MAY 7, 2005
BOB ZIADIE
MONARCH BASEBALL TEAM
ELIMINATED AFTER LOSSES TO DESALES AND FDU
QUAKERTOWN -- The King's
College baseball team saw its dreams of a Freedom Conference
championship come to an end as the Monarchs dropped a pair of games and
were eliminated Saturday at Quakertown Memorial Park, Quakertown.
After posting an opening round 8-0 win over Wilkes on Friday, King's
fell 9-3 to top-seeded and five-time defending champion DeSales in the
second round. The Monarchs then fell to fourth-seeded FDU by a
12-6 count in the loser's bracket of the double-elimination event.
DeSales would eventually win a sixth straight title with a 6-3 win over
FDU.
Despite
the losses, King's finished the year with a 24-14 mark. The 24 victories is a single-season
record for the Monarch baseball program.
Against DeSales, King's took a 1-0 first inning lead when Matt Livoy
singled and scored on an infield ground out by Jeff Wells. The Monarchs
added a run in the fifth when Dan Buckley singled and scored on a
DeSales error following a single from Livoy.
DeSales would begin to catch fire in the sixth and took a 4-2 lead,
keyed by a two-run home run by Kyle Peters. In the seventh inning, the
Monarchs hurt themselves with two costly errors which led to five runs,
thanks in part to a three-run home run from Ian Hauze as the Bulldogs
took a 9-2 lead.
King's added its final run in the eighth when Rob Medlock drilled a solo
home run to right centerfield.
The Monarchs pounded out 10 hits but left eight runners on base.
Medlock took the pitching loss, yielding four runs on seven hits in five
and one-thirds innings. Medlock also led King's offensively with a
3-for-4 showing. Livoy added a pair of hits to aid the Monarchs.
King's fell behind quickly against FDU as the devils scored five runs in
the top-of-the-first inning. The Monarchs answered in the bottom of the
frame with two runs when Livoy and Jeremy Faust singled, followed by
an RBI single from Jeff Wells and an infield grounded Josh Faust.
FDU responded with a run in each of the second and third innings to
build a 7-2 lead before the Monarchs countered in the fourth on a single
from Nick Sorino and an RBI double by Jeremy Faust. But eh devils would
put the game with one run in the seventh, two in the eighth, and two in
the ninth inning.
King's final runs came on an RBI single from Wells in the seventh, and
back-to-back RBI doubles from Josh Faust and Joe Determan in the ninth.
Wells led King's with a 4-for-5 showing while Jeremy Faust, Josh Faust,
and Vince Budzyn added two hits each. King's starter Joe Jenkins took
the loss, allowing six run in two innings of work.
Zach Ellis led FDU by going 3-for-5 with three RBI Jim DaSilva, Tom
Calistri, Joe Franzese, Ron Poraco, and DJ Hanna had two hits each for
the Devils, who face DeSales in the championship game at 12:00 noon on
Sunday.
The Monarchs will now await word on a possible berth in the Eastern
College Athletic Conference Tournament.
