SPORTS

Mountain Earns 500th Career Win

Coach Jeff Mountain earns his 500th career win on opening weekend.

Courtesy Observer-Reporter

Nick Krugh Red & Black Editor

Heading into the 2020 season his 18th year at the helm of Washington & Jefferson College baseball team, Jeff Mountain was seven wins away from his career 500th. A tasks most certainly expecting to be accomplished in the 2020 season was put on hold at the hands of the Coronavirus pandemic..

With the 2020 season in the rear view mirror and the 2021 season ready to begin, Coach Mountain was just four wins away from career number 500. However, you could never tell by Coach Mountain’s behavior. It was like business as usual. As excitement built within the team, Coach Mountain became more and more calm.

The Presidents opened the 2021 season with a four game series againt the Bethany Bison.

The Presidents took game one of the four game series 10-4 over the Bison. The Presidents where carried by a power surge at the plate. First baseman Adam Moore ‘21 and outfielder Evan Sante ‘23 both hit homeruns. Moore’s homerun was a grand slam in the third inning. Henry Litman ‘22 threw six and two thirds to get the win.

Game two went the Presidents way finishing 5-1. Tyler Horvat ‘23 let the charge on the mound throwing seven innings allowing one run and striking out nine Bethany hitters. Adam Moore ‘21 added his second homerun of the day and catcher Peter Kalinski ‘22 added his first homer of the year.

On sunday the Bison traveled to Washington to face the Presidents, just two wins away from Coach Mountain’s 500th win. Game one of Sunday finished with a score of 7-1. Pitcher Nick Drake ‘21 threw seven innings not allowing one run, while punching out three. The offense was a balanced attack with Michael Zito ‘21 adding two hits.

The final game of the weekend the Presidents fell behind early 4-0. However, came storming back on the heals of two seven run innings. Beating the Bison with a final score of 19-4, and clinching Coach Mountain’s 500th career win on opening weekend.

W&J Soccer Splits Opening Weekend

Erin Herock ‘21 looks forward to the 2021 season.

Courtesy gopresidents.com

Paul Collier Red & Black Editor

Both of W&J’s Men’s and Women’s soccer teams began their seasons on Mar. 13 at Westminster. The men are currently 2-0-0 while the women sit at 0-1-1 early in the season.

The men’s team defeated Westminster 4-2, outscoring them 2-1 in each period despite Westminster scoring the first goal. Quinn Pickering ‘22 opened the season’s scoring with his first goal for W&J on an assist from Jake Fetterman ‘21. McKinley Joseph ‘24 also contributed a goal while Jake Klonowski ‘24 scored the final two for the Presidents. Jayden Da ‘24 had two assists in the victory. This win extended W&J’s win streak over PAC competition to ten games.

The women’s team opened their season with a 1-2 loss to Westminster. The score was 0-0 after the first half before Westminster opened a 2-0 lead in the second. McKenna Lewis ‘22 provided W&J’s lone goal late in the game on a penalty kick. Abby Hipkins ‘24 also had three saves in her first game for W&J.

The men’s team would also outshoot St Vincent 13-4 on the way to a 4-0 victory to improve to 2-0 in the conference. After Thomas Einolf ‘22 scored on an assist from Jake Rajotte ‘24 late in the first half, the Presidents would score three in the second. Jayden Da ‘24 had the second goal of the game on a penalty kick and would have a second goal on an assist from Nicholas Maknoon ‘21. Joel Winters ‘22 contributed the fourth goal of the game. The women’s team would battle St Vincent to a 0-0 tie in double overtime despite having 17 shots on goal.

Goalkeeper Abby Hipkins ‘24 had four saves in her second game. Katie Hahn ‘22 and Katie Brown ‘24 led W&J with 4 shots each, while Hahn had 4 shots on goal and Brown had 2 shots on goal. Lexey Finney ‘21 had 3 shots with 2 on goal, and Erin Herock ‘21 had 3 shots on goal. The women play again on Saturday against Chatham at home at 1 pm in an attempt to get their first win of the season following a strong effort against St Vincent.

19 Sports Women’s Basketball Falls in PAC Final

Lauren Gilbert ‘21 drives looking to score.

Courtesy gopresidents.com

Paul Collier Red & Black Editor

Beginning Mar. 15, W&J’s Women’s Basketball team competed in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament, culminating in a runner-up finish to St. Vincent in the championship game. After earning a first round bye as the second seed in the tournament, W&J began their tournament run playing Bethany in the quarterfinals, winning 66-62 following a 16 day break due to late season game cancellations.

They powered through a Bethany defense that held the Presidents to only 34% from the field while leading for over 36 minutes of game time despite the close score.

Alie Seto ‘21, Maria Lawhorne ‘21, and Lauren Gilbert ‘21 led scoring for W&J with 17, 16 and 12 points respectively on Senior night.

In the semifinals, W&J defeated Grove City 62-40 after holding the Grove City’s PAC high-scoring offense to only 4 points in the fourth quarter. Grove City would also finish with 17 turnovers and a field goal percentage of only 25%.

The Presidents were led by Hannah Johnston ‘21 in her first career double-double, finishing with 10 point and 11 rebounds as well as 4 steals in the game. Alie Seto ‘21 had 19 points, a game-high, and Lauren Gilbert ‘21 also had 17 points.

W&J played first-seeded St Vincent in the PAC Finals, where they lost 6561 and finished their season with a record of 8-1. It was the fourth season in a row the women had advanced to the PAC championship, and the senior class would finish with an overall record of 68-26.

W&J was led by the seniors in their runner-up effort, as Maria Lawhorne ‘21 would finish with 17 points and 6 rebounds, Alie Seto ‘21 would finish with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, Hannah Johnston ‘21 would finish with 11 points and 6 rebounds, and Lauren Gilbert ‘21 would add 9 points.

This was the fifth consecutive season W&J and St Vincent had played in the PAC tournament, and St Vincent finished 10-0 on their season. W&J Women’s Basketball had a great season, and the entire campus community congratulates them on their success.

Last Week’s Scores

Mar. 20

W&J Baseball vs. Grove City: 4-2 W W&J Baseball vs. Grove City: 6-5 W Men’s Lacrosse vs. St. Vincent: 8-13 L Women’s Lacrosse vs. St. Vincent: 19-4 W Women’s Basketball at. St. Vincent: 61-65 L Mar. 21

Men’s Soccer at St. Vincent: 4-0 W Women’s Soccer at St. Vincent: 0-0 T Mar. 22

W&J Baseball at Grove City: 6-5 W W&J Baseball at Grove City: 6-5 W

This Weekend’s Games

Mar. 26

W&J Volleyball vs. Franciscan: 7:00 PM W&J Football at Waynesburg: 7:00 PM Mar. 27

Men’s Lacrosse vs. Thiel: 12:00 PM Women’s Soccer vs. Chatham: 1:00 PM W&J Baseball vs. Westminster: 1:00 PM Women’s Lacrosse vs. Thiel: 3:00 PM W&J Baseball vs. Westminster: 3:30 PM Men’s Soccer vs. Chatham: 4:00 PM Mar. 28

W&J Baseball at Westminster: 1:00 PM

W&J Baseball at Westminster: 3:30 PM

Courtesy GoPresidents.com