WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 28, 2019) – The Monarchs baseball team will return to Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play this weekend with a three-game series against FDU-Florham. King's will travel to New Jersey on Friday before hosting the Devils on Saturday.
 
Event Details (Note Site and Location Change of Friday's Game)
Opponent: at FDU-Florham (7-10, 1-5 MAC Freedom)
Date: Friday March 29, 2019
Time: 4:45 p.m.
Location: Montclair, NJ – Yogi Berra Stadium (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Opponent: vs FDU-Florham (7-10, 1-5 MAC Freedom)
Date: Saturday March 30, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m. / 3:30 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA – Lipo Field (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Last Time Out: King's saw their rally against Marywood fall just short as the Pacer walked off for a 11-10 victory on Wednesday. The Monarchs were down 8-2 after four and scored three in the fifth, three in the sixth, and two in the ninth to tie things up at 10. FDU-Florham scored an extra inning win at Stockton University on Wednesday. The Devils were down 5-2 after three but came back to take the lead in the sixth before Stockton tied thing up in the seventh. FDU-Florham then scored a run in the 10th for their second-consecutive road non-conference victory of the week.
 
The Book On The Monarchs (6-10, 3-3 MAC Freedom):

• King's is hitting .342 as a team after a season high 17 hits on Wednesday at Marywood. They lead the conference and are 22nd in the nation in team batting average. They are second in the conference in slugging at .457.
• Dan Hartson recorded his 100th career hit on Wednesday and has been on a hot streak lately. The senior has seven multi-hit games in the last 10 games. He is hitting an outstanding .565 in conference play recording 13 hits and scoring eight runs batting third in the lineup. Overall, he leads the team with a .431 average with 28 hits including seven doubles and has scored 12 runs. On the mound Hartson has been just as effective with a 1-0 record in three starts. He has a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings while striking out eight. Hartson is expected to be the game two starter on Saturday.
• Kyle Friebolin has also been on a tear as of late to raise his average to .400. The junior had a career game against Manhattanville on Tuesday with three hits, including his first career home run, four RBI, and two runs scored. He has also been very reliable out of the pen getting the Monarchs out of a few late inning jams. In six appearances Friebolin has thrown 11.1 innings and has a 1-2 record with one save and a 3.18 ERA.
• Matt Dobeck has been great in the leadoff spot for the Monarchs recording a .429 on-base percentage and a .349 average with 22 hits, five walks, and two hit-by-pitches. He had a career high four hits at Marywood and has recorded a hit in the last four games. Christian Pack has also been a hit machine batting second for the Monarchs with 23 on the season. He is third on the team with a .390 batting average. Both Dobeck and Pack lead the team with 14 runs scored each.
• Freshman Andrew Steidle is having a great start to his career out of the nine-hole as the second baseman is hitting .343 with eight RBI and five runs scored in 35 at-bats. Tyler Reynolds has come on strong over the past week with three home runs in the last four games he has played in.
• Matt Mellinger has been great at the plate and on the hill for the Monarchs batting .328 and recording three quality starts on the mound. The sophomore has hit the ball well in nearly every at-bat this season leading the squad with 15 RBI while scoring 10 runs. He has pitched 13.2 innings over four appearances and has a 7.90 ERA while striking out seven.
• Sean McKee is hitting just .212 on the year but has played well in the six conference games. He hit .316 with seven RBI and three runs scored against DeSales and Manhattanville the past two weeks.
• The Monarchs have thrown 18 pitchers this year and have a staff ERA of 8.25. Colby Toth has pitched a team high 15.1 innings and is 1-0 in four appearances with a 4.11 ERA. The freshman has struck out 11 while batters are hitting .276 against him.
• After a rough start to the year in Florida, Cooper Johnson had a great relief appearance against Clarks Summit last week throwing 7.2 inning of no runs on just four hits as the Monarchs rallied for the non-conference win. He then pitched five innings against the Valiants on Tuesday striking out five to pick up the win.
• Jacob Lupas has seen 15.1 innings of work this year recording a 0-2 record in five appearances including one start. The sophomore has an ERA of 6.46 with nine strikeouts.
• The Monarchs have dominated the series with the Devils in recent years winning 11 of the last 12 meetings. KC has won seven in a row in the series with FDU-Florham lone win since 2015 being an 8-7 game one victory in Madison during a doubleheader in 2016. The Devils last won the season series with the Monarchs in 2014 when they swept all three games.

The Book On The Devils (7-10, 1-5 MAC Freedom):

• FDU-Florham's lone conference victory was a 23-3 drubbing of Delaware Valley in game two of their conference-opening doubleheader two weekends ago. The Devils however won both of their non-conference games this week after being swept by Misericordia last weekend.
• The Devils have been able to score runs this year as they are second in the conference with 144 runs scored. Only conference-leading Misericordia has scored more runs (150) in three more games than the Devils. FDU-Florham has scored at least 10 runs in a game six time this season and are averaging almost 8.5 runs per game.
• FDU-Florham is batting .300 as a team and have seven batters hitting above that mark. Michael Tufano leads the way with a .390 average, six doubles, one home run, and 10 RBI. The junior has been very good in conference play batting .474.
• Ian Havran is second on the team with a .381 average with two doubles, a triple, 18 runs scored, and six stolen bases in six attempts. Nate Peacock has been a hit machine for the Devils out of the leadoff spot in the order as the sophomore outfielder leads the team with 23 hits including four doubles for a .338 average. He has scored 15 runs while driving in 13. Peacock also leads the team with 11 stolen bases on 12 attempts.
• Freshman Tyler McCulloch was named the MAC Freedom Player of the Week a couple weeks ago after an impressive week to start his collegiate career. He is batting .306 with a team-leading 21 RBI with seven doubles and a home run. He is batting just .231 in four conference games.
• AJ Yurista (.321), Matt Nodoro (.310), and Joe Moskowitz (.302) are the other three regulars for the Devils hitting above .300. Nodoro has scored a team-high 23 runs and has hit seven doubles, a triple, and a home run as the shortstop.
• The Devils have used 17 pitchers this season with a staff ERA of 7.64. FDU-Florham has allowed 141 runs this season but have struggled in the field with 31 errors for a .945 fielding percentage. Only 112 of the 141 runs the Devils have allowed have been earned.
• Kevin Brown, no not that Kevin Brown, is second on the team in innings pitched with 15 and is 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA in three starts. He has struck out nine and walked six. The senior from Toms River, NJ allowed four runs on six hits in five innings against Misericordia in his last start. He has been the game two starter of conference doubleheaders this year meaning a possible Brown vs. Hartson matchup could happen on Saturday.
• Jeremy Bello is the probable starter for the late Friday afternoon contest. Bello has thrown 17 innings this year with an 8.47 ERA in four appearances including three starts. He has started the first two nine inning conference games for the Devils this season. Bello pitched a complete game against the Monarchs last year as King's got to him for five runs, three earned on 11 hits in a 5-1 Monarch victory in the second game of a doubleheader in Madison.
• Will Lapham and Kyle Nepton have thrown 12.2 innings each. Lapham has been great out of the pen in eight games recording a 5.68 ERA and a 1-0 record. Nepton is 0-2 in two starts and four appearances with a 6.39 ERA while leading the team with 16 strikeouts.

 
Up Next: King's will take another trip up to Scranton for a mid-week non-conference contest against University of Scranton on Tuesday at 5 pm from Volpe Field.