The King's College baseball program has been in existence since the college opened in 1946-47. The Monarch program has enjoyed many successful seasons and stand as one of the top programs in the MAC Freedom Conference. Most recently, King's won the 2006 Freedom Conference championship and earned a berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
King's post-season history has seen a variety of accomplishments due to a number of conference realignments.
In 1992, the Monarchs captured the MAC Northern Division championship. In 1993, King's shared the MAC Northeast Division title. In 1996, the Monarchs finished second in the MAC Freedom League and went on to place second in the overall conference championship tournament. The 1999-2000 academic year saw the Freedom League become the Freedom Conference with the conference champion gaining an automatic berth into the Division III national tournament.
Since an MAC restructuring in 1990, King's has had 61 players selected to the MAC Freedom Conference all-star squad. An additional 92 players were named to the MAC All-Academic teams since 1993.
King's competes for an opportunity to qualify for the Freedom Conference Championships as the top four teams from within the conference earn post-season berths.
King's began a new era in the fall of 2002 with the hiring of coach Jerry Greeley who enters his 14th year as a minor league baseball coach in 2011. Greeley begins his 11th season as an assistant coach in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system and spent two in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system. Greeley will return to Baltimore's Bluefield, WV affiliate in the summer of 2010.
Greeley's first official season at King's was the 2003 spring campaign. In his second year in 2004, Greeley led the Monarchs to the conference playoffs. The Monarchs finished second in the MAC Freedom in the regular-season and were seeded second in the conference playoffs. In 2005, the Monarchs again the second-seed in the conference tournament, then earned a spot in the ECAC playoffs.
In 2006, King's once again finished second in the conference in the regular-season. This time the team won all three playoff games and won the Freedom Conference title and an automatic national tournament berth. The Monarchs also set a program record with 25 wins in the season. Junior Paul Giovannoli was named the 2006 Freedom Conference "Pitcher of the Year", while Greeley was named the 2006 Freedom Conference "Coach of the Year".
In 2007, the Monarchs set a program record 28 wins while finishing the regular-season tied for first in the Freedom Conference with a 13-5 mark and earning a fourth straight playoff berth under Greeley. Additionally, six King's players were named to the all-conference team, highlighted by Caleb Calarco who was selected as both the 2007 Freedom Conference "Pitcher of the Year" and "Player of the Year" as a senior. The 2009 season saw KIng's win 22 games and earn another berth in the Freedom Conference playoffs.
A fall practice schedule is conducted to help prepare the team for its demanding spring slate which includes the team's annual trip to Florida. King's plays a varsity and jayvee schedule in Florida to give all the players the opportunity to hone their skills while also developing team chemistry.
The Monarchs are also involved in a number of community service activities and projects in and out of season. The experiences aid both the community, as well as the Monarchs players who learn the value of giving back to the people of the Wyoming Valley and surrounding areas.
King's plays its home games at Lipo Field in the beautiful Robert L. Betzler Athletic Complex and served as host site for the MAC Baseball Championships in 1997 and 1998. The field was referred to by one major league scout as "one of the the finest grass turf fields in the tri-state area."
Last updated 8/20/10
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