2006 Season Preview
                        CLARION BASEBALL OPENS MARCH 11TH VS FELICIAN AT FT. PIERCE
                                    GOLDEN EAGLES SEEK REPEAT OF 2005 PSAC-WEST TITLE
        Clarion University’s 2006 Baseball team gets underway in Fort Pierce, Florida on Saturday, March 11th when the Golden Eagles square off against Felician at 7pm.
        Clarion will continue its trip with two games on Sunday including a 4pm start against American International and a 7:30pm start against Mount St. Vincent. Clarion has 10-games scheduled overall and will conclude the trip on March 17th against Delaware Valley at 11:45am.
        “We’re looking forward to the trip and the season getting underway,” said Clarion seventh year head coach Scott Feldman. “The Florida trip gives us an opportunity to get everyone some valuable experience and gives us a tool to evaluate everyone on the team. We want to come out of Florida prepared for our tough Northern schedule and the defense of our PSAC-West title.”
                                            FELDMAN BEGINS SEVENTH SEASON AS HEAD COACH
        Feldman begins his seventh season at Clarion with a career record of 94-160-1. Feldman, the 2005 PSAC-West “Coach of the Year”, led the Golden Eagles to a PSAC-West first place tie with a 12-8 conference mark and finished the season with an overall record of 25-22-1. Although tied for first with Shippensburg, Cal and Slippery Rock, Clarion was seeded #1 for the PSAC Playoffs thanks to have the best record against the other three teams (7-5). Clarion lost in the PSAC tournament to Kuztown 9-2 and Shippensburg 9-4.
        The Golden Eagles posted an 18-29 overall record in 2004 and a 5-15 mark in the PSAC-West, while the 2003 Eagles were 17-31 overall and 7-13 in the PSAC-West. Clarion was 7-35 overall and a 3-17 in the PSAC-West in 2002 and the 2001 squad was 10-25 overall and 2-18 in PSAC-West play. In Feldman’s first season (2000) he led the Eagles to a 17-18 overall mark and a 10-10 record in league play.
        Last season the Golden Eagles hit .305 as a team, scored 245 runs (5.1 per game) and had a quality team ERA of 5.06
Gone from that team are PSAC-West “Player of the Year” Jared Frey (P/OF), first team PSAC-West outfielder Kevin Gledhill, second team dh Corey Rogers, plus starting pitchers Bill Young and Brad Adamski.
Frey posted a 6-1 mound record, a 2.44 ERA, while hitting .386. Gledhill, a three year starter, hit .380 and led the team with 13 doubles, 9 triples and 6 hr’s, along with 38 rbi’s. Rogers hit .366, Young contributed a 3-5 mound record and Adamski was 3-4 on the hill.
                                        WARNER & ROLLER RETURN TO LEAD 2006 SQUAD
        Providing quality leadership on the field will be senior catcher Jason Warner (Nescopeck/Berwick) and junior reliever Chuck Roller (Wassington - CB East).
        Warner, a three-year starter, led the team with a .397 batting average last year (62 of 156). He led the team with 15 doubles and 40 rbi’s, along with 5 home runs, 13 walks and 12 of 16 stolen bases. A first team PSAC-West selection in 2005, Warner has a career batting average at Clarion of .363(152 of 419) including 26 doubles, 5 triples, 9 hr’s, 81 rbi’s and 21 stolen bases. He hit .371 in 2004 (56 of 151), posted 8 doubles and was third on the team with 26 rbi’s.
        Roller, Clarion’s closer and a second team PSAC-West selection in 2005, posted a team record 9 saves in 2005 along with a 2-1 record. He pitched 27 innings, struck out 21, walked only 7 and had a 2.00 ERA. In 2004, as a freshman, Roller tossed 46 innings, struck out 43 and walked only 15. He was 3-4 overall with a 9.59 ERA.
