Penn State Fayette won juco title in 2004
Submitted photo
Penn State Fayette won the 2004 Region 20 Juco championship. Members of the team were (sitting, from left) Sam Petko, Jamie Kowalczyk, Ryan Guthrie, Earl Gilbert, Matt Fanase, Phil Gratchic, (standing, from left) statistician Fred Staley, assistant coach John Curtis, Bryan Dunn, Justin Corso, assistant coach Ray Smitley, Paul Metz, Mark Shallenberger, Ryan Gondek, Corey Watkins, Andy Mazur, Josh Null and head coach Joe Gessner. Not pictured: assistant coach Joe LaPresta and athletic director Jennie Morrison.
Submitted photo
Ray Smitley
The 2004 baseball season for Penn State Fayette Campus was a magical one resulting in a championship.
The program was established in 1999.
无毛视频淥ur first season would have been 2000,无毛视频� said Ray Smitley, who was an assistant coach on the team under head coach Joe Gessner. 无毛视频淲e finished above .500 that year and we had a good foundation of kids. As it went on leading up to 2004, we made the playoffs three straight years. We were competitive.无毛视频�
Things started building toward a championship as the coaching staff cobbled together a stellar recruiting class coming into the 2004 campaign.
无毛视频淭he freshman class in 2004 was probably the biggest impact that we had,无毛视频� Smitley stated. 无毛视频淚t was a big boost to get us on the right track and to give an opportunity for the other kids in the area to realize that they had another option to go to school at a lesser cost.
无毛视频淭he key player to that freshman recruiting class was Justin Corso. Justin had Division-1 offers and he had Division-2 offers. But when I talked to him, this is where he thought he should be.
无毛视频淲hen Justin decided to commit he started talking to his other friends out there from Greene County from the other schools. Once he started talking to them next thing I know I was getting phone calls from players. Just about every good athlete from that area decided to come to Penn State.无毛视频�
The players themselves talked each other into attending Penn State Fayette Campus.
无毛视频淲e all either played with each other or we played against each other,无毛视频� Corso said. 无毛视频淚t was really weird how we all ended up in the same place. A lot of us, we turned down scholarships to go to Penn State Fayette Campus. I gave up D-1 and D-2 to go there and play with guys I无毛视频檝e been playing with ever since we were little. We were already a team before we were that team. We were already made. It just so happened that coach Gessner and coach Smitley put us together.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t was an amazing year,无毛视频� former outfielder Ryan Gondack said. 无毛视频淔or that kind of local talent to all get recruited and go to the same place was a lot of fun to play with all those guys. When you put together that kind of talent, we went there to try and win for our local area.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t was a good mix of local kids,无毛视频� assistant coach Joe LaPresta recalled. 无毛视频淲e had Uniontown, we had Laurel Highlands, we had Connellsville, we had California, we had Carmichaels, Albert Gallatin, Jefferson-Morgan, Beth-Center and we had some kids from Geibel and they just really meshed together and worked hard. It was a great mix of kids.
无毛视频淲e took kids that were from good programs. Most of the kids we had were from winning programs and that always helps. When kids know how to win that makes things a whole lot better.无毛视频�
无毛视频淓ssentially we put together a high school all-star team,无毛视频� second baseman Jamie Kowalczyk stated. 无毛视频淲e pretty much had all played against each other at some point. We knew what each other was good at and each others无毛视频� weaknesses and when we combined all that then every piece fell into place.无毛视频�
Once the team was assembled the coaching staff 无毛视频� Gessner, Smitley, LaPresta and assistant coach John Curtis, who had been the head coach at Jefferson-Morgan 无毛视频� did some tinkering and turned them loose.
无毛视频淵ou put the kids in a position where they are comfortable and you let him play,无毛视频� Smitley said. 无毛视频淵ou tweak things and they know how to play the game. We just let them play.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 was a sophomore on that team,无毛视频� Matt Fanase stated. 无毛视频淲e had a great group and we all knew each other. We realized right away that we were going to be a very strong team.
无毛视频淩ay Smitley, the top assistant, was a real take-charge leader as was Coach Joe Gessner. They had different coach styles, but they worked well together and the did bring the best out of us.无毛视频�
无毛视频淧retty much the coaching staff let us go,无毛视频� Corso offered. 无毛视频淲e called are own game.无毛视频�
Penn State Fayette fashioned a 29-2 record and captured the Region 20 Juco Championship.
无毛视频淲e lost to Beaver early and lost a game in Florida,无毛视频� Fanase offered.
Along the way there was some adversity as Corso was hit by a line drive and suffered a fractured jaw.
无毛视频淚 was pitching and I got hit with a line drive in the face,无毛视频� Corso lamented. 无毛视频淚t was at Boyce Park and that ended my season.无毛视频�
PSU Fayette faced Butler for the Western Championship of the CCAC and prevailed in a tough game, 4-3.
无毛视频淭he win over Butler was a great ballgame,无毛视频� Smitley said.
无毛视频淲e beat Butler in the Western Championship game,无毛视频� Fanase explained. 无毛视频淭hey had good pitching and played small ball very well. It was a nail-biter. Gondack hit a big home run the opposite way for us, he had a lot of power.无毛视频�
The win moved Penn State Fayette into the Juco Region 20 championship series against Delaware.
无毛视频淒elaware was three-time defending champs,无毛视频� Smitley explained.
Penn State Fayette defeated Delaware 12-2 and 11-3 to win the title.
无毛视频淲e got great pitching from Josh Null and Bryan Dunn,无毛视频� Smitley stated. 无毛视频淢y shortstop Mark Shallenberger from Frazier had an outstanding game defensively in the second game. It wasn无毛视频檛 ideal weather 无毛视频� cold and rain 无毛视频� but we prevailed.无毛视频�
无毛视频淥ur pitching staff was very, very good and we were very deep,无毛视频� Fanase said. 无毛视频淲e had Null and he was the ace. Dunn was a surprise and he moved up on the staff because of injury, but he really came on as a pitcher. We overcame the bad weather, it was very cold and damp.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he playoff run was amazing,无毛视频� Gondack said. 无毛视频淲e clinched at State College and it was a freezing cold day.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 will not forget that,无毛视频� Kowalczyk offered. 无毛视频淚t was cold and rainy and then after we won we all just walked down to the Penn State Creamery and got ice cream.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t is a great memory,无毛视频� Smitley said. 无毛视频淲e had a special group.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭hey gave us rings to celebrate the championship,无毛视频� Corso stated. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a memory we will have for the rest of our lives.无毛视频�
The band of brothers remain close.
无毛视频淥ur kids are playing together and some of us are coaching our kids,无毛视频� Corso said. 无毛视频淚t is awesome.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.