MARCH 21, 2009
KING'S SOFTBALL SWEEPS ALVERNIA TO HAND GIGLIELLO HER 400TH CAREER COACHING VICTORY
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College softball team handed head coach Lisa Gigliello her 400th career victory as the Lady Monarchs posted a doubleheader sweep of visiting Alvernia College Saturday at Betzler Fields. King's won the first game 4-0 before capturing the nightcap 9-5.
In the process, the Lady Monarchs improved to 8-6 overall and 3-1 in Freedom Conference play. Alvernia, meanwhile, skipped to 7-5 and 0-2 in league games.
Gigliello would reach the milestone in the first game thanks to an outstanding pitching effort from Lindsey Horner. The junior hurler allowed just three hits and struck out six batters in the contest without issuing a walk. Offensively, King's took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Christie Parfitt doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Meaghan Galvin. The Lady Monarchs added two more runs in the third inning when Hoerner drew a leadoff walk, followed by consecutive singles from Becky Loring and Lauren DeCreny to load the bases. Samantha Hornberger then drew a walk to plate Hoerner before Julie Bidwell drove home another run with an infield out.
King's added its final run in the sixth when Abbey Knoblauch walked and scored on an Alvernia throwing error following a single from Galvin. King's posted eight hits in the game, paced by three singles by Galvin and two from Loring.
In the second game. King's fell behind 1-0 after surrendering an unearned run in the top half of the first inning. The Lady Monarchs would answer with three runs in the bottom half, thanks to a two-run single from Jacquie O'Brien and an Alvernia error. The Lady Monarchs added five runs in the second inning on the strength of a two-run double by DeCreny, a RBI single from Shawna Walp, and a two-run double by Galvin to give the Lady Monarchs a 8-2 lead. The Lady Monarchs added an insurance run in the fifth when O'Brien reached base on a fielder's choice and later scored on a single by Knoblauch to push the score to 9-2.
Walp picked up the pitching victory for King's, allowing five runs, two earned, on nine hits with two strikeouts. Galvin and Loring were each 2-for-4 with two runs and a RBI. O'Brien was 1-for-4 with two RBI to aide the Lady Monarch attack.
In her 16th year as King's head coach, Gigliello to improver her career coaching mark to 401-177-2 while leading the Lady Monarchs to seven Freedom Conference championships in the past nine seasons.
King's returns to action Wednesday with a 3:00 p.m. home doubleheader against Lycoming College at Betzler Fields.
