WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 14, 2019) – The King's College baseball team will open Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play this weekend with a three-game series against DeSales University. The Monarchs are scheduled to travel down to Center Valley for a single nine inning game on Friday afternoon before hosting the Bulldogs for two seven-inning games on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre.
 
Event Details (Note: Dates, Times, and Locations Can Change Depending On Weather)
Opponent: at DeSales University (3-6, 0-0 MAC Freedom)
Date: Friday March 15, 2019
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Center Valley, PA – Butz Baseball Field (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Opponent: vs DeSales University (3-6, 0-0 MAC Freedom)
Date: Saturday March 16, 2019
Time: 12:00 p.m. / 2:30 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA – Lipo Field (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Last Time Out: King's dropped a pair of tough games to end their spring break trip in Florida last Saturday. The Monarchs fell to Beloit 6-5 on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth before Keene State scored 12 runs in two innings for a 12-1 victory. DeSales ended their week down in Florida with a 13-3 loss to John Carroll University.
 
The Book On The Monarchs (2-6, 0-0 MAC Freedom):

• Freshman Andrew Steidle had an amazing weekend against the Leopards, Buccaneers, and Owls where the second baseman had seven hits in 14 at-bats while driving in five runs and scoring three. The Kellenberg Memorial was 4-for-4 against Beloit with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Senior captain Christian Pack moved up to seventh on King's modern era hit list with his 154th career hit against Keene State. The senior has at least one hit in every game this season and leads the team with eight runs scored and three stolen bases.
• Chris Burke has crushed the ball for a .478 batting average this year and a .870 slugging percentage. The sophomore transfer from East Stroudsburg has four doubles, one triple, and one home run in 23 at-bats. His home run and his triple were both opposite field shots to right.
• Matt Dobeck continued his strong hitting in the leadoff spot as the sophomore has a .433 on-base percentage and has 11 hits, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch. He had two hits in both games against the Leopards and against Beloit on Saturday. He also saw his first action on the mound this season with a strong three innings against the Buccaneers allowing just two runs on three hits.
• Matt Mellinger is still hitting the ball very well to begin the season despite his .280 average. He has hit the ball hard nearly every time he comes to the plate and leads the team with five RBI. The sophomore also had another quality outing on the mound against Keene State on Saturday. He kept the Owls off the scoreboard for five innings before being relived with one out in the sixth inning and runners on first and second.
• The Monarchs bats heated up late in the week as they left Florida with the conference's highest team batting average at .331. That is 44th in Division III. They have spread the ball all around the field recording 19 doubles, two triples, and one home run. Their .437 slugging percentage in second in the conference behind DeSales and 84th in the nation.
• KC has a deep pitching staff this season with 16 pitchers already seeing action in eight games. Colby Toth and Shane Beyer picked up two wins out of the pen last Friday against Wentworth while Dan Hartson saw his first action of the year with two scoreless innings in the second game.
• Toth had six strikeouts in seven innings over two appearances last week while just giving up one run on seven hits. Beyer threw five strong innings allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts last Friday. Jacob Lupas and Kyle Friebolin have also provided quality innings for the Monarchs this year.

The Book On The Bulldogs (3-6, 0-0 MAC Freedom):

• DeSales went 2-5 last week down in Florida playing at the Chain O'Lakes Complex in Winter Haven. The Bulldogs have played a lot of high-scoring games this year as just two of their games had less than 10 runs scored by the winning team.
• The Bulldogs have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two programs over the past three years with the Monarchs recording one win each year. Since 2008, the Bulldogs hold a 24-10 lead in the series with a 13-5 advantage when playing in Center Valley. The series is much closer at Lipo Field where DSU is 8-5 in the same time span.
• Nick White is having a monster year at the plate for the Bulldogs and was honored as the conference Player of the Week on Monday. The senior outfielder is hitting .516 with six doubles, two home runs, 16 RBI, and eight runs scored. Last week he batted .429 with nine hits, four doubles, three runs scored, and six RBI. He had three multi-hit games including a 3-for-4 effort in a win over Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is ranked second in the conference in batting average and leads the conference and is ranked in the top 35 nationally in doubles and runs batted in.
• Two other Bulldogs are also hitting above .400 in Sean Hanczaryk and Sergio Diaz. Hanczaryk is batting .4.24 with three doubles, nine RBI, and six runs scored. Diaz has nine hits for a .409 batting average with two doubles, and a team-leading seven walks.
• Preston Amato (.333), Charlie Barebo (.314), and Evan Plummer (.308) are all hitting above .300 for DSU this season. As a team the Bulldogs are hitting .313 and are slugging the ball well with 24 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. The are second in the conference in doubles while leading in home runs and slugging percentage.
• Ian Kacergis was named the MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Week after a strong outing last week earning the win over Dartmouth pitching seven strong innings allowing three runs on six hits and striking out 10. The sophomore has a 7.11 ERA this year after allowing 11 runs on 13 hits in 5.2 innings during his first two appearances of the season.
• John Poccia leads the team in innings pitched with 13.2 and has a 4.61 ERA and a 2-1 record with 11 strikeouts. He is second in the conference and 19th in Division III with a 11.00 strikeout to walk ratio.
• The Bulldogs have a staff ERA of 7.99 and have thrown 13 different pitchers this year with six getting at least one start.

Up Next: King's will have a pair of mid-week non-conference games against local school s Clarks Summit University and Marywood University. The Monarchs will host the Defenders on Tuesday and the Pacers on Thursday. Both games have a first pitch scheduled for 4 pm at Lipo Field.