MARCH 21, 2009
KING'S BASEBALL SWEEPS MANHATTANVILLE, 7-6, 7-4
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College baseball team opened up the 2009 Freedom Conference schedule in impressive fashion as the Monarchs posted a doubleheader sweep of 2008 regular-season conference champion Manhattanville College Saturday at Lipo Field in the Robert L. Betzler Athletic Complex. King's won the first game 7-6 before posting a 7-4 comeback triumph in the nightcap.
The wins enabled King's to improve to 12-5 overall and 2-0 in Freedom games while Manhattanville slipped to 10-6 and 0-2.
In the opener, King's took a 3-0 first inning lead when Mike Fignar walked and Eric Matula stroked a double. Jon Venarchick then smacked an opposite field RBI single before Rob Fravel followed with a two-run double. After Manhattanville cut the lead to 3-2 after four innings, the Monarchs added a run in the fifth when Gracjan Kraszewski singled and scored of a double by Matt Unger. King's added two more runs in the sixth when Fignar singled and Matula walked. Venarchick then stroked a two-run double down the right field line to give the Monarchs a 6-2 lead.
The Valiants rallied to tie the score with two runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings, but the Monarchs would respond in the bottom half of the eighth. Pat Harsch doubled and moved to third on a single by Matula. Venarchick then brought home Harsch with what proved to be the winning run on a soft ground out to second base. Monarch relief pitcher Ryan Derry then shut down the Valiants in order in the ninth to improve his season mark to 4-0.
Venarchick finished the game 2-for-5 with four RBI while Matula, Fravel, and Harsch all added two hits.
In the second game, King's was the visiting team and trailed 4-1 heading into the eighth inning where the Monarchs mounted a furious comeback. Fignar led off the eighth inning with a triple and score on a single by Matula. After a Venarchick walk Fravel delivered a RBI single to score Matula, cutting the Valiant lead to 4-3. Jim Troianiello then came through with a clutch two-run double to put King's ahead 5-4.
In the ninth, Matula singled with two outs and scored on a double by Venarchick. Kraszewski then gave King's a 7-4 lead when he singled home Venarchick with the Monarchs final run of the game. The Valiants attempted to rally in the bottom of the ninth, but King's relief pitcher Joe Jenkins closed the door with two runners on base when he induced a soft fly ball to right field for the final out of the game.
Matula led King's by going 3-for-4 with two runs, Venarchick was 2-for-4 with three runs and a RBI while Troianiello finished 3-for-4 with two RBI. Jenkins, who pitched in relief of younger brother Dan Jenkins, picked up the win to improve to 2-1 on the year, allowing one hit with two strikeouts in three and two-thirds innings.
The Monarchs will next host Alvernia College Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Lipo Field.
