MAY 1, 2004
WILKES SWEEPS KING'S, BOTH SQUAD
EARN PLAYOFF BERTHS
(Kingston, PA) - Matt Midkiff
hit a three-run homerun with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning
to lift Wilkes University to a 4-2 win over King's College in the opening
game of their Freedom Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at
Artillery Park. The Colonels completed a sweep of the twinbill by earning
a 7-3 win in the nightcap.
With the two wins Wilkes set a
school-record for victories in a season by improving to 26-12-1 overall
and 9-9 in the conference. The Colonels also clinched a berth in next
week's Freedom Conference playoffs with the two wins.
King's, which will secured a
playoff berth on Friday woth an 8-1 win over Wilkes, falls to 19-16-1
overall and 11-7 in the conference.
The seventh inning started off
innocently enough for the Monarchs. Charles Hampton and Steve Imdorf were
both retired on fly outs to put King's one out away from the win. However,
Dave Morgan struck out swinging but the ball got away from the catcher
allowing Morgan to reach base safely. Monarchs hurler Paul Bankit then hit
Tyler Trutt with a pitch to put runners on first and second. Midkiff
followed with a three-run blast to give the Colonels the key win.
King's took a 2-0 lead in the
third inning off of Wilkes starter Mike Spotts. Vince Budzyn singled with
one out and Bill Drazdowski connected for a two-run homer to put the
Monarchs on top.
The Colonels scored once in
the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 2-1. Trutt singled and moved to
third on a single by Midkiff. Josh Turel lofted a sacrifice fly to score
Trutt.
Spotts went seven innings and
allowed only six hits to improve his pitching record to 6-3. Bankit, who
gave up six hits in 6.2 innings of work, falls to 4-3 with the loss.
Midkiff had two hits, while
Dave Morgan added a triple to lead the Colonels offensively. Drazdowski's
homer was the only extra base hit for the Monarchs.
King's jumped out to a 2-0
lead in the first inning of game two. Drazdowski walked and Jason Siebert
singled to put runners on first and second. A single by Nick Sorino
allowed Drazdowski to score the first run. Siebert, who moved to third on
the Sorino single, scored on a sacrifice fly by Joshua Faust.
Wilkes knotted the game at 2-2
in the second inning. Spotts doubled and came around to score on a two-run
homer by Matt LoPresto. The Colonels then scored twice in the fourth
inning to take the lead for good. A single by Spotts and double by
LoPresto put runners on second and third. Steve Imdorf grounded into a
fielder's choice that eliminated Spotts at the plate.
On the play, LoPresto was able
to advance to third and Imdorf reached second. That proved to be important
when Josh Turel ripped a pinch-hit single to right field with two outs to
score both runners and give Wilkes a 4-2 lead.
The Colonels tacked on three
runs in the fifth inning to gain some breathing room. Dave Evans singled
and scored on a one-out double by Charles Hampton. Kevin Konschak, who was
inserted as a pinch-runner for Hampton, scored on a double by Spotts to
make it 6-2. Spotts moved to third on a ground out and scored on a wild
pitch to extend the lead to 7-2.
King's would get the games
final run in the sixth inning on a solo homerun by Geoff Ashton to make it
7-3.
Mike Toomey went 5.2 innings
and surrendered five hits and three runs to earn the mound victory for
Wilkes and improve to 5-2. Chris Persak falls to 5-3 after giving up eight
hits and seven runs in 4.1 innings of work.
Spotts had three hits,
including a pair of doubles, to pace Wilkes at the plate. LoPresto was the
only other two-time hitter for the Colonels with a double and homerun.
Sorino had a pair of singles to lead King's.
The Monarchs, who will compete in the post-season for the first time since
the 1996 season, will await word of its seeding and opponent in the
Freedom Conference playoffs.
The conference tournament is
slated for May 7-9 at Quakertown Memorial Park.
