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MAY 1, 2004 BOB ZIADIE KING'S SOFTBALL WINS FIFTH STRAIGHT FREEDOM CONFERENCE TITLE WITH CHAMPIONSHIP SWEEP OF LYCOMING WILKES-BARRE -- After an opening day upset loss in the MAC Freedom Conference Softball Tournament, top-seeded King's College faced the difficult task of winning four straight games to win championship gold. Displaying the heart of a champion, the Lady Monarchs scraped, clawed, and battled their way to earn four hard-fought victories to claim an unprecedented fifth consecutive Freedom Conference championship. In the process, King's secured its fifth straight berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament. Facing elimination, King's defeated cross-town rival Wilkes 3-1, then followed up with a come-from-behind 5-2 eight-inning win over DeSales. The Lady Monarchs advanced to the finals where King's defeated Lycoming 8-0 in six innings and 5-3 in the deciding contest to culminate a thrilling weekend of games. In the process, King's improved to 37-8 and stands one win shy of equaling the school-record for single-season victories. In the first championship round game against Lycoming, the Lady Monarchs got on the board quickly when leadoff hitter Kelley Vaxmonsky doubled and later scored on a double from Maria Zangardi. King's added two more runs in the second inning when Nikki Kotula and Sara Genewski singled and later scored on a Lycoming error.  The Lady Monarchs put the game away with three runs in the third inning when Zangardi singled and later scored on a wild pitch. Kristin Brady and Kotula would walk before Genewski drilled an RBI double. Kotula would then score on a wild pitch to give the lady Monarchs a 6-0 lead. Genewski picked up the pitching victory with a two-hit effort and was 3-for-3 from the plate with two runs scored. Zangardi as 2-for-4 with an RBI. In the deciding game, Lycoming took a 1-0 first inning lead when Chris Caroselli singled and scored on a ground ball from Jen Shaffer. King's tied the score in the second inning when Stacey Preambo tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Genewski. The Lady Monarchs scored three runs in the fourth when Brady reached base on a fielder's choice and Kotula singled. Genewski then delivered an RBI single while Kotula scored on a throwing error. Cassy Shiffer would then follow with another run-scoring single to push the King's lead to 4-1. After Lycoming scored a pair of runs in the top half of the fifth to close to within 4-3, King's responded in the bottom of the fifth frame. Linda Manarchuck singled, stole second base and moved to third on a long fly ball to centerfield by Maria Zangardi. King's coach Lisa Gigliello then called for a suicide squeeze and Manarchuck scored on a perfectly played bunt by Preambo to up the lead to 5-3. Genewski, pitching in relief of starter Kotula, allowed one hit in the final two innings to shut the door on Lycoming. Kotula picked up the win, improving to 13-2 on the year while Genewski registered her second save of the year. In the first game of the day against Wilkes, King's scored all three runs in the first inning. Vaxmonsky singled and Manarchuck reached base on an error. Zangardi then doubled in both runs before Brady delivered an RBI double to plate Zangardi. Wilkes (17-20) scored its lone run in the fifth inning on a solo home run by Julie Henry. In King's second game of the day against DeSales, the Bulldogs (19-14) took a 2-0 first inning lead when Val Valach reached base on an error and scored on another error. Nellie Kott then hit an opposite field solo home run to extend the DeSales lead. With the Lady Monarchs trailing 2-1 heading into the seventh inning, Shiffer singled to right field and moved to second on an error on the play. Christen Piccola reached base on a fielder's choice and later scored on a double by Vaxmonsky to send the game to extra innings.  In the eighth, Preambo would double, followed by a single from Kotula. Genewski then drilled a three-run home-run, her first of the season, to give King's a 5-2 lead. Kotula earned the pitching win with a complete-game three-hitter King's will now await word from the NCAA on the pairings for the Regional Championships. The winner of each of the eight regions will then advance to the Division III College World Series

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.