The Purdue North Central baseball team finished 2-9 during their Spring trip to Clearwater, Florida.

The Panthers were defeated in their season opener by Mt. Marty College 11-3 Sunday afternoon at the Lake Myrtle sports complex in Auburndale, FL. The Panthers fell to 0-1 to open the year.

Starting pitcher Kyle Ferber went 4 innings for PNC, allowing six runs (five earned), six hits, two walks and striking out one. Steve Bryan came on in relief to start the fifth and pitched 0.2 of an inning. He threw two quick outs before allowing one earned run and walking two. Chuck Meyers finished out the remainder and threw 1.1 innings of relief yielding 3 hits and 4 runs (2 earned).

Four different individuals had hits for the Panthers. Jeff Strbjak knocked in two runs with his two hits in the first and third innings. Nate Bryan also collected two hits and Tyson Blattner and Mark Myszkowski added a hit each to round out the Panther offense.

PNC scored two of their runs in the first inning when Blattner led off the game with a single, Myszkowski got on with a hit-by-pitch and Strbjak’s base hit brought in two with a throwing error from Mt. Marty’s right fielder.

The Lancers managed to score in every inning but the third. The Panthers committed four errors to Mt. Marty’s two.

The Panthers later played and were defeated by Madonna University 10-3 in game two of their day/night double header Sunday evening at the Lake Myrtle sports complex in Auburndale, FL. The Panthers fell to 0-2 to start the season.

Starter Shane Prance went three innings for the Panthers, giving up seven earned runs, two walks and three strikeouts. Trace Howard relieved Prance in the fourth and threw a scoreless inning in relief. Larry Spore went on to finish the game, throwing the final three innings and giving up three runs (0 earned), striking out one and walking three.

Ryan Frost led the offense with three hits. Jeff Strbjak added a hit and an RBI. Mark Myszkowski, Nate Bryan, Kyle Schiller and Jeff Gaston all collected hits on the night as well.
PNC scored all of their runs in the first inning. Their first run came from Strbjak and the other two on an error from Madonna’s shortstop.

The last three innings of the game fell silent as both teams reliever’s managed to hold their opponent’s scoring at bay.

The Panthers continued where they left off Sunday and played two games Monday at Jack Russell Stadium where they faced Hannibal Lagrange and Northwestern College.

The team was defeated by Hannibal Lagrange 6-5 Monday morning at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, FL. The Panthers fell to 0-3 to open their spring swing.

Both starting pitchers kept the bats silent through the better half of the first three innings. The Panthers had no problem establishing leads but had trouble holding on to one in this game.

Starter Tony Hoolehan fought through 4.1 innings for PNC, allowing four runs (one earned), three hits and striking out four batters. Mark Myszkowski came in and relieved for Hoolehan, throwing the last 1.2 innings for the Panthers and yielded two runs (zero earned), one hit, two walks and a strikeout.

PNC battled through walks and defensive blunders during a pivotal fifth inning of action which gave way to a nine run frame by Hannibal that left the Panthers in the dust.

Jeff Strjak collected three hits, Jeff Gaston, Jerry Vasile and RJ Zambrano all had two each. The Panthers out hit Hannibal 12-4, each of the teams committed 3 errors on the day.

The Panthers played the second game of their double header against Northwestern College directly following the first where they lost to Northwestern College 17-9. PNC fell to 0-4 on the year as they continued to search for their first win.

Northwestern jumped out to a quick lead, scoring two runs in the top of the first. The Panthers responded back with a leadoff double by catcher Ryan Frost who later came in to score by a Jeff Strbjak RBI single to cut the lead to one.

Each team pitched a scoreless second inning, keeping the game close until a nine-run fifth inning plagued the PNC defense. The Panthers committed four more errors in this game, a similar theme throughout the first four games.

