Baseball

5/16/2012
The baseball team had eight sophomores graduate with their Associate in Arts degree this spring semester. The graduates included Mike Vavasis, Justin Gates, Matt Freburg, James Petika, Zac Pfafman, Chris Hanson, Kendall Paluch and Tim Morris. Hanson also received the distinguished Debra Hay Award for outstanding achievements as a student-athlete. Sophomores Chris Ruggiero and Chris Jones should complete their requirements for the AA degree this summer.

5/12/2012
The 2012 baseball season came to a close in a hard fought 6-5, 12 inning loss to Southeastern Community College at the NJCAA Division II Baseball Tournament in Morehead City, N.C. on Saturday. Trailing 5-4, PHCC tied the game 5-5 in the top of the eighth inning on Joe Anzeveno’s sacrifice fly after Southeastern had taken the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Ruggiero (4-2) took the loss in relief pitching the final 4.2 innings allowing only one run on four hits while striking out five. Chris Petika led the hitters going 4 for 6 with a double and Trae Urban went 3 for 6 with a double and RBI. Ryan Hutson and Mike Vavasis each had two hits in the game as well. PHCC ends to season at 28-21.

5/11/2012
Pasco-Hernando lost 3-1 on Friday morning at the NJCAA Division II District Tournament in Morehead City, N.C. The Conquistadors scored in the top of the first inning on Chris Hanson’s two-single that scored Trae Urban. Leading 1-0 thru seven innings, Patrick Henry tied the game on Justin Gates wild pitch with two outs in the eighth. The Patriots added another run in the eighth and one in the ninth. The loss puts PHCC in the loser’s bracket. hey will play the loser of the Southeastern/Lenoir game at 10 a.m.

Starter Justin Gates record fell to 10-3 on the season. Chris Hanson and Trae Urban led the hitters going 2 for 4.

5/7/2012
The baseball team is proud to announce that 10 of 21 student-athletes scored 3.0 or higher this spring including Zac Pfafman, who earned a 4.0 GPA. Other members of the 3.0 club include Mike Vavasis, Justin Gates, Matt Freburg, James Petika, Chris Hanson, Kendall Paluch, Justin Blue, Ryan Hutson and Marcus Posluszny.

5/7/2012
Pasco-Hernando Community baseball is seeded No. 3 in the 2012 Carolinas-Virginia Conference Region 10 Baseball Tournament that begins Friday in Morehead City, N.C. The Conquistadors will play No. 6 Patrick Henry Community College (25-17) at 10 a.m. The double-elimination tournament runs until Tuesday, May 15.

4/25/2012
The baseball team ended the 2012 regular season with a 5-3 win over St. Petersburg College on Wednesday afternoon in Clearwater. The win was the teams seventh straight as they head to the NJCAA Division II District Tournament in Morehead City, NC that begins May 11.

Justin Blue (3-4, 3.86) picked up the win by pitching three shutout innings allowing no hits and striking out one. Austin Tolle picked up his first save of the season by pitching the final two innings. Chris Hanson, Trae Urban, Mike Vavasis and Ryan Hutson each had two hits in the game. The team finished the regular season 28-19.

4/23/2012
Gino Pepenella’s bases-loaded one out-pinch hit single in the bottom of ninth scored Joe Anzeveno with the winning run as Pasco-Hernando defeated St. Petersburg College 3-2 at the West Campus. The win improved the Conquistadors to 27-19 on the season. Austin Tolle (4-1) picked up the win in relief of starter Chris Ruggiero. Ruggiero pitched 8.2 innings allowing only one earned run on three hits while striking out nine. Ryan Hutson continued his hot bat going 2 for 4 with a double. PHCC will wrap up the 2012 regular season at St. Petersburg College on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. Justin Blue (2-4, 4.14) will get the start.

4/23/2012
Sophomore Justin Gates (Hernando High School) became the all-time wins leader after defeating Clearwater Christian College on Saturday by a score of 9-2. Gates is now 10-2 on the season with a 1.56 ERA. He has pitched 86.1 innings striking out 83. The previous record was set by All-American Frankie Sanders in 1995. Sanders went 9-2 with a 1.29 that season.

