MARCH 7, 2016
KING'S BASEBALL DROPS FIRST GAME OF THE YEAR IN TWINBILL SPLIT WITH WENTWORTH
AUBURNDALE, FL --- The King's College baseball team split a doubleheader with Wentworth Institute of Technology on Monday at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale. The Monarchs needed extra innings in a 4-3 10 inning victory in the first game and then saw a seventh inning rally fall short in a 8-6 loss in the nightcap.
The Monarchs are now 5-1 on the season while Wentworth is 1-4.
In the first game the Monarchs got on the board in the bottom of the second when Sean Padden hit a leadoff home run to left field. It was his fourth career homer and his second this year.
In the bottom of the fourth Bruce Breithaupt hit a double to left, Padden hit an infield singled to third, and then Kyle Lupas singled to left to load the bases. Christian Pack hit a ball up the middle that was misplayed by the second baseman to score Breithaupt. Padden then scored on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Sean McKee.
Wentworth scored their first run when Johnny Ryan led off the top of the fifth with a home run to left field. They then scored two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at three. The Monarchs committed four errors in the seventh that led to the two runs.
Neither team was able to score until King's won the game in the tenth. Nick Trivigino led off the innings with a single and advanced to second on a single by Tom Gibbons. Chris Rebar moved both runners over when he flied out to deep center for the second out of the inning. Breithaupt was intentionally walked to load the bases. Sean Padden knocked in Trivigino for the game-winning run when he hit a 1-2 pitch into short right field.
John Wickiser pitched five good innings allowing just one run on six hits while walking none and striking out one. Dan Hartson pitched 1.2 innings of relief giving up two unearned runs on just two hits. Chris Lupole got the win with 3.1 innings of excellent pitching in relief of Hartson. He allowed just two hits and struck out one.
In the nightcap Wentworth scored three runs in the first and four in the second to take an early 7-0 lead. The Monarchs got on the board in the top of the third when McKee reached second base on a throwing error by the pitcher. Ryan Hydock moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt and then Gibbons knocked him in when he grounded out to second.
The Monarchs added two more runs in the fifth when Hydock hit a two-run homer to left field for his first career home run. Wentworth responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning. In the top of the sixth Breithaupt and Padden had back-to-back singles and Lupas was hit by a pitch to load the bases to begin the inning. Breithaupt scored on Tyler Reynolds sacrifice fly to centerfield to cut the lead to four runs.
In the seventh inning Gibbons singled to left, Rebar doubled to right, and then Breithaupt knocked them in with a single up the middle to cut the lead to 8-6 with one out. However King's rally fell short as Padden grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
Jared Smigelski got the loss on the mound for the Monarchs lasting just one inning giving up five runs of which only four were earned on two hits with three walks. Nick Trivigino pitched well in relief lasting three innings giving up two runs on three hits with three strikeouts. Connor Agnew pitched the last two innings giving up just one unearned run on no hits and three walks and one strikeout.
Bruce Breithaupt and Sean Padden had four hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored each. One of Padden's hits was his second home run of the year. Tom Gibbons had three hits scored a run and knocked in one. Ryan Hydock hit a home run and had two RBIs.
King's will be off until Friday when they face Cazenovia College in a doubleheader starting at 11:00 a.m. at Lake Bonny Park in Lakeland, FL.