MAY 13, 2005
BOB ZIADIEKING'S SOFTBALL WINS FIRST TWO GAMES OVER THIRD-SEEDED WESTERN NEW ENGLAND AND SECOND-SEEDED CORTLAND
ITHACA, NY -- The King's College softball team entered the NCAA Division III Regional Championships in Ithaca, NY as a huge underdog as the Lady Monarchs were seeded sixth in a field of six teams.
But after the first day of competition, King's walked away with victories over two of the top teams in the event and is now in position to earn a spot in the regional title game for the time ever.
In its opening game, King's overcame a 3-2 deficit to post a 4-3 victory over third-seeded Western New England College. In its second contest, the Lady Monarchs proceeded to knock off second-seeded Cortland State 2-1 in nine innings. With the wins, King's improved to 33-10 on the year.
Against Western New England, the Lady Monarchs trailed 3-2 after five innings, but began to rally in the sixth when Nikki Kotula drilled a one-out double and scored on a double from Stacey Preambo. Two batters later, Mari Valonis singled to centerfield to plate Preambo with what proved to be the game-winning run.
Kotula would then enter the game to pitch in relief in the bottom of the sixth and tossed two scoreless innings to preserve the victory.
King's took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Justine Maggio doubled and moved to third on a Preambo single. Kristin Brady then followed with a two-run double to put the Lady Monarchs on top.
Western New England answered in the bottom half of the inning when Kristy Kehoss singled and scored on a double by Jen Piorkowski. Meredith Pacelli then delivered a two-run home run off of King's starter Sarah Genewski to put the Golden Bears on top 3-2.
Kotula would enter the game in relief of Genewski and pitched the final two innings to pick up the save. Kotula allowed two hits and struck out three batters in garnering her second save of the season. Genewski yielded three earned runs on five hits and struck out three batters before leaving the circle with a 4-3 lead to pick up the win.
Preambo led King's with a 2-for-3 effort with an RBI and scored two runs
Piorkowski led WNEC by going 2-for-3 while Pacelli was 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Against Cortland, a team that defeated King's 9-0 in an early-season matchup, the Lady Monarchs took a 1-0 in the fifth inning when Brady drilled a solo home run. Cortland would tie up the scored in the final at-bats when Nicole Fredricks walked, moved to second on a bunt by Erin Bock, and scored on a two-out single by Jamie Neuner to send the game into extra innings.
In the ninth inning, Kotula doubled to left field and moved to third on an infield out by Preambo. Brady came up huge again with an opposite field single to bring home Kotula with the go-ahead run.
Kotula, who also pitched all nine innings to earn the victory, would retire Cortland in order as the Lady Monarchs secured its second upset win of the day. Kotula improved to 2-0 lifetime against Cortland.
Kotula and Brady led King's with two hits each while Maggio also added a single to pace King's offensively. Kotula improved to 13-3 in the circle with the win and allowed seven hits in nine innings while striking out five batters.
Neuner and Kim Huson led Cortland with two hits each. Junior hurler Stephanie Adamshick, who was 2-0 lifetime against King's, fell to 17-5 with the loss. Adamshick allowed five hits and struck out six batters while also going the distance.The Lady Monarchs will face fifth-seeded host Ithaca Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Bombers, who won the 2002 national championship, also emerged victorious in both games on Friday, posting a 5-3 win over fourth-seeded Misericordia before earning a 3-2 nine-inning victory over top-seeded Union.
King's and Ithaca played on March 19 with the Lady Monarchs posting a 7-3 win at the Muhlenberg College Invitational. Should King's defeat Ithaca, the Lady Monarchs will move on to the title game Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
The regional champion will advance to the College World Series May 20-24 at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Saturday's Schedule
Game 5: #3 Western New England vs. #1 Union, 10:00 a.m.
Game 6: #4 Misericordia vs. #2 Cortland, 12:00 noon
Game 7: #6 King's vs. #5 Ithaca, 2:00 pm
Game 8: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 4:00 pm
Sunday's Schedule
Game 9: Game 7 Loser vs. Game 8 Winner, 12:00 noon
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, 2:00 pm
Monday's Schedule
Game 11: Same Teams (If Necessary), 10:00 a.m.
*The NCAA Regional Championships are a double-elimination event.
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
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