4/21/2012
PHCC improved to 26-19 on the season by beating Clearwater Christian College 9-2 at the West Campus. Justin Gates (10-1, 1.56) picked up the win after pitching six shutout innings allowing five hits and striking out six. Trae Urban went 3 for 5 with a double to lead the hitters. Other top hitters included James Petika who went 2 for 2 with a double and two runs batted in, Ryan Hutson 2 for 4 with a double and Chris Hanson 1 for 4 with a grand slam home run. The team will host St. Petersburg College Monday at 2:30 p.m.

4/16/2012
Pasco-Hernando defeated Northwood University JV 12-5 in West Palm Beach on Monday afternoon. Tim McCormick (1-1) picked up his first collegiate win by pitching three strong innings of relief allowing one unearned run on two hits while striking out three. Mike Vavasis led the hitters going 3 for 4 with three doubles and two RBIs. Chris Ruggiero and Trae Urban each had two hits in the game. Ryan Hutson had a big two-out, two-run double in the game. The team improved to 25-19 and gave Coach Winterling his 500th career win. The team will host Clearwater Christian College at noon on Saturday.

4/15/2012
The baseball team defeated Northwood University JV 6-2 on Sunday in West Palm Beach. Chris Ruggiero (4-1) pitched a complete game allowing one earned run on seven hits while walking one and striking out 12. Ryan Hutson led the hitters going 3 for 5 with a double, home run and two runs batted in. Other top hitters were Trae Urban (2 for 4 with a double) and Chris Hanson (2 for 3). The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 2 p.m. in West Palm Beach. The win clinched a spot for the team in the NJCAA Division II District Tournament in Morehead City, N.C. that runs May 11-15.

4/14/2012
The baseball team swept a doubleheader from the University of Tampa JV 3-2 and 4-3 at the West Campus. Sophomore Justin Gates improved to 9-2 on the mound in game one by pitching 6.1 innings allowing two runs on six hits while striking out six. Chris Ruggiero came in and recorded his two save in the seventh. Ryan Hutson went 1 for 2 with two RBI’s and Chris Jones 1 for 1 with an RBI to lead the hitters.

In game two, PHCC had to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in extra innings. Mike Vavasis hit a game tying single in the bottom of the seventh and Joe Anzeveno hit a game winning double in the bottom of the eighth. Justin Tolle (3-1) picked up the win in relief of starter Kendall Paluch by pitching 5.2 innings of shutout ball.

The team will travel to Northwood University JV in West Palm Beach for a two-game set on Sunday and Monday. Chris Ruggiero (3-1, 4.68) will start on Sunday and Justin Blue (2-4, 3.99) will start Monday’s game. Both games are at 2 p.m.

4/10/2012
Florida State College defeated Pasco-Hernando 13-4 in Jacksonville on Monday afternoon. Kevin Cavanagh (0-4) took the loss. Chris Ruggiero went 2 for 4 with a RBI to lead the hitters. The Conquistadors won three out of four games against the Stars this season. PHCC (21-19) will host the University of Tampa JV on Saturday in a noon doubleheader. Justin Gates (8-2. 1.58) and Kendall Paluch (4-3, 3.19) will get the starts.

4/9/2012
Pasco-Hernando split a doubleheader with the University of Tampa JV on Saturday winning the first game 2-1 and losing game two 7-4. Justin Gates (8-2) picked up the win by pitching a complete game allowing one run on nine hits and striking out seven. PHCC scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead after falling behind 1-0 in the second inning. Chris Hanson scored Chris Jones with a game tying double and Chris Ruggiero put down a perfect safety squeeze bunt to score Hanson with the winning run. In the second game, Tampa scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning off of three PHCC relievers to break a 3-3 tie and go on and win 7-4. Tim McCormick (0-1) took the loss.

On Sunday, PHCC held on for a 6-5 win over Florida State College in Jacksonville. Kendall Paluch (4-3) notched the win by pitching seven innings allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out seven. Chris Ruggiero picked up his first save of the season. Ryan Hutson went 2 for 4 with a double and RBI and Chris Hanson went 2 or 4 to lead the hitters. The two teams meet again today at 3 p.m. in Jacksonville.

4/5/2012
The baseball team dropped their third straight game 7-1 to St. Petersburg College yesterday at the West Campus. Starter Kevin Cavanagh (0-3) took the loss. Chris Hanson, Chris Ruggiero and Chris Jones each had two hits in the game. The team (19-17) will return to action on Saturday with a noon doubleheader against the University of Tampa B team at the West Campus.

