DALLAS, PA (March 31, 2026) -- The King's College baseball team continued Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play on the road Tuesday afternoon, falling to Misericordia University 18-7 at Tambur Field. The Monarchs drop to 3-15 overall and 0-10 in conference play. Across the diamond, the Cougars jump to 17-7 overall and 7-0 in the MAC Freedom.
 
King's generated early traffic in the top of the first. Tate Pentasuglio singled and Troy Neff was hit by a pitch before Owen Kosar laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position, but the Monarchs were unable to capitalize as the inning ended scoreless.
 
Noah Gesford got the start on the mound for the Monarchs and worked out of danger in the first inning. After a walk and a hit batter put a pair aboard, Gesford limited the damage and ended the inning with a flyout to right field to keep the game scoreless.
 
Misericordia opened the scoring in the bottom of the second, pushing across a run on a sacrifice fly. The Cougars doubled their lead in the bottom of the third to make it 2-0. The Monarchs limited further damage in the inning, as Mikey Timinski gunned down a runner attempting to tag up and score on a fly ball to right field, cutting him down at the plate to end the frame.
 
After both teams were held quiet in the fourth, King's broke through in the top of the fifth. Miles Carey singled and Pentasuglio was hit by a pitch before Neff lined a two-run double to center field, scoring both runners and evening the game at 2-2.
 
Misericordia responded in the bottom half of the inning, stringing together multiple hits and pushing across seven runs to regain control of the game. The Cougars continued to build the lead in the sixth with four more runs, extending the margin into double digits.
 
King's mounted a late push in the eighth. Neff singled and later scored on an RBI double by Brendan Kopec. Nathan Gilson followed with a walk, and Timinski delivered an RBI single to keep the inning alive. Jordan Andino then provided the biggest swing of the afternoon, launching a three-run home run to left field for the first homer of his college career, trimming the deficit and briefly swinging momentum back toward the Monarchs.
 
Misericordia answered in the bottom of the eighth with four runs to restore separation. Despite a pair of singles in the ninth, King's was unable to add on as Misericordia closed out the series opener, 18-7.
 
Neff led the Monarch offense with two RBI on a pair of hits, while Kopec added a double and an RBI. Timinski recorded an RBI single and threw out a runner at the plate. Andino drove in three with his milestone home run, and Carey and Pentasuglio each reached base multiple times as King's totaled 11 hits in the game.
 
Gesford worked into the fifth inning, recording two strikeouts and stranding two runners in the opening frame. The Monarchs used seven pitchers overall, including Alexander Breitfeller, Jacob DiCicco, Dusty Shaver, Brian Beltre, Jonas Bettleyon, and Matt Masala, as King's rotated arms through the middle and late innings.
 
King's returns to the diamond on Thursday, April 2, hosting Misericordia University in a doubleheader to close out their three-game MAC Freedom set. First pitch against the Cougars in Game 1 is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.