Brittny Baynes
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Brittny Baynes and the King's softball team look to clinch a Freedom Conference Tournament berth Saturday at Delaware Valley College

King's Softball Looking to Clinch Freedom Conference Softball Tourney Berth in Doubleheader at Delaware Valley, View LiveStats

4/29/2011 4:05:06 PM

APRIL 29, 2011

KING'S SOFTBALL LOOKING TO CLINCH FREEDOM CONFERENCE PLAYOFF BERTH SATURDAY AT DELAWARE VALLEY

WILKES-BARRE — Over the past three years, each of the pre-selected hosts of the Freedom Conference Softball Championships have had the misfortune of not earning a spot as one of the top four teams to compete in the NCAA Division III National Tournament qualifying event.  In 2008 and 2009, Wilkes University fell victim to the host school curse. A year ago, it was Delaware Valley which was selected in advance to host but failed to qualify.

On Saturday, the King's College softball team, this season's pre-determined Freedom Conference Tournament host, will look to avoid the same fate when the Lady Monarchs close out their conference schedule with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown.

Fans unable to attend can follow the action on LiveStats, which Delaware Valley will provide at the following link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/delval/softball/index.htm

Currently King's stands at 12-10 overall and 7-5 in Freedom Conference games and is locked in a third-place tie with DeSales University (17-11/7-5). Looming in fifth place is Misericordia, which is a game behind both King's and DeSales at 17-15 and 6-6 in league games.

FDU-Florham sits atop the conference with a 8-3 league mark while Manhattanville is second at 8-4, only a game ahead of King's and DeSales. Manhattanville faces Misericordia while DeSales plays Eastern.  Mathematically, if Misericordia sweeps Manhattanville and both King's and DeSales split with their aforementioned opponents, all four teams would be tied for second-place with 8-6 conference records. The qualifying squads and subsequent seeds would then need to be sorted out by a complicated Middle Atlantic Conference tie-breaking procedure.

The Lady Monarchs, however, can take care of its own business and qualify with a sweep of Delaware Valley. A split with the Aggies could get King's in, depending how the other conference series play out.

Defending Freedom Conference champion King's, has won nine of the past 11 Freedom Conference titles, including the last two. This year's version of King's softball has faced the dual challenge of competing with one of its youngest squads ever while also losing the opportunity to develop its young players due to frequent weather-related cancellations. With five freshmen joining three second-year players in the starting line-up, the team has played just 22 of its 36 scheduled games this season.

Freshman catcher Amanda Cardone as emerged from the pack and sports a team-best .481 (26-54) batting average, including four home runs, four double, and 25 RBI.  Sophomore first-baseman/designated player Brittny Baynes follows at .472 (25-53) with four home runs, three doubles, and 19 RBI. Freshman shortstop Jenn Harnischfeger is hitting .397 (29-73) with five doubles and 14 RBI. Sophomore second-baseman Kayla Rutkoski contributes with a .348 (16-46) mark with two home runs while freshman first-baseman Rebecca Taylor chips in with a .341 (15-44) average with three doubles, one home run, and six RBI.

King's pitching is paced by freshman lefthander Brittany Haight who is 7-4 with a 1.56 ERA, including 34 strikeouts in 58 innings. Sophomore Annie Erndl is 5-5 with a 4.4 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 79 innings.

Delaware Valley, meanwhile, enters the matchup with a 10-18 record and is4-8 in Freedom Conference games.  The Aggies are paced by Erin Fox who bats .381 (32-84) with three home runs, and 13 RBI. Jenn Bensinger hits .329 (27-82) with six doubles and 15 RBI. Sophomore Allison Tomasino follows with a .306 (26-85) mark with seven doubles and 13RBI.

In the circle, Greer McComas is 4-7 with a 3.60 in a team-high 70 innings, striking out 32 batters.  Loran Mihaliak is 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 20 innings of work.

King's will host the Freedom Conference Championships Friday and Saturday, May 6-7 at the Betzler Athletic Complex.
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