4/3/2012
Pasco-Hernando lost 2-1 against St. Petersburg College in Clearwater on Monday. Chris Ruggiero (3-1) took the loss after pitching the final 2.1 innings. Justin Gates pitched eight strong innings allowing one unearned run on seven hits while striking out six. He lowered his ERA to 1.61 on the season. Chris Hanson led the hitters going 3 for 5 and Mike Vavasis went 2 for 5 with a double. The team (19-15) returns to action tonight when they travel to the University of Tampa JV for a 6 p.m. game. Kendall Paluch (3-2, 2.87) will get the start.

3/28/2012
PHCC rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to come back and beat St. Petersburg College 4-3 at the West Campus on Wednesday. Justin Blue (2-4) picked up the win in relief pitching 1.2 innings of one-hit baseball while striking out three. George Van Riper came to relieve Blue in the ninth inning with 1 out and 1 runner on base to record his sixth save. Joe Anzeveno led the hitters going 3 for 4 with a double and RBI. Mike Vavasis also had two hits in the game. The win improved the team to 19-14 on the season.

3/26/2012
PHCC defeated Faulkner State Community College 7-1 today at the West Campus. Justin Gates (7-2) picked up the win by pitching seven strong innings allowing one run on six hits. He struck out six batters. Mike Vavasis, Kevin Cavanagh, Chris Hanson and Chris Jones each had two hits in the game. The Conquistadors will host St. Petersburg College on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

3/21/2012
PHCC fell to Prairie State Community College 5-3 on Wednesday at the West Campus. The Pioneers scored three unearned run in the top of the seventh after PHCC took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Gates (6-2) took the loss despite pitching seven strong innings allowing four unearned runs on seven hits while striking out 10. Chris Ruggiero (3 for 4/2B) and Trae Urban (2 for 3) led the hitters. The team will return to action on Monday when they host Faulkner State at 1 p.m.

3/16/2012
The baseball team accomplished an amazing feat by playing 18 games in 14 consecutive days. “It's really unheard of to play that many games consecutively,” Head Coach Steve Winterling said. “We did play 11 straight days a few years ago, but playing 14 is remarkable. Our players hung tough in going 11-7 during this stretch and will enjoy a four day vacation from baseball. I’m really proud of our team, especially after coming back in the last inning yesterday trailing 2-0 and winning it in extra innings 3-2.” PHCC will return to action on Wednesday, when they host Prairie State Community College at 3 p.m.

3/15/2012
PHCC defeated Dakota County Technical College 3-2 in eight innings in the second game of today’s doubleheader. Trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the 7th, the team rallied to tie the score 2-2. The big hit was Chris Hanson’s triple scoring Mike Vavasis. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Chris Jones had a two-out game winning single driving in Trae Urban. Jones had two hits in the game to lead the hitters. Chris Fee (2-2) picked up the win as the team improves to 17-13 on the season.

3/15/2012
Justin Gates (6-1) pitched a complete game allowing eight hits while striking out 10 in the 4-1 win over Dakota County Technical College today at the West Campus. Joe Anzeveno led the hitters going 2 for 3 with an RBI. The two teams will play game two at 3:45 p.m.

3/14/2012
PHCC lost to No. 1 College of Central Florida 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon at the West Campus. Austin Tolle (2-1) took the loss despite pitching six strong innings. The team was held to six hits in the game. Action returns tomorrow when the team hosts Dakota County Technical College in a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Justin Gates (5-1, 2.37) and Kevin Cavanagh (0-2, 8.80) will be the starting pitchers.

3/13/2012
The baseball team defeated Dakota County Technical College (Minn.) 12-5 today at the West Campus. Chris Ruggiero (3-0) picked up the win. Ryan Hutson led the hitters going 3 for 4 with two doubles. Joe Anzeveno went 2 for 4 with a double and three runs batted in. The team will host the College of Central Florida tomorrow at 3 p.m. Austin Tolle (2-0) will get the start.

3/12/2012
The College of Central Florida defeated PHCC 4-2 in Ocala on Monday afternoon. Justin Blue (1-4) took the loss pitching four innings allowing 4 hits and 4 unearned runs. Tim McCormick pitched 3.2 strong innings of relief allowing two hits. Chris Hanson went 2 for 4 with two doubles and one run batted in to lead the hitters. The Conquistadors left 12 runners on base in the game. PHCC will host Dakota County Technical College Tuesday at the West Campus. Chris Ruggiero (2-0, 5.32) will get the start. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.

