MAY 2, 2003
BOB ZIADIEKING'S SOFTBALL MOVES ON TO MAC FREEDOM TITLE GAME
(Lady Monarchs win first two games to earn shot at fourth straight crown)
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College softball team moved to within one victory of winning its fourth straight conference championship after winning their first two games at the MAC Freedom Conference Tournament Friday at Betzler Fields.
King's, seeded third in the double-elimination event, posted a 3-1 victory over second-seeded Lycoming in its first game, then earned a 7-3 triumph over top-seeded Drew in their second contest. Drew posted a 7-0 triumph over DeSales in its first-round game.
In their opener, King's scored one run in each of the first three innings and rode the two-hit pitching of Sarah Genewski. King's took a 1-0 lead when Jess Harvey walked and scored on a double by Stacey Preambo. The Lady Monarchs took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Genewski singled and scored on a single by Katie Seguin. King's added its final run in the third inning when Maria Zangardi singles scored on a double off the bat of Kristin Brady.
Genewski flirted with a no-hitter until the fourth inning when Lycoming's Amy Curry singled and scored on a double by Jackie Chestnut. The Lady Monarch sophomore would not allow a base runner for the remainder of the contest, retiring the final 10 Lycoming batters.
Genewski improved to 12-6 with the win while Lycoming hurler Amanda Gery was tagged with the loss. Gery yielded six hits and struck out four King's batters in falling to 9-3 on the year. Lycoming slipped to 20-11-1 with the loss.
Against Drew, King's against started fast with a run in the first inning. Linda Manarchuck led off with a single and advanced to third on an infield out. Zangardi then lofted a sacrifice fly to plate Manarchuck and give the Lady Monarchs a 1-0 lead.
King's (23-9) would explode with five runs in the third inning when Cassy Shiffer walked and moved to second on a single by Seguin. Manarchuck then reached base on an infield hit to load the bases. After Harvey's sacrifice fly brought home Shiffer, Zangardi drilled a two-run double to push the score to 4-0. After a walk to Brady, Kim Roman singled home Zangardi. Christen Piccola then followed with another RBI single to give King's a 6-0 lead.
The Lady Monarchs would add another run in the fifth inning when Brady singled, advanced to second on an infield grounder, then reached third base on a wild pitch. Shiffer then drove home King's final with a ground ball to shortstop as the Lady Monarchs lead reached 7-0.
Drew (25-10) would attempt to rally in the bottom half of the fifth inning when Alison Grill led off with a triple and Brittany Wescott reached first on a walk. After Michelle Callen walked, Liz Cozine stroked a two-run double, forcing King's coach Lisa Gigliello to bring Genewski in to pitch for starter Megan Adams. Genewski promptly hit Kristen Mignoli to load the bases. Lake Lehman graduate Colleen Mahon then delivered an RBI single to cut the lead to 7-3 before Genewski retired the side.
The Rangers would again threaten in the seventh when Drew loaded the bases but would not score over th final two innings.
Adams picked up the win for King's, improving to 6-1 while allowing five hits. Genewski earned her second save of the year, yielding two hits over the final three innings. Manarchuck and Seguin led King's offensively with two hits each while Zangardi added three RBI.
Drew starter Alison Robbins took the loss, allowing four runs in two innings of work. Bishop Hoban product pitched well in relief, allowing three runs and five hits with four strikeouts over the final five innings.
In the first game, Drew scored five runs in the first inning against DeSales and cruised to its opening round win. Shanna Peras led the Rangers with a 2-for-3 effort and four RBI, including a two-run home run in the first inning. Brittany Wescott was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Erica Mehalick earned the win for Drew, improving to 12-3 on the year while yielding six base hits.
Six different DeSales players had base hits, including Val Valach and Erin Martell who both doubled. Bulldog freshman Erin Healy was tagged with the loss, lasting just two-thirds on an inning and allowing five runs on six base hits. Kelly Salmon finished strong for DeSales (16-9), tossing the final five and one-third innings and yielding just one hit and two unearned runs.
The tournament will continue Saturday at 9:00 a.m. with Lycoming facing DeSales. The loser will be eliminated with the victor moving on to a 11:00 a.m. meeting with Drew. That winner will then play King's at 1:00 p.m. in the championship series. Should King's lose, a final game will be played at 3:00 p.m. The Lady Monarchs, at 2-0 in the event, need to win just one game to claim the conference crown and must be beaten twice in the double-elimination format.
MAC Freedom Conference Tournament Schedule
Saturday, May 3, 2003
Game 4 - 9:00 a.m. - DeSales vs. Lycoming (Loser is eliminated)
Game 5 - 11:00 a.m. - Drew vs. Winner Game 4 (Loser is eliminated)
Game 6 - 1:00 p.m. - King's vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 - 3:00 p.m. - Same teams as game 6 if necessary
King's College
133 North River Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
1 (888) KINGS PA
Questions or comments to: Bob Ziadie, King's College Sports Information Director
Best if viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.