KING'S BASEBALL SET FOR FREEDOM CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS FRIDAY, VIEW LIVESTATS
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College baseball team will compete in the 2011 Freedom Conference Tournament this weekend at Quakertown Memorial Park in Quakertown. The fourth-seeded Monarchs will play top-seeded Misericordia University in the tournament opener Friday at 4:00 p.m.
Ticket prices have been set by the Middle Atlantic Conference office as listed below.
Tickets Prices:
Adults: $6 daily/$12 all sessions
Seniors: $5 daily/$8 all sessions
Students: $3 daily/$5 all sessions
Pre-School (Under 6): Free
The 2011 Freedom Conference Championship tournament website can be found at the following link: http://athletics.misericordia.edu/sports/2011/5/4/BB_0504110734.aspx?id=106
LiveStats will be available for all games at the following link: http://athletics.misericordia.edu/custompages/livestats/base/xlive.htm
Other teams in the field of squads include second-seeded DeSales, which plays third-seeded FDU-Florham, in the second game Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Since his first season at King's in 2003, head coach Jerry Greeley has led the Monarchs to seven Freedom Conference playoff berths. The Monarchs have earned Freedom Conference Tournament berths in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. In 2006 King's won the Freedom Conference title and claimed the program's first-ever berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
King's (16-17-1, 11-9-1 Freedom) used a late season surge, winning 10 of their last 13 games, to capture the final spot in the postseason tournament. The Monarchs dropped all three games against Misericordia in their season series with each game being played at King's Lipo Field.
King's vs. Misericordia (2011 season series)
April 3, 2011
Game 1, MU 10-6
Game 2, MU 18-6
April 4, 2011
Game 3, MU 9-5
Senior outfielder Mike Fignar leads the Monarch attack at the plate batting .350 (41-117) with six doubles, three triples, and 26 RBI. Sophomore Chris Sweeney, a first-team All-Freedom Conference selection and reining Freedom "Player of the Week", follows batting .349 (44-126) with 14 doubles, a conference-leading 10 home runs, and 30 RBI. Sophomore shortstop Rob Lemoncelli hits .315 (41-130) with seven doubles, one long ball, and 11 RBI.
Fellow sophomore outfielder Brenton Eades, a second-team All-Freedom Conference selection, bats .311 (32-103) with five doubles and 15 RBI. Sophomore outfielder Rich Acierno has a .300 (27-90) average; senior Joey Troxell hits .283 (32-113) playing multiple positions in the field for King's, but is primarily at first-base.
The Monarch pitching staff is led by Troxell standing 4-1 on the year with a 2.67 ERA in 30.1 innings. Sophomore Levi Tate is 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA in 37.0 innings of work. Sophomore Joe Dorbad has a 1-2 mark with a 7.66 ERA in 44.2 innings. Eades owns a 3-5 record with 28 strikeouts in 41.0 innnings.
#1 Misericordia (23-13, 14-7 Freedom)
Misericordia University enters the tournament as the conference's top seed finishing 14-7 in Freedom play. The Cougars captured their first regular season crown in program history, making their first-ever trip to the championships tournament after narrowing missing the playoffs a season ago. Misericordia posted a three-game series sweep of King's this season.
Sophomore outfielder Kenny Darling leads the Cougar offensive attack batting .398 (53-133) with 16 doubles, five home runs, and 37 RBI (2nd in Freedom). Freshman infielder Ryan Cacchioli follows batting .375 (45-120) with eight doubles, one triple, and 21 RBI. Senior shortstop Nate Newman hits .339 (39-115) with seven doubles, seven home runs, and 27 RBI.
In the rotation, sophomore Ron Guido stands 4-1 with a 3.68 earned run average in 29.1 innings of work. Fellow sophomore Mike Pena is 3-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 32.2 innings, while sophomore Will Minderjahn has a 1-2 mark with a 3.68 ERA in 34.2 innings. Sophomore closer Matt Karabin posts seven saves in 15 appearances.
#2 DeSales (19-16, 14-7 Freedom)
DeSales comes into the tournament as the second seed after finishing tied with Misericordia with 14 league wins. The Cougars captured the tie-breaker taking two of the three games in the season series with the Bulldogs. DeSales is making its 12th appearance in the Freedom Championship tournament claiming the title eight times since 1998 (most recently in 2008).
Junior outfielder Jack Kavetski tops the Bulldogs offensively batting .383 (36-94) with eight doubles, one home run, and nine RBI. Senior catcher Doc Naiman, a First Team All-Freedom selection, follows batting .331 (40-121) with nine doubles, one homer, and 28 RBI. Junior first basemen Jason Hadinger hits .305 (32-105) with four doubles, two homers, and a team-high 33 RBI.
Sophomore Dan Gayeski, the conference's Pitcher of the Year, leads the Bulldog pitching staff with a 2-2 mark posting a 2.63 ERA in 51.1 innings of action. Fellow All-Freedom pitcher sophomore Colby Pacillo stands 5-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 50.0 innings.
#3 FDU-Florham (20-12, 13-8 Freedom)
FDU-Florham, the third seed in the championship tournament, is making its 12th Freedom postseason appearance since 1995. The Devils may be the hottest team entering the weekend of play, winners of six of their last seven contests.
FDU-Florham enters the tourney as the top hitting squad in the Freedom conference with a .326 average. Senior outfielder Matt Oliveto provides the power at the plate for FDU-Florham batting .455 (56-123) with eight doubles, six home runs, and 45 RBI. Oliveto, the Freedom Conference MVP, leads the conference in hits (56), runs scored (44), and RBI (45). Junior shortstop Steve Seminerio bats .399 (55-138) with 14 doubles, three triples, and 31 RBI. Rookie infielder Brandan Adams hits .353 (42-119) with six doubles, six homers, and 21 RBI.
Junior hurler Glen Cox leads the rotation with a 7-1 mark. Cox owns a 6.41 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 59.0 innings on the hill. Senior Brandon Smith is 4-1 with a 5.20 ERA in 45.0 innings. Junior closer Chris Laudati posts five saves in relief situations.
King's went 3-0 against DeSales and 1-2 versus FDU.
The winner of the 2011 tournament will also receive an automatic berth to Division III nationals.
The complete tournament schedule can be found below:
Freedom Conference Baseball Tournament Schedule @ Quakertown Memorial Park
Friday, May 6, 2011
Game #1 4:00 p.m. Misericordia (#1) hosts King's (#4)
Game #2 7:00 p.m. DeSales (#2) hosts FDU-Florham (#3)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Game #3 11:00 a.m. Loser Game #1 Loser Game #2
Game #4 3:00 p.m. Winner Game #1 Winner Game #2
Game #5 7:00 p.m. Winner Game #3 Loser Game #4
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Game #6 Noon Winner Game #4 Winner Game #5
Game #7 4:00 p.m. Same Teams as Game 6 (If necessary)
*Note: Game 5 winner must beat Game 3 winner twice