3/11/2012
Pasco-Hernando swept a doubleheader against the College of Lake County by the scores of 8-1 and 9-1 on Sunday afternoon.

In game one, Justin Gates improved his record to 5-1 by pitching a complete game. He gave up one unearned run on 8 hits while striking out 9. Chris Hanson hit a three-run home run in the six run second inning. Mike Vavasis and Joe Anzeveno each went 2 for 3 in the game.

In game two, Austin Tolle improved to 2-0 on the season by pitching six innings allowing 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 6. It was Tolle’s first start of the season on the mound. Mike Vavasis wient 3 for 5 with two doubles to lead the hitters. Joe Anzeveno also went 2 for 4 in the game.

The team improved its record to 14-11 and will travel to the College of Central Florida on Monday for a 3 p.m. game. The next home game is Tuesday against Dakota County Technical College at 3 p.m.

3/10/2012
PHCC defeated Florida State College of Jacksonville 5-3 on Saturday afternoon at the West Campus. Kendall Paluch (3-2) picked up the win and Chris Fee (1) the save. Trae Urban went 2 for 3 to lead the hitters. In the second game of the day, the team lost in extra innings to College of Lake County 6-4. Chris Hanson (0-1) took the loss. Marcus Posluszny went 3 for 4 to lead the hitters.

3/10/2012
Pasco-Hernando defeated Florida State College of Jacksonville 11-9 on Friday afternoon at the West Campus. Chris Ruggiero (2-0) picked up the win and Kevin Cavanagh (1) the save. Mike Vavasis led the hitters going 3 for 4 with a double, home run and four runs batted in. Kevin Cavanagh went 3 for 5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. The win improved the teams record to 11-10.

3/9/2012
The baseball team fell to Lincoln Land Community College of Illinois 13-3 on Thursday afternoon at the West Campus. Justin Blue (1-3) took the loss. Mike Vavasis went 3 for 3 with two doubles to raise his team leading batting average to .373.

PHCC (10-10) will host Florida State College today at 3 p.m. and tomorrow at noon. Chris Ruggiero (1-0) and Kendall Paluch (2-2) will be the starting pitchers. The team will also host College of Lake County (Ill.) on Saturday at 3 p.m. and in a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at noon.

3/7/2012
PHCC scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to come back and defeat South Florida Community College 7-4 in Avon Park. Starter Justin Gates pitched six strong innings allowing 4 unearned runs on 2 hits. Chris Fee (1-2) picked up the win, Austin Tolle (hold) and George Van Riper recorded his fifth save. Joe Anzeveno and James Petika each had two hits to lead the hitters. The win improved the teams record to 10-9.

3/5/2012
The baseball team split a doubleheader with Macomb Community College of Michigan on Sunday afternoon winning the first game 7-6 and losing the second one 7-2. Austin Tolle (1-0) picked up the win in relief in game 1. George Van Riper picked up his third save of the season. Trae Urban went 3 for 4, Chris Hanson 2 for 3 (2B/3 RBI) and Ryan Hutson 2 for 3 (3B/2 RBI) to lead the hitters.

The team will host Hillsborough Community College today at the west campus. Game time is 2:30 p.m.

3/2/2012
The baseball team defeated South Florida Community College 8-4 today at the West Campus. Kendall Paluch (1-2) picked up the win pitching seven strong innings allowing 4 runs on 7 hits. Chris Fee and Austin Tolle closed out the final two innings on the mound. Chris Ruggiero led the hitters going 2 for 5 with three runs batted in. Mike Vavasis and Kevin Cavanagh also had two hits in the game.

2/27/2012
PHCC defeated #1 Santa Fe College 6-5 for the second time this season. Sophomore Justin Gates (4-0) picked the win, freshman Austin Tolle the hold and George Van Riper (2) the save. The team had 13 hits in the game and improved their season record to 6-5. The Conquistadors will host Hillsborough Community College on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Justin Blue will get the start on the mound.

2/21/2012
The baseball team defeated top-ranked Santa Fe College in Gainesville 5-4 on Tuesday. Justin Gates (2-0) picked up the win and George Van Riper the save. Trae Urban went 3 for 5 to lead the hitters. Mike Vavasis and Kevin Cavanagh also had two hits. The win improved the team’s record to 3-3.