APRIL 7, 2013

SWEENEY SURPASSES 2000-HIT PLATEAU BUT MONARCH BASEBALL DROPS PAIR AT WILKES

WILKES-BARRE -- King's College baseball standout Chris Sweeney became just the second player in program history to surpass the 200-hit plateau but the Monarchs dropped both ends of a doubleheader to host Wilkes University Sunday at Artillery Park.

Wilkes won the first game 11-7, then rallied in the nightcap to win 10-9 in eight innings. With the sweep, King's fell to 13-9 overall and 4-8 in the Freedom Conference while Wilkes improved to 13-9 and 5-7 in league play.

In the opener, the Monarchs fell behind 8-0 after two innings, then 11-2 after three. But King's plated one in the fifth and four in the sixth to climb back to within 11-7 but would come no closer.

King's pushed across its first run in the third inning when Sweeney drilled a two-run home run to register his 200th career hit at King's. Sweeney joins Jon Venarchick as the lone players in Monarch history to reach the 200-hit mark. Venarchick stands as King's all-time hits leader with 227 from 2006-09. Sweeney finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run, double, and four RBI while scoring twice.

Jared Turner went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Anthony Lizzi was also 2-for-4. Rob Lemoncelli, Brian Mikus, Shawn Heck, and Anthony Re also added hits for King's.

Monarch starting pitcher Anthony Sangirardi (0-1) took the loss, allowing eight runs in one complete inning.

In the second game King's took a 20 lead in the first inning thanks to RBI's from Lizzi and Eric Bohem. Wilkes tied the game at 2-2 with a run in the bottom of the first and third innings. The Monarchs forged ahead 3-2 in the top of the fourth on a RBI single from Lemoncelli but the Colonels answered right back with a run in the bottom of the frame.

King's surged ahead with two runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth. After Eric Bohem reached bas eon an error, Re delivered a run-scoring double before touching home himself after a base hit from Tim Zaccone, pushing the lead to 5-3.

The Monarchs added three more in the sixth when Sweeney led off the inning with a solo home run, his ninth round tripper of the year before Turner later added a two-run single for a 8-3 lead.

But Wilkes pushed across five runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score at 8-8, eventually sending the gamer to extra innings.

There, King's took a 9-8 lead when Lizzi singled and pinch runner Kris Carr scored the go-ahead run on a base-hit by Tim Marchetti.

But in the bottom of the eighth, Wilkes loaded the bases before registering RBI singles from Shawn Ruch and Joe Dantas, the latter coming with two outs, as the Colonels walked away with the sweep.

King's outhit Wilkes 15-11 in the nightcap but committed five errors which resulted in four unearned runs by the Colonels.

Lizzi led King's with a 3-for-5 effort with a double and RBI. Lemoncelli and Marchetti were both 2-for-5 with a RBI while Mikus finished 2-for-5 with a run scored.

Sweeney was 1-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored. For the season Sweeney is among the national leaders with a .576 batting average and a 1.153 slugging percentage. He has 49 hits in 85 at-bats while adding nine home runs, 14 doubles, four triples, and 37 RBI through 22 games this season. He also upped his career ledger to 202 base hits.

Joe Dorbad (2-4) took the loss for King's as the third Monarch hurler of the game, Dorbad allowed one run on three hits in two-thirds of an inning

The Monarchs return to the field Thursday with a 4:00 p.m. home matchup with Penn College of Technology.