It has been established that Presbyterian College sports teams are capable of extraordinary surprises.

The Blue Hose went to the Big South women’s basketball tournament as the fifth seed and won it, thus earning a berth in the NCAA. There they ended Sacred Heart’s 15-game winning streak. They could muster no such magic in trying to end South Carolina’s streak of 33.

The only venue where PC could have upset the Gamecocks was The Twilight Zone.

The football team, sans scholarships, upset Wofford in the fall.

The men’s basketball squad, entering the season with the nation’s longest losing streak (18), opened it by upsetting Vanderbilt of the SEC.

Amazing things occur at PC, which manages to accomplish occasionally what is unheard of.

Just three years ago come fall, during the disastrous Kevin Kelley experiment, Presbyterian won a football game by 65 points (68-3 over Fort Lauderdale) and lost the next week by 72 (72-0 to Campbell). As best I can tell, no college football team has ever done this.

The puntless wonders lost the remaining games by 20, 8, 35, 41, 42, 10, 25 and 39 points.

Steve Englehart has restored order. It took two seasons after the Kelley deluge to reach 4-7 and 2-6 in the Pioneer Football League. A winning season, the first since Tommy Spangler coached the Covid spring, is on the horizon.

Quinton Ferrell will be back for a sixth season as men’s basketball coach after improving from 5-27 to 14-18. This year could be 14-19 because the Blue Hose are playing a nonsensical “postseason” game on Sunday against Montana. Who knows? Being the Blue Hose, maybe they’ll win on Sunday. Stranger things happened … in the past week.

It doesn’t seem likely, but PC’s knack for shockers is established.

The next goal, across the entire athletics program, must be to win games that are not shocking, miraculous or conducted by a minute number of schools.

At the moment, Elton Pollock’s baseball team is 2-0 in the Big South, in whose regular season it must make the top four to qualify for the league’s baseball tournament. Three years ago, the Blue Hose made a quick exit from the NCAA’s after surprisingly winning that tournament, then open to a broader field.

On those rare occasions when Blue Hose teams go out into the postseason world, they must look as if they belong there. At the moment, they are just novelty items.

Yes, it’s the smallest school in Division I. It still owes its athletes a decent shot. The Blue Hose dare to be great. Me, too. I’m thinking about purchasing a Mega Millions ticket.

By the way, did you notice the Big South’s similar basketball pattern?

Presbyterian (21-15) won the women’s tournament as the fifth seed and played the No. 1 team in the nation, falling to South Carolina, 91-39.

Longwood (21-14) won the men’s tournament as the fifth seed and played the No. 1 team in the nation, losing to Houston, 86-46.

PC baseball made big news in Farmville, Va., by sweeping a Big South Conference doubleheader with Longwood, 5-4 and 6-2, on Friday.

The Blue Hose broke on top in the first inning after catcher Aaron Hobson walked, stole second and third, and scored. Presbyterian tacked on additional scores via solo home runs in the second and fourth innings by catcher Jackson Hugus and left fielder Jay Wetherington. Brody Fahr’s RBI single put the Blue Hose up, 4-0.

The Lancers scored twice in the bottom of of the fourth, then sent the game into extra innings.

Harris Hayden, Noah Campanelli and Tanner Thomas and Casey Gibbs each collected two of the Lancers’ 10 hits.

The top of the Blue Hose order, Hobson and Fahr, each had two  two singles. Center fielder Joel Dragoo doubled and walked three times.

Daniel Eagan pitched a solid five innings – five hits, to runs, a walk, seven strikeouts – but wasn’t around for the decision, which went to Kyle Mueller (1-0). Robbie Boykin earned his first save.

Hobson drove in the game-winner in the 10^th with a sacrifice fly, scoring Eli Lazio.

Take a look at the stats here.

Presbyterian (11-12, 2-0 Big South) led wire to wire in the nightcap, fueled by Fahr’s 4/5 game at the plate that included three runs, an RBI and a triple. The Blue Hose scored twice in their first at-bat and led, 5-1, after four innings.

In the twinbill, Fahr collected six hits, three runs and two RBI.

First baseman Holden Baker and Wetherington each went 2/3.

Charlie McDaniel (3-0) allowed six hits and two runs in six innings on the hill, allowing one walk and fanning seven. Jeremiah Hampton and Sean Hollister followed him to the mound.

DH Jared Glinski and center fielder Blagen Plado had two hits apiece for Longwood (10-13, 0-2). Losing pitcher Guillermo Garcia Jr. pitched three ragged innings, allowing three hits, three runs and five walks. He struck out five, as well.

Take a look at the stats here.

The final game of the series is Sunday afternoon at 1.

No sooner has the women’s basketball team seen its two-game NCAA Tournament run end, the men’s team is somehow playing in something known as the Ro College Basketball Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Why?

Presbyterian (14-18) takes on Montana (23-11). The Blue Hose played in the Big South tournament, where they fell, 61-60, to Gardner-Webb in High Point, N.C., on March 8.

PC played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2019, winning two games, but that Blue Hose team finished 20-16.

Presbyterian (4-2) won all six events the Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling, and Team Events in a 248.110-235.600 acrotumbling victory over Morgan State on Friday evening at Templeton Center.

The Blue Hose welcome Bluefield State to the Templeton Center for their final home meet of the season on Saturday, March 30 at 3 p.m.

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