Wildcats Weekly For March 23, 2020

Penn College softball video goes viral

The coronavirus may have taken Pennsylvania College of Technology players off the field but it hasn’t stopped them from playing and having fun as a “Virtual Catch” Facebook video posted by coach Angie Hunley is going viral.

Within three hours of its posting Saturday, the compilation (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=541207856802460&external_log_id=53fb25430864193ff0512c888c2304c6&q=pct%20softball) had more than 6,000 views and in less than 24 hours that number had grown to over 27,000. And the numbers keep going up.

“I asked the team to send me videos to put it together,” Hunley said. “I had seen something on Twitter that a soccer player had done, they had done some juggling with a ball and then kicked it onto the next person, so I thought that is perfect, we should do that by playing catch.”

Hunley then asked her players to send her a short, creative clip of them receiving a ball and then tossing it off the screen.

“The videos slowly started coming in and by (Saturday) morning I had all 19 players and two coaches, so I put it together and posted it,” the first-year coach said.

Two clips that are her favorites show a player popping out of a trash bag, and the ending of the video where the ball plops into a cereal bowl and the player continues eating from it.

“Those two crack me up every time,” Hunley said.

“I had no idea that it was going to take off the way it did. I knew the quality of the video was going to entertain a lot of people, but I think what happened is the world of sports just needs something like that to provide entertainment and just ensure that we’re all doing OK without being out on the field right now,” Hunley said.

And the coach issued a challenge.

“We’d like to challenge any and all other teams to put together their own video. We’d love to see everyone else’s content,” she said.

2 players honored by NEAC

The season was short — just 10 games for the baseball team and nine games for the softball squad because of concerns over the coronavirus — but two Penn College athletes were awarded what may be the only weekly honors handed out by the North Eastern Athletic Conference this spring in their respective sports.

Last Monday, it was announced that senior baseball catcher Brittan Kittle, of Millville, had been named the Player of the Week and junior softball pitcher Morgan Heritage, of New Castle, Delaware, had been named the Pitcher of the Week for the period of March 8-14.

Kittle had a red-hot week at the plate, slashing a .500 batting average, .591 on-base percentage and a 1.222 slugging percentage in six games.

He totaled 12 hits, including four home runs, and drove in nine runs. Kittle picked up multiple hits in three games, including a four-hit, four-RBI, one-home run performance against Catholic University and he fielded from his catcher position with a 1.000 fielding percentage on 33 putouts.

Heritage earned four victories on the mound to go along with a 2.26 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

She hurled 31 innings and completed three games, striking out seven batters in two games, and sat down six batters in two other contests. Heritage highlighted her week with a 10-0 shutout of Cazenovia College by scattering five hits, striking out six, walking two and allowing no runs.

SCHEDULE/RECORDS/RESULTS

Baseball

Final overall: 5-5

NEAC: 0-0

Remainder of season canceled, coronavirus

Softball

Final overall: 5-4

NEAC: 0-0

Spring Break Tournament at Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Remainder of season canceled, coronavirus

Archery

Remainder of season canceled, coronavirus

Women’s Tennis

Final overall: 1-5 (1-4 fall season)

NEAC: 0-0

Remainder of season canceled, coronavirus

Men’s Tennis

Final overall: 1-5 (1-4 fall season)

NEAC: 0-0

Remainder of season canceled, coronavirus

Golf

Spring season canceled, coronavirus

For more on Penn College athletics visit: www.pctwildcats.com

For more on the North Eastern Athletic Association visit: neacsports.com