                                                        INFIELD INCLUDES VETS & NEWCOMERS
        The infield will return veterans Matt Allen (South Williamsport), Brad Gardner (Jr. Brick, N.J.), Dan Barrett (Sr. Punxsutawney) and Jake Yackovich (So. Murrysville), along with newcomers Matt Petrowsky (Johnstown - Bishop McCort), Ben Watkins (Fr. Johnstown/Conemaugh Twp.) and Kirk Hays (So. Brookville).
        Allen, Clarion’s starting shortstop a year ago, will move to second base this season. Strong defensively, he hit .230 last year (28 of 122), scored 16 runs, had 12 rbi’s and walked 15 times. Starting third baseman Brad Gardner returns to the hot corner after hitting .279 last season ((17 of 61) with 7 rbi’s. First baseman Jake Yackovich hit .227 last season (17 of 75) with 5 doubles and 8 rbi’s and backup first baseman Dan Barrett posted a .250 average a year ago.
        Starting at shortstop will be talented freshman Matt Petrowsky. An all-conference shortstop at Bishop McCort that features solid glove and a quality arm, he was part of the Johnstown Grays AAABA squad last Summer in Johnstown and has big game experience.
        Also ready to help will be Ben Watkins at third base and Kirk Hays at first. Watkins hit .524 at Conemaugh Twp. With 5 home runs as a pitcher/shortstop. Hays meanwhile is from nearby Brookville where he was a pitcher/first baseman. He transferred to Clarion from Potomac State.
                                                            OUTFIELD PLAY AN EAGLE STRENGTH
        Although Frey and Gledhill are gone, Feldman feels the outfield will be a strength this year with Dustin Watt (Jr. Monroeville/Gateway) in center field, Cole Cook (Jr. Brookville) in left and Doug Brown (So. Slippery Rock/Laurel) in right.
        Watt will cover a lot of ground in center field, plus returns with a .310 average (18 of 58) from 2005. He had 2 doubles, 6 rbi’s, 10 walks and 2 stolen bases. Watt played in 37 games in 2004 and hit .189 (18 of 95) with 12 rbi’s.
        Cook, from Brookville, hit .284 (23 of 81) last year with 3 doubles and 10 rbi’s. Brown meanwhile saw plenty of time last year at third base but is moving to right field. He hit .238 (24 of 101) with 2 doubles, 1 triple and 9 rbi’s.
        Also ready to see time in the outfield will be Seth Stewart (Jr. Rimersburg/Union), Tyler Martz (Fr. Bloomsburg/Central Columbia) and Jordan Andrulonis (Fr. DuBois). Stewart saw limited time last year but has good speed. Martz has a strong bat having hit .540 at Central Columbia High with 30 career homers. Andrulonis also has a strong bat after hitting .492 at DuBois with 5 hr’s last year.
                                                                    WARNER LEADS CATCHERS
        Senior catcher Jason Warner (Sr. Nescopeck - Berwick) is ready to anchor the catching chores for the Eagles. Backing up Warner will be Joe Klezek (Jr. Portage/Central Columbia), sophomore Jordan Premick (Gibsonia - Hampton) and David Ferguson (Fr. Summerville/Clarion-Limestone).
        Klezek spent two years at Penn State Beaver and was an all-conference selection and brings some hitting power to the lineup. Premick is very strong defensively and hit .214 in 7 games last year. Ferguson meanwhile played for former Clarion ace Brad Frazier and helped the Lions to three District 9 championships.
                                                   GERSTEL LEADS SOLID EAGLE PITCHING STAFF
        Clarion’s pitching staff in 2006 expects to be very solid behind a good starting rotation and lots of help from the bullpen. The Eagles will feature #1 starter Josh Gerstel (Sr. Butler), #2 Brandon Federici (Sr. Oakmont/Riverview), #3 starter Adam Shaffer (Jr. Cranberry) and #4 starter Craig Garza (Jr. Aliquippa/Penn State Beaver). Also seeing starting time will be Ben Watkins and Blake Wise (Jr. Steelton).
