Chester, VA -- For Shawnee Sweeney, life's motto is simple. Life is only as good as what you make of it. The harder you work the better you will become. That is not just a life lesson that is a basketball lesson for the Thomas Dale (High School) senior. Since Sweeney was five years old, shooting hoops was a poignant part of her life.
"My dad taught me how to shoot and I would keep working on it. That drive to wanting to get it right, to be perfect came natural to me," Sweeney said. Those long hard-working hours have paid off as Sweeney signed her letter of intent to play Division I college basketball at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore next fall.
Videographer: sweeney2tes; Shawnee Sweeney signs to UMES. Shawnee posted a 4.2 GPA, is in the top 25 of her senior class and played all five positions on the court at Thomas Dale H.S.
"At first I was interested in going to Virginia Wesleyan or Christopher Newport, but at the very end of my high school season, Maryland of Eastern Shore got in touch with me and asked me to come for a visit," Sweeney said. "It was love at first sight with the school, the facilities to the coaches and players."
Sweeney who primarily played shooting guard and averaged about 15 points per game liked the fact that Maryland of Eastern Shore's coaches took the time to come see her play.
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Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
B-CU Pitcher's Duel Evolves into a 16-5 UCF Victory
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In a span of three-consecutive pitches in the seventh inning, No. 2 UCF scored five runs and eventually plated 13 runs in the final three innings to defeat No. 4 Bethune-Cookman, 16-5, in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Saturday. It was the most runs scored in a game by the Knights (39-22) in their NCAA Tournament history.UCF advances to Sunday's noon game and will await the loser of Saturday night's contest between No. 1 Florida State and No. 3 Alabama. If the Knights rumble with FSU, the game will air on Sun Sports.
"I'm very proud of the effort of our guys," said head coach Terry Rooney. "We faced an outstanding Bethune-Cookman club, a team that we played (twice) during the year and their starting pitcher did a tremendous job. But our guys continued to battle throughout the day. I thought Danny Winkler pitched fantastic. He was incredible."
A day after combining to go 1-for-15 vs. Alabama, Beau Taylor, D.J. Hicks, Jonathan Griffin and Derek Luciano all tore apart Wildcat (36-25) pitching. The quartet went 13-for-21 with 11 RBI, 11 runs and five extra-base hits. Hicks and Griffin each collected four hits, with Griffin driving in five to tie a UCF record for most RBI in a NCAA Tournament game.
Griffin crushed his 19th home run of the season as well, putting him in sole possession of second on the UCF single-season chart. He trails only Chris Duffy, who belted 21 four-baggers last year. The senior also has 32-career homers in just two seasons as a Knight to place him in a tie for sixth in UCF history.
Winkler was on his way to possibly his best outing of the season, pitching 5.2 shutout innings with just two hits against and six strikeouts. Yet two errors on a single play with nobody on base and two outs in the sixth inning led to four unearned runs to help the Wildcats eliminate a 3-0 deficit, and Winkler's day was over.
"I just stuck to my game plan like I've been doing the last couple of weeks," said Winkler. "I was getting ahead early, but I wasn't happy with (my slider). So I was trying to command my fastball. And with their starting going like he was, that kept me in it so I kept pounding the zone."
The Wildcats decided to start righty Rayan Gonzalez on the mound vs. the Knights. And the junior surrendered three-straight one-out singles in the top of the first to Taylor, Hicks and Griffin with Griffin driving in Taylor on a chopper over the head of third baseman Emmanuel Castro.
Given an early 1-0 lead, Winkler proceeded to limit Bethune-Cookman to just one hit in the first three innings, striking out five. That was highlighted by the right-hander sitting down the side on strikes in the third. Winkler then stranded a pair of runners with one out in the fourth.
UCF was unable to build its advantage on the scoreboard due to Gonzalez mowing down the Knights. They did have a two-out opportunity after Darnell Sweeney singled to center and Ronnie Richardson drew a walk, however the B-CU right-hander picked up his eighth strikeout of the game to return to the dugout.