Starting pitcher Carl Chambers pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs, three hits and four walks while striking out two.  Chambers was relieved by Kyle Otte who was tagged for five runs (three earned), three hits and two walks while striking out one in 1.0 inning of relief. The lefty sidewinder Chuck Meyes came in to relieve the last 2.2 innings of work. Meyes yielded eight runs (four earned), seven hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

Four PNC players had multiple hits this game. Outfielder Nate Bryan had three hits and one RBI. Jeff Strbjak, Ryan Frost and Larry Spore all collected two hits each. Frost drove in three, Kyle Schiller brought in two RBI and Strbjak single in one runner of his own.

The Panthers trekked ahead and looked to right the ship for their first win when they faced Valley Forge Christian College Tuesday morning at the Stadium.

This time the PNC b-ball team hit their stride and defeated Valley Forge Christian College 11-1 in five innings in Clearwater to improve their record to 1-4 on the year.

The Panthers offense set the tone for the rest of the game as they pushed eight runners across the plate in the first inning.

Larry Spore collected two hits and three RBI. John Reberger and Kyle Schiller both contributed with one hit and two RBI apiece. Ryan Frost and Jeff Gaston each had a hit and an RBI on the afternoon.
Pitcher Steve Bryan made his first start of the year, giving up one run (zero earned) in five innings. He gave up three hits, one walk and struck-out three.

PNC looked to build momentum after capturing their first win of the year and took a one game winning streak into their next game that afternoon when they faced Northwestern College for the second time in two days at the Stadium.

Despite their previous win the Panthers were defeated 7-1 and fell to 1-5 after the first six games of the spring.

The first four innings proved to be a pitcher’s duel between PNC starter Trace Howard and Northwestern College’s Jared Kirkeby.

Only one run was scored by either team during the first four frames. This run came in the first inning by a lead-off triple from Northwestern College that was later scored from a sac-fly.

The fifth inning proved to be the Panthers melting point as five Northwestern runners crossed home plate to break the game open.

Howard threw 4.2 innings, giving up six runs (six earned), seven hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Mark Myszkowski relieved Howard to finish out the game. Myszkowski threw 1.1 innings in relief, yielding one run (zero earned), two hits, one walk and one strikeout.

PNC’s bats were silenced throughout most of the game. Jeff Gaston had the Panthers only extra base hits with a double in the first and a home run in the sixth inning, Gaston’s first of the year.

The Panther’s had an off day Wednesday and picked up play again on Thursday with a lone game against Bethel University where they were defeated 13-9 at Jack Russell Stadium falling to 1-6 on the Spring.

Offense was the name of the game in this match up as Bethel collected 17 hits to the Panther’s 9.
Jeff Strbjak and Kyle Schiller collected two hits and two RBI each.

Kyle Ferber was handed the ball to start the game and pitched 2.1 innings, giving up eight hits, six runs (six earned), one walk and two strikeouts before being relieved by Mark Myszkowski. Myzskowski threw 3.2 innings in relief and kept the Panthers in it with four strikeouts. Shane Prance threw in the last inning for PNC, yielding four runs (three earned) and striking out one.

Despite the final line, the Panthers were in this one throughout every part of the game, but just could not manage to hold the opposing team. PNC went into the last inning with the game tied 9-9 before surrendering a Grand Slam to Bethel that ultimately left the game 13-9.

PNC then had two of their games rained out against Madonna University and Eckerd College on Friday and washed off the remaining water leftover from the previous day’s storm and played two Saturday against Dordt College.

The Panthers were defeated 2-0 in game one and dropped to 1-7 on the trip.

Both teams left their bats at home as the two team's pitchers dueled during the first five innnings. PNC's starter Tony Hoolehan went six innings, giving up four hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out seven.

Hoolehan's performance was not enough to overcome three defensive errors and a lack of hitting for the Panthers as they were shutout by the opposing team's pitchers.

PNC only mustered four hits in the game. Ryan Frost, Jeff Gaston, Nate Bryan and Kyle Schiller all had one hit each offensively for the Panthers.

In game two the Panthers defeated Dordt College 15-8 to improve their record to 2-7.

Shane Prance received the nod to start game two on the hill for PNC. He threw 3.1 innings, giving up six runs (six earned), six hits and striking out five. Larry Spore and Kyle Ferber pitched in relief and allowed just five hits and 2 runs in the remaining 3.2 innings of work.

