WILKES‑BARRE, PA (April 22, 2026)-- The King's College softball team split its non‑conference doubleheader against crosstown rival Wilkes University on Wednesday afternoon at Betzler Field. The Monarchs earned a 1-0 win in the opener before falling 11-4 in the second game to move to 12–24 overall on the season.
 
Game 1: W, 1–0
King's scored the game's only run in the bottom of the first inning, capitalizing on early baserunning pressure to take the lead. Breanna Goldspiel singled down the left‑field line before advancing to second on a passed ball. After moving to third on Paige Bergan's flyout to center, Goldspiel scored as Megan Matsko reached on a throwing error at third, giving the Monarchs a 1-0 advantage heading into the second.
 
Wilkes threatened immediately in the second inning, putting a runner on third with one out. Madisyn vonFrisch kept the Colonels at bay, forcing consecutive groundouts to end the brief threat.
 
The Colonels mounted another push in the fourth, putting runners on second and third with two outs after a single and a double to right‑center, but vonFrisch found her way out of the jam as Wilkes grounded out to second.
 
King's continued to apply pressure with two‑hit frames in both the third and fourth innings, including singles from Elise Larson, Goldspiel, Meghan Marianelli, and Colleen Shuler, but were unable to find any insurance runs.
 
Goldspiel led the offense with two hits and the lone run scored, while Larson, Marianelli, and Shuler each added a hit.
 
vonFrisch improved to 6–12 on the season, scattering four hits across 7.0 scoreless innings of work on 85 just pitches to secure the 1-0 win in the opener.
 
 
Game 2: L, 11–4
Wilkes opened the scoring in the first with a run on a two‑out single to right to take an early 1-0 lead. In the second, King's answered as Madison Badali drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a flyout, and scored on an RBI single to center from Kara Krouse to even the game at 1-1.
 
Wilkes regained the lead in the fourth, loading the bases with one out before connecting on a three‑run homer to center to take a 4–1 lead. The visitors added two more in the fifth, opening the inning with a solo home run and later scoring on a single to center to extend the margin to 6-1.
 
King's responded with three runs in the bottom half of the fifth as Breanna Goldspiel reached on an error, Ellie Higdon singled to left, and a flyout moved Goldspiel to third. A wild pitch brought her home to make it 6-2, and after a walk extended the inning, Krouse delivered again with a two‑run single up the middle to pull the Monarchs within two.
 
Wilkes added two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh, taking advantage of an error and a pair of infield hits to push the lead to 11-4. The Monarchs were unable to mount the comeback as the Colonels secured the series split.
 
Offensively, King's totaled six hits in the contest. Higdon and Krouse each recorded two hits, with Krouse driving in all three Monarch RBIs. Fox and Goldspiel added one hit apiece, while Badali scored twice.
 
King's softball returns to Betzler Field on Friday, April 24 as the Monarchs celebrate Senior Day in a MAC Freedom doubleheader against Delaware Valley with first pitch of the twinbill set for 2:00 p.m.