MAY 1, 2005
BOB ZIADIE
KING'S BASEBALL SWEEPS WILKES, MONARCHS GAIN SECOND-SEED IN PLAYOFFS
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College baseball team clinched is second
straight MAC Freedom Conference playoff berth as the Monarchs posted a
doubleheader sweep of Wilkes University Sunday at Betzler Fields.
By winning both games, King's improved to 23-12 overall and 10-8 in
Freedom Conference play. Wilkes slipped to 22-16-1 overall and is also
10-8 in conference play. With FDU-Florham gaining a split with Drew
University, the Devils also finished at 10-8 in conference play to forge
a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings between
King's, Wilkes, and FDU.
The Monarchs received the second seed based on the conference tiebreaker
which was the best record among the teams tied in their regular-season
games against one another. King's posted a 4-2 record against Wilkes and
FDU during the year while FDU was 3-3 against King's and Wilkes, while
the Colonels were 2-4 against the Monarchs and FDU. With King's gaining
the second spot, the tiebreaker reverts back to head-to-head results
among the two remaining teams. Wilkes defeated FDU 2-to-1 during the
season to gain the third seed, while FDU stands at fourth.
In the opener Wilkes broke open a scoreless game in the fourth when Dave
Evans belted a solo home run over the right centerfield fence. King's
would answer in the bottom half of the inning when Jeremy Faust singled
and later scored from third on an infield ground out. The Monarchs took
a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Vince Budzyn walked and scored on a single
by Faust. King's added the final run of the game in the sixth when Dan
Buckley reached base on a fielder's choice and scored on an RBI double
from Budzyn.
Rob Medlock picked up the pitching win for the Monarchs, allowing three
hits while striking out four batters
In the second game, King's scored three runs in the first inning, keyed
by a two-run double from J.R. Graver. Wilkes scored a run in the third
when Justin Popovich doubled and scored on a b base hit form Casey
Kulago. The Colonels took a 4-3 lead with three runs in the fourth tanks
to an RBI single from Evans, an infield grounder by Steve Imdorf, and a
sacrifice fly off the bat of Popovich.
The Monarchs countered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth on an
RBI triple from Matt Livoy, a run-scoring single by Josh Faust, and a
two-run double from Medlock to give the Monarchs a 7-4 lead. King's
added two more runs in the fifth on a two-run single from Livoy.
King's was led by Livoy who was 4-for-4 with three RBI while Josh Faust
and Graver were 2-for-4. Wilkes was paced by Popovich who went 2-for-2
with two doubles while Evans was 2-for-4.
King's and Wilkes will play in the first round of the Freedom Conference
playoffs Friday at Quakertown Memorial Park at a time to be announced.