The Panthers got off to a quick start in the bottom half of the first inning with their first three batters reaching base and scoring in the inning. They later added four more to their total in the next inning and scored two runs or more in every inning except the sixth from there on out.

Every PNC hitter collected a hit in the lineup, R.J. Zambrano homered in the fifth and drove in three. Ryan Frost collected three hits in the game and Jeff Gaston and Nate Bryan drove in three each as well.

Purdue North Central looked to keep the fire burning and build off their one game winning streak when they added two games to the end of their trip to make up for the two rainouts earlier in the week.

The first game was played against Dakota Wesleyan who beat the Panthers 16-12, dropping PNC's record to 2-8 overall.

Offensively, Jeff Strbjak collected a hit in each of his four at bats at the plate and drove in three runs. Jeff Gaston and John Bugajski had three hits a piece. Bugajski drove in four runners and Gaston one. Ryan Frost and R.J. Zambrano hats two hits each. Nate Bryan and John Reberger both added hits of their own.

The Panthers led through four innings but the pitching staff again had trouble holding down the lead. Starter Trace Howard threw 3.1 innings, surrendering 11 hits and six runs (five earned) while striking out one. Carl Chambers relieved Howard in the fourth to get two quick outs before walking the first two batters in the fifth. This gave way to reliever Mark Myszkowski who labored through 3.0 innings, giving up eight hits, 10 runs (eight earned) while striking out three.

PNC concluded their trip in a final nine inning matchup against Doane College. The Tigers defeated the Panthers 22-15 and sent them packing with a 2-9 record to conclude their Spring Trip.

Steve Bryan, Tyler Nader, Kyle Otte and Chuck Meyers all threw mulitples innings on the mound. In his 2.2 innings of work on the mound, Meyers gave up two hits and struck out seven Tiger batters in relief.

At the plate, Kyle Schiller collected three hits, Jeff Gaston, Larry Spore and John Bugajski all had two a piece. Tyson Blattner had one hit and drove in three. Gaston and Bugajski and David Heath all drove in two baserunners on the day.

The Purdue North Central Baseball team will look to build off of their Spring when they head home and face Cardinal Stritch University in a three game set starting Friday March 19 and concluding Saturday March 20th.

These first three games will be the start of conference play for the Panthers. Friday's game starts at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday's game features a double header starting at 12 p.m. All three games are at home for PNC and are played on campus at Hicks Field.

The Purdue North Central baseball team enters the 2010 season with a new identity following another standout season in 2009.

Last season the Panthers made their fourth straight post-season appearance, joining St. Xavier as the only Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference program (11 teams) to accomplish this feat. PNC finished 31-24 overall and 21-9 in the CCAC, good for 2 nd place. They were eliminated in the National Tournament in Azusa, CA.

Over the last four seasons the Panthers have had the highest winning percentage of the 11 NAIA programs in the state of Indiana. They have also had the eighth highest winning percentage of the 34 collegiate programs at any level in the state.

This year the Panthers will rely heavily on a youth movement after a near complete turnover from last year's team. The team features just one senior, five juniors, seven sophomores and 11 freshmen.

The lone senior, Mark Myszkowski (Hanover Central HS, St. John, IN), is expected to be a jack of all trades for PNC. The energetic leader has played every position on the field during his career for PNC and expects his biggest impact this year to be at catcher and pitcher. Last season the versatile righty batted .303 as the Panthers top positional back-up and ended the year as a reliable reliever with 10 appearances overall.

Staying with the catcher position, sophomore Jeff Gaston (Chesterton HS, Chesterton, IN) is expected to make a big impact after being limited due to an injury last season. In 2009 Gaston hit .214 in 42 at bats but connected for 3 doubles and 2 HR's.

Newcomers Jeremy Davis (fr., Hobart HS, Hobart, IN) and Ryan Frost (jr., Lake Central HS, St. John, IN) are also expected to see time behind the dish. Davis is a left-handed stick who can also play the infield, while Frost's primary position will be in the outfield.