Although Gonzalez motored through to get to the sixth inning, his pitch count was well into triple figures after UCF finally got the big hit it had been searching for all day long. As Griffin stood in the on-deck circle, he witnessed Hicks drive a 3-2 pitch into right for a leadoff single. The first baseman strode to the plate and quickly fell behind 0-2. And for some reason he did not like his mugshot on the left-field scoreboard, so he attempted to alter it by demolishing a 1-2 offering that came within a few feet of his face for a two-run homer.
Now jogging out to the hill with a 3-0 lead in the sixth, Winkler, who had thrown just 61 pitches, continued to cruise, getting the first two outs and inducing Peter O'Brien to send a lazy fly ball to left-center. That was when the state of the game changed, as there was miscommunication in the UCF outfield. Two errors on the play led to a hit by pitch and two walks to bring in the Wildcats' first run.
Videographer: flstateseminoles; FSU Baseball defeats Bethune-Cookman 6-5 in Tallahassee Regional on June 3, 2011.
Final Stats
Winkler tried to get that crucial third out, but Brashad Johnson delivered a two-run, two-out, two-strike single into left to tie it up at 3-3. Nick Cicio entered earlier than expected from the pen, and DJ Leonard sent his second pitch to left for a RBI single.
All of a sudden down 4-3, the UCF bats were not concerned by their newly-found one-run hole. A pair of two-strike singles by Sweeney and Richardson greeted reliever Chris Anselmo in the seventh, and although Taylor failed to get a sac bunt down, he ripped a 1-2 pitch off the high fence in right for a long single to load the bases.
Similar to Bethune-Cookman taking advantage of its scoring chance in the previous inning, the Knights were not going to let this one slip away either.
Freshman Bryan Rivera was called in from the B-CU bullpen and the southpaw threw only three pitches in his appearances. All of them resulted in RBI hits, as Hicks punched a single between first and second, Griffin dropped a two-run double into left and Luciano lined a two-run single up the middle. That was it for Rivera, who gave way to Gabriel Hernandez, and the Knights tacked on three more runs highlighted by RBI from Travis Shreve and Sweeney.
With the eight-run inning complete, UCF added a four more in the eighth to stretch the lead to 15-5. Kick-started by a double out of Taylor, Hicks drove in the catcher on a single, Griffin walked on five pitches and Luciano socked a two-run double into the right-field corner. And with the sun beating down onto Dick Howser Stadium, lightning was detected which delayed play for 3:20. When play ultimately resumed, Luciano eventually scored UCF's 15th run on a wild pitch. To close out the offense, Kevin Vasquez drew a RBI walk with two outs in the ninth, and Bryan Brown tossed the final 2.0 innings to send UCF back to the hotel in a jolly mood.
Game Notes
No. 2 UCF - 39-22 Overall
No. 4 Bethune-Cookman - 36-25 Overall
-The game featured a 3:20 hour weather delay with no outs in the top of the eighth inning.
-Saturday marked the 83rd meeting between UCF and Bethune-Cookman, but the first in the NCAA Tournament.
-It was UCF's first NCAA Tournament victory since defeating Florida State, 7-5, June 6, 2004.
-UCF had not committed more than one error in a game since two miscues vs. Houston May 1 (a span of 16 games). But the Knights had two errors Saturday.
-The eight-run seventh inning was the biggest inning in an NCAA Tournament game in school history. It also matched an overall postseason record as UCF scored eight runs in an Atlantic Sun Tournament game vs. Centenary in 1996.
-UCF set a school record for most runs in an NCAA Tournament contest, and tied the school mark with 20 hits (also had 20 vs. Princeton May 25, 2001). The Knights posted at least 20 hits in a game for the second time this year (20 at UAB May 15).
By UCF Athletics
Cal comes back for 10-6 win over Alcorn State
Excerpt:Houston, TX - Few things have come easily for Cal this season. Saturday was no different.
Cal's struggles unfolded in the second inning on Saturday, when Alcorn State (27-30) put together its biggest inning of the day. The Braves picked up six hits off Cal starter Kevin Miller, including an RBI double from Eduardo Gonzalez to start the scoring followed by an RBI groundout by Jann Butler and RBI singles by Brandon Hollins and Angel Rosa for a 4-0 lead.
