WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 2, 2019) – The King's College baseball team will begin the 2019 season down in Florida on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning with a pair of doubleheaders against Gwynedd Mercy University and Concordia College (MN) as part of the Russ Matt Central Florida Invitational.
 
Event Details
Opponent: vs Gwynedd Mercy University (0-5, 0-0 Atlantic East)
Date: Sunday March 3, 2019
Time: 3:00 p.m./5:30 p.m.
Location: Auburndale, FL – Lake Myrtle Sports Park Field 7 (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats)
 
Opponent: vs Concordia College (MN (0-0, 0-0 MIAC)
Date: Monday March 4, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m./11:30 a.m.
Location: Kissimmee, FL – Osceola Heritage Park Field 1 (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats)
  
The Book On The Monarchs (0-0, 0-0 MAC Freedom):

• King's has high expectations entering the 2019 season after finishing third at the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Championships a year ago.
• The Monarchs were very good defensively in 2018 committing just 60 errors. Their .954 fielding percentage was the second-best in the MAC Freedom behind Misericordia.
• Offensively, the Monarchs will look to have another great year at the plate after finishing last season ranked 61st in Division III in runs scored and second in the conference. The Monarchs led the MAC Freedom in batting average at .320 which was ranked 33rd nationally, in slugging percentage at .409, and in doubles per game at 2.16.
• KC returns three All-Conference players from last year's squad in captains Christian Pack, Dan Hartson, and Sean McKee. Pack and Hartson were First Team selections was McKee was named to the Second Team. Hartson added All-Region honors to his All-Conference nod.
• Pack needs nine hits to reach 150 for his career and is 10 runs shy of 100. The senior is looking to finish his very good career strong after back-to-back First Team All-Conference honors.
• Hartson was King's most versatile player a season ago as a leadoff man in the lineup and in the field whether he was protecting centerfield or pitching. In three years, he has recorded 73 hits and recorded an excellent .929 fielding percentage.
• McKee was a big reason for King's late season surge last year including an outstanding final week of the regular season where he was named the MAC Freedom Player of the Week and named to D3baseball.com Team of the Week. He enters his final year at King;s with 76 hits and 70 runs scored.
• Matt Mellinger returns after starting 36 of 37 games at first base last year as a freshman. The Allentown, PA native can also pitch for the Monarchs and may be called upon to throw a couple of innings. Mellinger was a big part of the Monarchs success last year coming up with hits whenever King's needed it most.
• King's added East Stroudsburg transfer Chris Burke to the lineup this year. Burke will see time behind the plate and in the field after seeing action in nine games for the Division II Warriors last year. The Frackville, PA native is a great all-around player and has a very strong arm.
• The Monarch success this year will rely heavily on their pitching. Junior Cooper Johnson along with sophomores Alex Bruneio, Brandon Moffitt, and Landon La Bar all saw a lot of innings last year and will look to lead what is hopefully a deep group of young pitchers this year.

The Book On The Griffins 0-5, 0-0 Atlantic East):

• Gwynedd has played five games already this year and are still looking for their first win after beginning their Florida trip with a 11-5 loss to Louisiana College this morning. The Griffins took a 5-1 lead into the fourth inning before the Wildcats rallied with 10 straight runs for the victory.
• GMU was receiving votes in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll before starting the season with losses to Salisbury, Kean, Brockport, and Johns Hopkins.
• A box score for the game against Louisiana is unavailable but prior to the game Jason Mulvey led the Griffins with a .353 batting average recording six hits in 17 at-bats.
• Dave Tatoian was batting .308 with four hits and three walks. Sachael Sciarretta led the team with two RBI.
• R.J. Boyle is the team's ace making three starts in four games recording a 0-2 record with a 3.86 ERA and six strikeouts.
• Nick DeRitis made one start and recorded a no-decision in three innings with a 3.00 ERA. Bryan Kaelin and Cameron Culver have 0-1 records on the hill for the Griffins,
• The Griffins have struggled in the field making nine errors in four games on 156 chances for a .942 fielding percentage.
• Gwynedd Mercy has been outscored 36-10 this year and have allowed the majority of the runs in the later innings.

The Book On The Cobbers (0-0, 0-0 MIAC):

• Concordia is coming off a 2018 season where they went 17-19 overall and 10-10 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
• The Cobbers only had two student-athletes hit above .300 last year while hitting .254 as a team. Neither of those hitters are back as Mason Penske is the leading returning hitter at .297.
• Concordia was very good on the base paths last year stealing 33 bases in 38 attempts and had 14 sacrifice flies and 19 sacrifice hits.
• Austin Ver Steeg had a team-leading 1.25 ERA on the mound in 36.0 innings. The junior was 3-0 with one complete game, a shutout, and two saves striking out 34. He was ranked ninth in Division III in ERA and 41st in hits allowed per nine innings.
• Ty Syverson also had a great year on the hill with a 2.41 ERA in 33.2 innings spanning seven appearances. He went 3-2 with two complete games and one shutout. Colin Richards came out of the pen to record a 2.76 ERA in 16.1 innings over 10 appearances.
• The Cobbers had a .948 fielding percentage making 66 errors in 2018 and turned 22 double plays.
• Concordia fared better against left-handed starters (8-4) than they did against right-handed starters (9-15) last year. They were 10-1 when they scored the first run of the game but were just 7-18 when their opponent scored first.
• Teams were able to jump out to leads early last year outscoring the Cobbers 37-12 in the first inning of game.
• The Cobbers are coached by former Major Leaguer Chris Coste. Coste won a World Series championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. He has played in the major leagues for the Phillies, Houston Astros, New York Mets and Washington Nationals organizations. Coste has appeared in 299 Major League Baseball games and has a lifetime MLB average of .272.

Up Next: King's will be back in action next weekend with a doubleheader against Wentworth on Friday afternoon before wrapping up their Florida trip with games against Beloit and Kenne State on Saturday.