Hazleton, Pa. - The Nittany Lions return to the diamond in 2017 for an exciting season beginning on March 20. Hazleton finished outside the playoff picture last year with an 8-19 overall record but looks to get back into the postseason mix under newly announced head coach Justin Gutsie.
Returning for his final season in a Nittany Lion uniform is two-time Penn State University Athletic Conference award winning catcher, senior Aaron Glass (Shippensburg, Pa.). Glass finished the 2016 campaign as the top hitter for the Nittany Lions, sporting a .343 batting average with one home run and 15 RBI. Glass is joined by returning starters, sophomore Daniel Gilligan (Charlton, Ma.), sophomore Austin Felter (Susquehanna, Pa.) and junior Charles Karchner (Hazleton, Pa.) along with a myriad of new faces eager to break into the Hazleton lineup.
Hazleton will participate in the newly reformed eastern division of the PSUAC where they compete against local rival Penn State campuses in the form of Wilkes-Barre, Worthington Scranton, York, Schuylkill and Penn State Brandywine. Highlighting this season's non-conference schedule is an early matchup with Clarks Summit University on March 21 . Last season Hazleton walked off the Defenders with a thrilling suicide squeeze in the final inning of game one, part of a two game sweep for Hazleton, but this year will travel north to face their NCAA Division III foe.