The last hit prompted Esquer to call on sophomore southpaw Justin Jones, whom he hoped to use as today's starter. Jones (8-6) responded with 6 1/3 magnificent innings, keeping the Braves off the scoreboard until the ninth when they scratched out two unearned runs.
"With no tomorrow, we were going to fire all of our bullets now or never," Esquer said. "It didn't go as planned. We wanted to have Justin ready to go (today). But in an elimination game, it doesn't do you any good to have him rested for tomorrow if there is no tomorrow."
Videographer: swactube; Alcorn State SWAC Baseball Championship Ceremony. GREAT SEASON BRAVES!!
Cal Baseball Defeats Alcorn State, 10-6
HOUSTON, TEXAS - Behind the outstanding relief pitching of sophomore left-hander Justin Jones and a six-run third inning, the Cal baseball team defeated Alcorn State, 10-6, Saturday (June 4) in NCAA regional action at Rice's Reckling Park. Jones (8-6), who entered the game in the second inning with the Golden Bears down 4-0, went on to pitch 6.1 innings, allowing only two hits, no earned runs, with three walks and 10 strikeouts.
With the win, Cal improved to 32-21 overall, and will next play the loser of the No. 1-seed Rice and No. 2-seed Baylor game Sunday, June 5 at 2 p.m. CT (12 p.m. PT). If the Bears win the Sunday afternoon game, they would play the winner of Rice-Baylor at 6 p.m. (4 p.m. PT) Sunday night.
Trailing 4-0, Cal's offense came alive in the top of the third inning off of Alcorn State (27-30) starter Troy Williams (7-6, 2.2 innings, six hits, six runs, two earned runs, one walk, one strikeout). Sophomore designated hitter Vince Bruno started the inning with a single and later scored on junior catcher Chadd Krist's two-run double to left field - his Pac-10 leading 24th double of the season. Other key hits for the Bears in the third inning was junior right fielder Chad Bunting's two-run double down the left field line after an error by the Braves' third baseman Antolin Morales, and sophomore center fielder Darrel Matthew's RBI double down the right field line.
The game slowed down considerably after the third inning as neither team scored between the fourth and the seventh inning and Jones settled into a grove after replacing Bear senior right-hander Kevin Miller. Finally, Cal added an insurance run in the eighth inning on senior left fielder Austin Booker's RBI single up the middle, and scored three runs in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly to center field by Matthews and a two-run throwing error by Alcorn State second baseman Ryan Akins.
The Braves scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth before Cal closer Matt Flemer struck out Morales to end the game.
"I thought today was one of those classic elimination games where the outcome is in doubt to the very end," said Cal coach David Esquer, who led the Bears to their first NCAA regional victory since he coached Cal to a 9-3 win over Minnesota in the 2001 Baton Rouge, La. Regional. "It was two teams playing for their seasons. I thought Alcorn State played a great ball game. I thought they were up to the challenge. But I've got to hand it to our club too, with Justin Jones coming in there and shutting down their momentum. Justin came in there when we had to have it. He gave us a chance and our offense was able to come back.
"It was a big win for us. It was hard fought, not easy. We don't do it easy, so this was typical Cal baseball at this point."
Krist was again an offensive force for the Bears, going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. On Friday, he was 3-for-4 with a double, triple and an RBI single. Sophomore second baseman Tony Renda added a pair of hits and Bunting and Matthews had two RBI apiece.
Box Score
Post Game Quotes/Game 3, Alcorn State vs. California, Cal Head Coach David Esquer
“I thought today was one of those classic elimination games where the outcome is in doubt to the very end. It was two teams playing for their seasons. I thought Alcorn played a great ball game. I thought they were up to the challenge. But I’ve got to hand it to our club too, with [pitcher] Justin Jones coming in there and shutting down their momentum. He came in there when we had to have it. He gave us a chance and our offense was able to come back.
“It was a big win for us. It was hard fought, not easy. We don’t do it easy so this was typical Cal baseball at this point.”