The infield will feature two experienced players and several newcomers hungry to prove themselves.

At first base, the Panthers expect sophomore Jeff Strbjak (Andrean HS, Munster, IN) to lead the charge after hitting .341 as a freshman while serving primarily as the designated hitter. The big right-hander added 9 2b's, 1 3b and 26 RBI in 129 at-bats.

Junior College transfer John Reberger (Vincennes CC,) will fill in for Strbjak and will contribute mostly as a designated hitter. The lefty hit .283 with 1 HR and 2 2b's last season while knocking in 12 runs.

The other three infield spots feature players that are versatile and mobile. Although all can handle multiple positions, junior R.J. Zambrano (Merrillville HS, Merrillville, IN) expects to start at third base and brings the most experience along with Strbjak. Zambrano batted .346 last year (27 for 78) with 3 2b's and a 3b in 44 games, including 24 starts. As a freshman, Zambrano batted .317 (45 for 142) in 44 starts.

Freshman Tyson Blattner (Chillicothe, MO) is expected to start at shortstop after sitting out his freshman year at Longview CC (MO). The knowledgeable righty should battle for the lead-off spot on offense as well.

Second base is a contest between freshmen Kyle Schiller (Portage HS, Portage, IN) and red-shirt freshman Jerry Vasile (Valparaiso HS, Valparaiso, IN). Either way, the Panthers expect to have a freshmen tandem up the middle with the possibility of Zambrano adding his veteran experience to the mix. Both Schiller and Vasile had strong fall seasons and are looking for an opportunity to make their mark.

Freshman David Heath (Hebron HS, Hebron, IN) will also pick up some playing time as a back-up at all positions.

The outfield brings back some experienced players but will have three new faces patrolling the grounds.

Junior John Bugajski (Munster HS, Munster, IN) has been a key back-up the past two years but has earned his first starting role. He had nearly 100 at-bats the last two seasons combined, including in key situations, He brings needed experience to the line-up. Bugajski can play all three outfield positions but will mostly be on the corners in left and right field.

Centerfield will be patrolled by junior college transfer Nate Bryan (Griffith, IN, Ancilla CC). Last season at Ancilla, Bryan hit .364 with 11 2B's, 1 3B, 6 HR's and 30 RBI in 132 at bats. The rangy right-hander brings size, speed and athleticism to the position.

Rightfield should be manned by Frost (Lake Central HS, St. John, IN). Frost sat out last year after transferring from Marietta College in Ohio. He hit .327 with 6 2B's, 1 3B and a homer in 27 appearances, including 16 starts.

Freshman Larry Spore will add some athleticism and a left-handed stick to the outfield and expects some quality time when not pitching. Fellow freshman Stephan Ames (Union Mills, IN, South Central HS) will be a back-up. Schiller, Vasile, Zambrano, Myszkowski and Gaston could all see outfield time as well.

The pitching staff is young but appears to be a strength for the Panthers. As mentioned, Myszkowski will work primarily out of the pen with a chance for some spot starts. He is expected to do everything but sell the popcorn for the Panthers this season.

PNC doesn't have any junior pitchers, so will rely on a bevy of sophomores and freshmen to lead the way.

Sophomores Tony Hoolehan, Kyle Ferber, Shane Prance, Carl Chambers and Tyler Nader will lead the second year players.

As a freshman Hoolehan (Andrean HS, Dyer, IN) finished 5-2 with a 5.50 ERA in 36 innings pitched. Opponents batted just .297 against the southpaw as he gave up 41 hits, struck out 26 and walked 20 in 14 appearances, including 5 starts.

Ferber (Boone Grove HS, Valparaiso, IN) was 2-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 28 innings. In 9 appearances, including 4 starts, he struck out 16 and walked just 7 batters.

Prance tallied 24.1 innings and finished 1-1 in 10 appearances, including 4 starts. He held opponents to a .292 average while racking up 16 punch-outs and walking 21.

Chambers (Andrean HS, Valparaiso, IN) is another left-hander and transferred in from John Logan CC after not playing last season due to injury. As a freshman he finished 3-1 in 20.2 innings over 10 appearances. He struck out 19 and walked 12 while finishing with a 6.53 ERA.

