APRIL 13, 2003
BOB ZIADIE
KING'S, WILKES BASEBALL SQUADS SPLIT
TWINBILL
WILKES-BARRE -- Senior pitcher Bill
Serafin picked up his first victory of the year, allowing just four hits
in five innings enabling the King's College baseball to earn a
doubleheader split with a 4-3 triumph over crosstown rival Wilkes
University Sunday at Betzler Fields. Wilkes won the first game by a 9-4
count and won the three-game season series 2-1 after a 16-4 victory on
Thursday.
King's improved to 8-12 overall and 3-8
in MAC Freedom Conference action while Wilkes stands at 10-12 and 4-4.
In the second game, Wilkes took a 1-0
lead in the first when Tyler Trutt walked, stole second base and later
scored from third base on a passed ball.
King's answered in the bottom half of
the inning Bill Drazdowski walked and Jason Melendez reached base on an
error. After an infield out advanced both runners, Nick Sorino delivered a
two run single. After a base hot by Charlie Jenkins, Jeff Wells singled to
drive in Sorino and give the Monarchs a 3-1 lead.
The Monarchs would add a run in the
second when Chris Persak singled, stole second base, and scored on a
single by Drazdowski as King's extended its lead to 4-1. The Colonels
would respond in the third inning Trutt's infield grounder resulted in a
pair of Monarch errors, moving the Colonel sophomore to third base. Dave
Morgan's infield grounder would bring home Trutt to narrow the margin to
4-2. After Steve Leskiw walked, Charles Hampton came through with a
run-scoring double to cut the score to 4-3.
In the sixth, Paul Kapral entered the
game in relief of King's starter Bill Serafin and allowed one hit over the
final two innings to pick up the save, Serafin, who allowed just four hits
with a pair of strikeouts in five innings of work, picked up the win to
improve to 3-1 on the year. Wilkes pitcher Ryan Lobb took the complete
game loss, yielding seven hits and two earned runs while striking out four
batters. Drazdowski led King's with a 2-for-3 effort while Sorino was
1-for-3 with two RBI. Five different Wilkes players posted base hits for
the Colonels.
In the opening contest, Wilkes pushed
across two runs in the top of the first inning when Trutt and Mike Spotts
singled. Hampton then delivered an RBI single as Spotts moved to third.
Chris Caccavale then drove in the second run of the inning with an infield
grounder.
King's answered in the bottom half of
the first inning when Drazdowski walked and scored on a double by Jeremy
Sauers. Sorino then singled to bring in Sauers and knot the game at 2-2.
Wilkes pushed across a run in the
second when Steve Imdorf doubled and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt
from Derek Sheruda. Trutt would then give Wilkes a 4-3 lead when his
infield grounder brought home Trutt with the go-ahead run.
The Colonels padded their lead in the
third inning hen Spotts doubled and moved to third on a two-out passed
ball. After a walk to Caccavale, Adam Kowalczyk stroked an RBI single to
plate Spotts. Imdorf would then single to bring home Spotts and increase
the Colonel advantage to 5-2.
Wilkes scored two more runs in the
fifth when Josh Turel reached base on a fielder's choice and moved to
second on a single by Kowalczyk. Imdorf came through with an RBI single as
Kowalczyk moved to third. Imdorf then attempted to steal second and became
engaged in a run-down, allowing Kowalczyk to score from third base and
push the lead to 7-2.
The Colonels would score yet another
run in the sixth when Trutt doubled and eventually score on a sacrifice
fly by Hampton.
King's would attempt to rally in the
sixth when Sorino doubled and scored on an RBI double by Charlie Jenkins.
Jeff Wells then singled to drive in Jenkins to cut he score to 9-4. The
Colonels would score the final run of the contest in the seventh when
Caccavale reached base on an error and later scored on a double by Imdorf.
Ryan Palos earned the complete-game
victory for Wilkes, improving to 4-1 on the year. Palos allowed eight hits
in six innings of work while striking out five batters. Matt Loringer was
tagged with the loss for King's, allowing 10 hits and seven runs in five
innings.
Imdorf led Wilkes offensively with a
4-for-4 effort and three RBI. Trutt, Kowalczyk, Spotts, and Hampton added
two hits each for the Colonels. King's was paced by Sauers, Sorino, and
Wells who had two hits each.
