WILKES-BARRE, PA (April 6, 2019) – Colby Toth and Dan Hartson threw complete games and did not walk a batter to lead the King's College baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Delaware Valley University on Saturday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre. Toth allowed just one run on three hits in a 7-1 game one win while Hartson threw a five-hit shutout in the 1-0 nightcap victory.
The complete games were the first two of the year thrown by Monarchs pitchers while Hartson recorded the first shutout of the season. King's improved to 10-12 overall and 7-4 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play with the victories while the Aggies fell to 6-17 overall and 2-9 in the conference.
Toth got the first five batters out before an error in right field gave the Aggies their first runner in the second inning. He quickly erased that runner with a strikeout. Neal Flogel led off the top of the third with a slow roller to third for the first DVU hit of the game. He was moved over to second before Tom Crooks hit a two-out single up the middle to score Flogel and give the visitors their only lead of the day.
King's came right back in the bottom half of the inning as Sean McKee singled to center on the first pitch he saw and then stole second. Matt Dobeck drove him in with the tying run on a single up the middle and advanced to second on the throw home. Dobeck moved up to third on a Christian Pack flyout to right and then scored on a Hartson double giving KC a 2-1 advantage. Matt Mellinger made it 3-1 with a single to left but was thrown out at second for the final out of the inning as the sophomore was trying to advance after the late throw home to try and get Hartson out.
That run support was all the freshman needed on the mound as he retired the next 11 Aggies including striking out two in the fourth. Zakary Zgura ended the streak in the seventh with a two-out single to right. Toth then struck out Josh Adamski to end the game.
Even though the three runs in the third were all Toth needed, the Monarchs still gave him extra run support with a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Pack and Hartson had back-to-back singles in the fifth to score McKee and Dobeck. In the sixth King's put runners on second and third with one out on Noah Adams and a Seth Laky double. Adams scored on a fielding error by the DVU second baseman and then Laky scored on a wild pitch.
The Monarchs had 10 hits in the game with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit. Dobeck and Hartson had two hits each. Hartson knocked in two runs and scored one. Dobeck scored two and had an RBI while Pack and Mellinger added an RBI each. McKee finished with two runs scored. Toth improved to 3-0 on the season while striking out four and facing just four batters over the minimum in seven innings.
As good as Toth pitched in the opener, Hartson was just as good, if not better in the nightcap. The senior threw just 79 pitches while striking out five and allowing five hits. Hartson did an excellent job keeping the ball down in the zone as he forced 12 groundouts and just three flyouts in the game.
DVU's first hit of the game came on a two-out single through the right side. Hartson quickly erased that with a ground out to Pack at short. In the bottom of the inning. Pack doubled to right center and then two batters later Mellinger knocked him in with a single up the middle for the game's only run.
That proved to be all Hartson would need as the senior was had his best performance of the year on the mound. The reigning MAC Freedom Player of the Week put together a conference Pitcher of the Week worthy outing. Every time the Aggies got a runner on, most innings with two outs, Hartson got the big out or outs to keep DVU off the scoreboard. His most impressive escape came in the sixth inning as the Aggies put runners on second and third with one out on a fielding error, bunt single, and a sac bunt. Hartson then caught a foul pop up near the King's dugout and got a weak pop up to Mellinger at first to get out of the inning. Flogel doubled with one out in the seventh before Hartson got Adamski to ground out to third and struck out Joey Lodato to end the game.
At the plate, King's had five hits in the game and left six runners on. In the second Laky hit a bloop single over the shortstop into left center and then advanced to third on wild pitch. McKee walked and stole second with two outs. Cody Brown got Dobeck to fly out to deep center to get out of the inning. Brown, a local product from Tunkhannock, allowed just one run on five hits in six innings. The junior struck out two and walked one.
Mellinger led the Monarchs in the nightcap with three hits and an RBI. Pack had a hit and scored the lone run of the game. Laky also had a hit for King's.
KC will go for the season sweep over Delaware Valley tomorrow afternoon from Frank Wolfgang Field in Doylestown. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm on the campus of DVU.
--MONARCHS--