Nader (Wheeler HS, Valparaiso, IN), the third lefty sophomore, pitched just 2 innings in 3 appearances before injuring his foot and sitting out the rest of the year last season.

Many freshmen newcomers are also expected to make an immediate impact, including Trace Howard, Steve Bryan, Kyle Otte, Chuck Meyers and Spore.

Howard (Clark HS, Hammond, IN) and Bryan (Portage, Portage, IN) bring their whippy frame and three-pitch ability to the staff and should pick up innings starting and relieving. Otte (Andrean HS, St. John, IN) is a bulldog looking for an opportunity to make his mark. Meyers (Whiting HS, Whiting, IN) is a submarine style lefty and Spore is a crafty lefty.

The Panthers will have to overcome the loss of several starters both in the field and on the mound due to injuries and graduation.

The biggest loss was centerfielder Chris Schultz, PNC's first-ever First Team All-American in any sport. Schultz hit an eye-popping .445 with 14 HR's, 8 3b's, 16 2b's, 17 bb's, 8 sb's, 52 runs and a whopping 61 RBI. He slugged a phenomenal .832 with an on-base percentage of .493. He committed just one error in the outfield and had 9 outfield assists with his rifle arm. The amazing fact about Schultz is he did this with a partially torn ligament (completely healed now) as he was expected to be the Panthers #1 pitcher as well. He leaves the program as perhaps the most decorated athlete in program history.

Other key losses to graduation in the field include four-year starters John Selman and Dave Dickerson. Both helped lead the turnaround of the program and concluded outstanding careers. Selman was a 4-year starter and former CCAC Gold Glove award winner and Honorable Mention All-Conference player. Last year he hit .317 with 6 HR's, 14 2b's and 3 3b's with 38 RBI.

Dickerson played with a sore finger last year after dislocating it early in the season but still managed to hit .329 with 8 2b's, 4 3b's and 12 RBI while picking up 9 sb's.

The Panthers will also miss the leadership of Chris Cappello who “capped” a solid four year career as a utility infielder with a .284 season.

The Panthers will also miss the services of Greg Feltner and Sean Baker who had solid seasons in 2009 at first base and second base respectively.

On the mound, PNC lost several good arms including Andrew Dahman, Jon Charlson, Casey Young, Ryan Curless and Dan McCauley.

Dahman was the top reliever last season and finished a strong collegiate career with 3-0 record, 5 saves and a team-leading 18 appearances covering 36.2 innings. The strong lefty struck out 28 and allowed just 14 walks.

Charlson was 1-0 over 12 appearances and finished his career as reliable reliever for the Panthers.

Young was 5-4 last season in 54.1 innings and struck out 38 in 15 appearances, including 10 starts.

Curless was 3-6 in 30.2 innings in 13 appearances, including 8 starts while McCauley concluded his career with 5 appearances out of the bullpen.

Key losses due to injuries include junior Nate Hall and sophomore Shane Breitzke. Hall, who tore his ACL, was set to be the starting shortstop after playing third base last season. In 2009 Hall batted .338 with 1 HR, 3b's, 13 2b's and 34 RBI.

Breitzke, who also tore his ACL, hit .395 with 2 HR's, 6 2b's and 11 RBI after earning the starting job in left field the last third of the season.

Another key loss for the Panthers came on the mound as last year's #1 starter R.J. Legel had Tommy John Surgery this past summer. As a freshman Legel finished 4-4 with a 4.57 ERA in 57 innings. Opponents batted just .247 against him as he struck out 38 and walked just 19.

PNC will once again be coached John Weber as he enters his 6 th season. He has led a remarkable turnaround of the program and has brought the team to a new level of respectability.

Weber will be assisted by 3 rd year assistants Steve Plucinski and Dan Martin and joined by first year assistants Alan Myszkowki (Mark's brother) and Scott Marks.

