MARCH 29, 2016
KYLE LUPAS COMES A HOME RUN SHORT OF CYCLE IN 23-4 VICTORY AGAINST PENN STATE WILKES-BARRE
WILKES-BARRE, PA --- The King's College baseball team showed no signs of rust coming off a four-day break for Easter in a 23-4 drubbing of visiting Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday afternoon at Lipo Field in Wilkes-Barre. The Monarchs scored 23 runs on 23 hits while Kyle Lupas reached base all six times he came up to bat and finished the game with five hits and a home run short of hitting for the cycle.
King's improves to 11-6 on the season and match last season's win total after just the 17th game this season. Penn State Wilkes-Barre is 0-1 after playing their first game of the season.
The Monarchs batted around in the first inning and scored five runs on five hits. After two singles by Chris Rebar and Bruce Breithaupt, Sean Padden knocked in a run with a double down the right field line. Lupas then tripled to right field to give the Monarchs a 3-0 lead. Lupas then scored when Christian Pack hit a ball back to the pitcher and the pitcher's throw home was off line allowing Pack to advance to second. Brad Wilkins then singled in Pack for the last run of the inning.
King's added four runs to their lead in the second when Lupas knocked in two runs with a double to left centerfield that just missed being a home run. After Pack knocked in Lupas with a single, Wilkins knocked in Pack with a single to left center.
The Mountain Lions got on the board with a run in the fourth but the Monarchs responded in the bottom of the inning when Lupas hit a RBI single to center and then Shawn Stone hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Lupas. King's added a run in the fifth when Pack was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give King's a 12-1 lead.
In the sixth inning Dan Hartson doubled to center with two runners on the give the Monarchs a 13-1 advantage. After Breithaupt grounded out to second with the bases loaded Padden hit his sixth home run of the year. Padden's three-run homer to left center was followed four batters later when Ryan Hydock hit a three-run homer down the left field line to give the Monarchs a 20-1 advantage.
Penn State scored three runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to 20-4 but the Monarchs responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to set the final score.
Kyle Lupas was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, a triple, six RBIs, four runs scored, and a walk. Sean Padden knocked in four runs, three on a home run, and scored twice while Christian Pack had three hits, knocked in four and scored three times. Ryan Hydock hit his second home run of the year and knocked in three runs while scoring twice. Chris Rebar had three hits and scored four times.
Andrew Fisher got the win on the mound pitching the first four innings allowing just one run on three hits with four strikeouts. Nick Deno allowed three hits and struck out two in two innings of work while Zach Palansky allowed three runs, two earned, and three hits with one strikeout in one inning. Jared Smigelski allowed two hits in two innings of work pitching just 13 pitches.
King's will be back in action on Friday when they open a three-game series with conference foe Delaware Valley University at 3:30 p.m. at Lipo Field. The Monarchs are then scheduled to travel to Doylestown on Saturday for the final two games of the series.