| Baseball |
Joe Pavlow (Head Baseball Coach)
Pavlow enters his fourth season as head coach for the Nittany Lions. In his first three seasons Pavlow led his teams to a 57-59 overall record.
The 2011 season was a great stepping stone for the growing baseball program. The team won 20 games on the field for the first time in Pavlow’s tenure, won a share of the NEAC West Regular Season title, played in the NEAC West Conference tournament championship game, and received a bid into the ECAC South Region Tournament. The season was marked by several outstanding individual achievements. SR C Enrique Meletiche, SO P/1B Dan Hill, and SO OF Dustin Kology, were selected as 1st Team All-NEAC selections. Three other players were honored by the NEAC, making a total of 18 All-Conference players in Pavlow’s three seasons at Abington. The awards didn’t end there as Meletiche was named the 2nd Team All ECAC South catcher. The 12-2 conference record was quite a sophomore season in NEAC play.
In 2010 he laid the groundwork for rapid growth of the baseball program. The team competed in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) for the first time and experienced some growing pains. The group rebounded from a slow start to go 13-5 during the pivotal playoff push at the end of the conference season. The baseball team was rewarded for their efforts with a #3 seed in the NEAC Championships. Six players received All-Conference recognition including the 2010 NEAC Pitcher of the Year, Dan Hill.
In 2009 the baseball team finished 17-11 overall in the Penn State University Athletics Conference (PSUAC) and a spot in the PSUAC Conference Tournament, for the first time since 2004. He was named the PSUAC Co-Coach of the Year and four of his players received post season honors. His team also ended the academic year with a combined GPA of 3.1.
Prior to his arrival at Penn State Abington, he was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Rutgers-Camden. At Rutgers-Camden, he worked with the hitters and infielders. During the 2008 season Pavlow’s infielders ranked 2nd in the nation in Double Plays per game, and 16th in the country in total Double Plays.
Joe also was the head coach of the Cherry Hill (NJ) American Legion Stealers team for both the U17 and U13 groups. With the Cherry Hill American Legion program, Pavlow’s teams qualified for the playoffs every year, including winning the League regular season Championship in 2008. During his three years Pavlow’s teams went a combined 52-31.
Pavlow was the head coach at Paul VI high school for four seasons. During that time, his squads captured the Olympic Conference National Division (2004) and were state tournament qualifiers (2004, 2006). He also spent a season as an assistant at Audubon High School(NJ), working for Rich Horan.
Pavlow is a 1997 graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Economics. He resides in Holland, PA with his wife Kim, his 9 year old step-son Luke, his 4 year old son, Chase and his 2 year old daughter, Brooke.
Joe works in the athletic department at Penn State Abington as the Compliance Coordinator.
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Mike Hinchliffe (Hitting Coach)
Hinchliffe returns for his second season at Penn State Abington. Mike did a great job with the hitters at Abington last season helping the team to .299 batting average and over 6.5 runs per game.
Mike played collegiately at Camden County College and Division II Caldwell College as a pitcher, first baseman and outfielder after graduating from Timber Creek High School in Erial, NJ.
He has a great deal of coaching experience at the youth and high school levels. Mike is currently a 17U Head Coach for the prestigious Tri State Arsenal travel program.
Mike is currently finishing his degree in business, with a concentration on accounting and finance. He resides in Erial, NJ.
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Shaun Babula (Pitching Coach)
Babula brings a wealth of playing and teaching experience to the baseball program at Penn State Abington. He will primarily work with the pitching staff. Shaun graduated from Burlington City High School in 1995 before his playing days as a four year starter at Philadelphia University.
In the June MLB Amateur draft of 1999, Shaun was selected in the 16th round by the Baltimore Orioles where he reached the AA ranks. After leaving the Orioles organization Shaun reached the AAA level with both the Houston Astros (2004) and the Chicago White Sox (2007-2008). In between these affiliated stops, Shaun practiced his trade in the Independent Atlantic League with the likes of the Newark Bears, the Camden RiverSharks and the Somerset Patriots.
Babula has his BA in Marketing from Philadelphia University.
He currently is an instructor with Extra Innings in Bensalem, PA.