        Gerstel, had a little bit of an off year in 2005 sporting a 4-4 record and a 5.96 ERA. Josh pitched 48.1 innings, gave up 59 hits, 21 walks and struck out 35 in ten appearances. In 2004 he was a second team PSAC-West choice last year and also was the 2003 PSAC-West Rookie of the Year. In 2004 Gerstel tossed 69.1 innings, had a 4-4 record and an ERA of 4.15. He struck out 60 and walked only 16. He pitched a complete game, 15-inning outing in defeating Lock Haven 4-1. In 2003 he put together a 5-3 overall record with a 3.13 ERA. He started 9 games and pitched 7 complete games, tossing 63.1 innings, allowing 66 hits, 31 runs, 22 earned runs and 25 walks while striking out 62.
        Federici was at Augusta State a year ago, and also has two years at Polk Community College where he pitched in 2003 and 2004. The lefty has a good fastball and a nasty curve according to Feldman. “We’re looking to get a big lift this year from Brandon,” said Feldman. He is a 2002 grad of Riverview High.
        Shaffer had 8 appearances last year and started 5 games while compiling a 2-2 record. He tossed 33 innings, yielded 35 hits, walked 20, struck out 24 and had an ERA of 3.55. Shaffer was 0-4 in 2004 with an 8.64 ERA, tossing 25 innings with 14 strike outs and 24 walks.
        Garza, the #4 starter, last pitched in 2004 at PSU-Beaver where he put together an 8-2 record and was an all-conference pitcher. He features good location on his pitches according to Feldman.
        Watkins posted a 7-2 record at Conemaugh Twp.last year with an ERA of 2.00, while Wise tossed 28 innings for the Golden Eagles last year and had a 3-0 record with a 4.82 ERA. He yielded 32 hits, 17 walks and struck out 20. Wise also pitched 9.2 innings in 2004 and had a 7.45 ERA with an 0-0 record.
        Working out of the bullpen will be Billy Geiger (Jr. Saegertown), Mark Winkler (Fr. South Park), Ryan Capan (So. Pgh - Langley), John Dominic (Jr. Hubbard, Ohio), Dustin Minarchick (Sr. Philipsburg-Osceola/W.V. State) and Nate Semovsky (Fr. Monaca/Center).
        Geiger pitched in 9 games and posted a 1-0 record last year. He tossed 17.1 innings, walked 5, struck out 7 and had a 5.71 ERA. Geiger also tossed 34 innings in 2004 and notched a 3-1 record and with an 8.47 ERA.
        Winkler was 7-1 at South Park last year, Capan meanwhile pitched at Langley high in Pittsburgh. Dominic, a tight end on the Eagle football team, is out for his first season of baseball. He features a good fastball and attacks the hitters. Minarchick has 2-years of experience at Allegany CC and 1 year at West Virginia State and should give the Eagles quality innings. Semovsky, a left-hander, earned 4 letters at Center high and is ready for his collegiate debut.
                                                PSAC IN SECOND YEAR OF NEW CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT
        The PSAC will be in its second year in 2006 of its new playoff format. Three teams from the West and East will again qualify for the PSAC Championship Tournament (It had been the top 2) this year. Feldman is pointing to get back in the tournament. “This format opens the field up to all of the teams in both divisions,” said Feldman. “I believe we again have a good shot of making the PSAC Playoffs this season, he continued. “We have good leadership, a solid pitching staff, good fielding and some productive offensive players. Timely hitting and pitching together will be the key, as well as staying away from injuries.”
        CLARION NOTES: In the re-alignment done last year, the West now has California, Indiana, Lock Haven, Slippery Rock, Shippensburg and Clarion ... All PSAC-West games will be on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday serving as the make-up day ... Each team will play the same opponent four games in a weekend (home and home) ... Clarion opens PSAC-West play on March 31st at California, then hosts Cal on April 1st ... The PSAC-West schedule ends on April 28th at Shippensburg and April 29th hosting Shippensburg ... Non-league opponents this year East Stroudsburg, Kutztown and Mansfield from the PSAC-East, along with Point Park, Seton Hill, Gannon, Mercyhurst, Pitt-Johnstown and Saint Vincent.