YC Panthers Claim MCAC Title

York College repeats as regular season champs with a four-game sweep

News-Times/Ken Kush - NAIA Pitcher of the Week Josh Trejo delivers the pitch to home plate in the Panthers series against the College of Ozark Bobcats earlier this season. The Panthers will host the 2011 MCAC Tournament starting Wednesday at Levitt Stadium.

THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN!!!

Last year's regular season champions of the Midland Collegiate Athletic Conference left no doubt that they wanted nothing more than to hang on to their title. Coach Nick Harlan's Panthers took care of business last week against the Central Christian College Eagles in a four-game sweep with scores of 9-1, 25-1, 17-9, and 12-4. The wins give York the regular season title with no room to spare as they overtook Bellevue in the title race.

On Thursday the Panthers smacked eight home runs and belted out 30 hits in their 9-1 and 25-1 wins over the host Central Christian team. In the second game, the Panthers plated 14 runs in the third frame and hit six HR’s in game two.

Needing a sweep on Friday to win the MCAC Conference crown outright, the Panthers got the job done. Despite the impressive stats from the day before, the bats were even hotter the second day for the men in blue as they racked up 34 hits and 11 home runs in the two games. The 17-9 and 12-4 wins give York their second consecutive MCAC title. For the first time in the program's history, the Panthers will be the hosts of the Conference Tournament that will get underway on Wednesday at Levitt Stadium.

With the sweep on Friday, the Panthers run their win string to 10 games as they take a 36-12, 14-4 conference record into the MCAC Tournament. The Panthers are currently ranked No. 29 in the NAIA polls. The Bellevue Bruins (13-4, 27-19) will be the No. 2 seed, the No. 3 seed will be the Peru State Bobcats (11-9, 20-21-1), and No. 4 goes to Oklahoma Wesleyan with a 10-10 record.

At home in Levitt Stadium (6th & Blackburn Ave), the Panthers have lost only once as they have compiled a 12-1 record in 2011.

Click here for Tournament stats or here for Tournament story.