On starting pitcher Kevin Miller: “Kevin Miller’s been outstanding for us. He’s pitched so many different roles for us – probably our most valuable pitcher. We expected him to be outstanding as usual. They did a good job. They rolled some hits up the middle; they were aggressive; they had a hit and run that was a big play for them. They jumped on him for four funs and we just couldn’t stop them. Then we when had to go to Justin. With no tomorrow we were going to fire all our bullets now or never.”
By Cal Athletics Media Relations
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FSU Baseball Survives Bethune-Cookman in Regional Opener
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Mike McGee registered the game-winning hit in the eighth inning and the first-seeded Florida State baseball team defeated fourth-seeded Bethune-Cookman Friday night in the second game of the 2011 NCAA Tallahassee Regional.FSU (43-17) has now won 11 consecutive NCAA Regional games and moves to the winner's bracket where it will face third-seeded Alabama (34-26) Saturday at 6 p.m. The Wildcats (36-24) take on UCF (38-22) Saturday noon in an elimination contest. McGee's RBI single to right field unlocked a 5-5 tie as his timely hit scored Taiwan Easterling for the go-ahead run.
Brian Busch (6-2) earned the win for the Seminoles while Daniel Bennett moved into a tie for second place in FSU history for saves in a season with 15. Busch wound up pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief and gave up no hits or runs and struck out four.
Starter Scott Garner took the loss for B-CU, going five innings and allowing 10 hits five earned runs before being replaced by Roman Lancara in the bottom of the sixth. Seminoles starter Hunter Scantling lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out a career-high-tying seven batters.
B-CU smashes 4 homers, but FSU sneaks past
TALLAHASSSEE, FL -- Four home runs weren't enough to lift Bethune-Cookman over host Florida State in the Wildcats' opening game of the NCAA tournament, as they fell 6-5. The four homers were the most FSU has given up all year. But for the Wildcats, the effort was just another close call against a national seed in a first-round regional game.
"I don't like being the first one here," B-CU head coach Mervyl Melendez said during his postgame press conference (the winning team goes second at NCAA events). "I would have much rather followed Florida State, but I thought our guys fought hard."
First baseman Ryan Durrence led the way for B-CU going 3-for-4 with two home runs, including a solo shot to tie the game at 5-all in top of the sixth inning. Center fielder Mike McGee delivered the game-winning hit for FSU in the top of the eighth on an RBI-single to center field to put the Seminoles ahead 6-5. Closer Daniel Bennett pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close it out for his 15th save of the year.
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Houston Regional: Rice cruises past Alcorn State 14-2
Houston, TX -- By the sixth inning, Rice lefthander Abe Gonzales made up his mind to finish what he started. The top-seeded Owls backed up Gonzales’ first career complete game with season-high 22 hits on the way to a 14-2 victory over fourth-seeded Alcorn State at the Houston Regional.“I didn’t ever think about not going the whole game,” Gonzales said. “I felt like that’s what I should do, I felt like that’s what I could do and it was time to do it.”
Rice will play second-seeded Baylor in a winner’s bracket game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Reckling Park. The Bears beat California 6-4 in the regional opener.
Gonzales held the Braves to a pair runs while keeping the nation’s third-best base-stealing team off the base paths. He allowed seven hits, did not walk a batter and kept coach Wayne Graham from having to use his bullpen early in the four-team, double-elimination tournament. The previous career-high for Gonzales was 6 2/3 innings against East Carolina earlier this season.
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NSU sprinter Sean Holston is making up for lost time
NORFOLK, VA - One man's workout over, the other's about to begin, LaShawn Merritt and Sean Holston briefly stood side by side on the Norfolk State track Friday, representing the physical extremes of 400-meter runners."A monster," the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Merritt said, laughing and pointing to himself. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist from Portsmouth then considered Holston, a head shorter at 5-7 and at 145 pounds. "He's got a monster heart," Merritt said. "That's all you need."
Holston's got something. Persistence. Belief. Patience. He once was labeled as the next Merritt after posting some of the fastest indoor times in prep history as a senior at Lee High School in Springfield.
After two years away from the sport, he had to settle for being the old Sean Holston. He didn't chase down his former self until this season, when he set a personal best in the 400 while running for NSU, finally surpassing what he did as the talk of the high school scene in 2007.
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