in Game 2 as leadoff hitter Billy Herrin collected three hits and Matt Bourne pitched six strong innings before handing it over to Chris Albanese who allowed just one hit to get the save.

The Scots weren’t able to pick up another win until the final day when Bourne was supreme again, picking up his second win of season, a 5-2 victory over St. Mary’s University.

“Matt did a great job,” said Sander. “In the St. Mary’s game he was just plain dominant. He was good in the first win, but in the second win he threw a lot of strikes and was ahead in the count.”

Matt Tye nearly gave the Scots back-to-back wins, but a late inning mistake gave him the loss against SMU.

“Except for that one mistake, Tye pitched well,” said Sander. “We were encouraged by how we ended the trip. All our pitchers did some good things. We’re going to build on that.”

Included in the seven game skid was a 10-9 extra inning loss to Rockford that featured a rare triple play.

Monmouth led 9-6 in the bottom of the eighth, but Rockford put their first two batters on base. A liner off the bat of the Regents’ No. 9 hitter was snared by reliever Corey Gruber who fired to Chad Kamm at first for the second out, Kamm then relayed to second to complete the triple play.

“Rockford was in a double steal,” explained Sander. “It happened so fast, neither runner knew what had happened. It could have been an unassisted triple play if the pitcher had wanted to run around.”

The Scots’ good fortune didn’t hang around in the ninth when Rockford sent the game into extra innings with a three-run homer.

“The teams that beat us knew how to win,” said Sander. “Our guys don’t know how to win – yet. They will. It’s just a matter of our young guys getting some college experience.”

      Of the 15 Scots position players who saw action as starters, six were freshmen. But don’t think the freshmen are easy marks. Three of them are hitting over .300 and a fourth is at .294.

Kamm, a freshman, leads the team in hitting with a .448 average, slightly ahead of another freshman – Terry Davis – who is hitting .444 with a team-leading eight RBIs. Returners Chaz Baggio and Herrin came home with averages of .400 and .360, respectively. Two more freshmen – Caleb Ruyle at .304 and Brad Winkler with a .294 mark – are just ahead of senior Kevin Sashko at .292.

“They’ve got a great approach at the plate,” said Sander of Kamm and Davis, his three and four hitters in the lineup. “They’re the same as some of the other great hitters we’ve had come through. They take the same approach and have a great eye for the strike zone.”

The pair must have a good feel for the strike zone, too, striking out just a combined three times in 56 plate appearances.

“We’re really encouraged by our hitting,” claimed Sander. “Billy (Herrin) and Brad (Winkler) got off to great starts. I knew we had some good hitters.”

Monmouth’s trip to the dry southwest didn’t dry up their hopes for a successful season. On the contrary, they’re geared up for the season.

“We showed we can hit,” said Sander. “We were a bit shoddy in the field. We just need to tie it all together.”

A couple of sophomore pitchers – Chris Wolcott and Zach Myers – impressed Sander with their outings.

“They pitched really well and I expect to see them some this year,” reported Sander. “As a team, we have the ability. We just need to show it and put it all together.”

The Scots will have a chance to complete their package this weekend when they travel to Aurora for a double-header Saturday. Fans wanting to catch the Scots at home will be in for a wait, they’re not scheduled to play a home game until April 11 when they host Knox.

RESTED AND READY

When we last left the men’s tennis team, they were in need of some R&R.

With a few nagging injuries and still looking for the right combination in doubles play, Chad Braun’s charges used the time off over last week’s spring break to let their aching bodies heal. Braun used the down time to formulate what he hopes is the right doubles combinations to propel them to the Midwest Conference Tournament for the third time in four years.

“We’re rested and healthy,” reported Braun. “We came back Sunday and looked pretty sharp. They’re refreshed and ready to go for the final push. Kyle (Korb) especially plays well after some rest.”

Rest may be a good thing, but Braun brought his team back a day early to knock off whatever rust that had been accumulated. The Scots will see if that rust was removed Friday when they host Ripon in a non-conference matchup. Braun will also get an early look at his new doubles combinations.

“No. 1 doubles will be Kyle Korb and Eric Brandhorst,” said Braun. “Chris Utterback and Ben Morrow will form another doubles team and Sam Graf and Tyler Lampe will form the other. I feel good about our doubles combinations.”

The only decision now for Braun is whether the Utterback-Morrow or Graf-Lampe combination will play at No. 2 or No. 3.

“They’re both very similar,” claimed Braun of his 2 and 3 combinations. “Korb and Brandhorst are definitely No. 1. Right now it looks like Utterback and Morrow will be at No. 2.”

One thing Braun is sure of – his team is ready to hit the courts.

“Even though the Ripon match isn’t considered a conference match, it’s still important for the conference tournament when it comes to seeding,” reported Braun. “We have goals we want to achieve against the North Division teams, so this is an important match for us.”

After Ripon Friday, the Scots travel to Augustana Saturday for a double-dual with Wartburg. They’ll play all five Northern teams before meeting their first South Division foe in April.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Thurs., Mar. 19
Softball – hosts Eureka (2), 3:00 pm

 Fri., Mar. 20
Men’s Tennis – hosts Ripon, 3:30 pm

Sat., Mar. 21
Men’s Tennis – at Augustana with Wartburg, 11:00 am/2:00 pm
Baseball – at Aurora (2), Noon 

Tues., Mar. 24
Women’s Tennis – hosts Eureka, 4:00 pm

Wed., Mar. 25
Softball – at MacMurray (2), 3:00 pm

SCOTSIVATIONAL

“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” - Longfellow