Martin will be a bench coach while Plucinski handles first base duties and infield play. Myszkowski will handle the pitchers and Marks the hitters. Myszkowski coached the last two seasons at powerhouse andrean High School while Marks was a former Panther that finished his career in 2007. He is now working on his MBA as a graduate assistant.

The Panthers open their season with their annual spring trip to Clearwater, Florida before opening conference play on March 20 th verses Cardinal Stritch University at home. Once again, PNC looks to play a challenging schedule against several nationally ranked NAIA and Division II opponents while also scheduling Division I competition against the University of Illinois at Chicago and Purdue University.

The PNC varsity baseball team defeated the PNC Alumni 7-1 Saturday afternoon in Westville. The Varsity moved their record to 4-0 in the series after winning 20-2 in 2008, 10-1 in 2007 and 4-3 in the inaugural game in 2006.

The Varsity jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when sophomore Jeff Gaston reached on a single and junior Kasey Koster smashed a two-run homer to right-center field.

The Varsity expanded their lead to 6-0 in the second inning. Sophomore Shane Breitzke led off with a single and reached third on an error during a pick-off attempt. Senior Adam Kennedy drove him in with an RBI single. After junior R.J. Zambrano reached on a fielder's choice, junior Nate Hall smacked a run-scoring triple to make it 4-0. Gaston followed up with a two-run homer to left field to complete the big inning.

The Varsity scored their final run in the third inning. Sophomore Jeff Strbjak led off with a walk and advanced to third on singles by Breitzke and Kennedy. Junior John Bugajski knocked in Strbjak with a fielder's choice to make it 7-0.

The Alumni scored their lone run in the sixth inning. Dave Dickerson reached on a double and scored on a single by Shawn Nova. The Alumni eventually loaded the bases with two walks but were unable to capitalize.

The winning pitcher was senior Kevin Scott who retired all three batters he faced including one by strikeout. Ten different pitchers combined to strike out eight while allowing just three wa1ks. The losing pitcher was Casey Young who allowed five runs in the first two innings on seven hits while striking out two.

Overall, the Varsity collected 13 hits and three walks. Strbjak added a double, Koster added a second hit on a single and Kennedy reached a third time by a walk.

The Alumni picked up seven hits and three walks. Dickerson had two doubles while Nova had two singles. Former All-Conference and pro player player Steve Georgion added a double.

PNC Hall of Famer Larry Blake Sr. (inducted in inaugural HOF class in 2006) coached the Alumni and was assisted by fellow Hall of Famer Larry Blake Jr.(2009) and Chet Ebner.

The Purdue North Central baseball team will host their fifth annual Alumni Baseball Game at Hicks Field on the south side of campus on Saturday, October 3rd at 11am.

Last year the current Panthers moved their record to 4-0 with a 18-2 victory over the Alumni.

The event is usually tied to the Athletic Department Golf Outing which will take place on Thursday, September 10 th at Valparaiso Country Club in Valparaiso, IN. However, Saturday, September 12 th is the annual Popcorn Fest in Valparaiso and would conflict with the game.

Several former players are expected back to lead the Alumni, who once again are expected to be managed by former long-time skipper and PNC Hall of Famer, Larry Blake Sr.

The pre-game schedule has the current Panthers taking batting practice from 9 a.m. to 9:40 with the alumni following from 9:40 to 10:20. The varsity will take their pre-game infield from 10:30 to 10:40 and the alumni will follow from 10:40 to 10:50.

The current Panthers start practice on August 31 st and finished the 2009 season with a record of 31-24 overall and 21-9 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. They also qualified for the NAIA National Tournament by finishing 2nd of 11 teams in the CCAC.

The Panthers have now finished 31-24, 28-21, 28-22 and 32-20 over the past four years. The victory total is the most ever over a four year span for the PNC baseball program. The Panthers have also qualified for the post-season four straight years for the first time in program history, including two trips to the NAIA National Tournament.

A cookout will follow the game with food and beverages provided by the PNC baseball program.

Please RSVP for the Alumni game to Coach John Weber at 219-785-5273 or jweber@pnc.edu . Coach Weber can also be reached if you are interested in playing or being a sponsor in the golf outing.