Hounds Set to Host Landmark Baseball Tournament May 3-5
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The No. 22 ranked Moravian College baseball team is headed to the postseason for the sixth straight year as the Greyhounds will host the 2014 Landmark Conference Championship Tournament at Gillespie Field from May 3 to 5.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The No. 22 ranked Moravian College baseball team is headed to the postseason for the sixth straight year as the Greyhounds will host the 2014 Landmark Conference Championship Tournament at Gillespie Field from May 3 to 5.
The tournament begins on Saturday, May 3 with the top seeded Hounds taking on fourth seed The United States Merchant Marine Academy at 11:00 a.m. and followed by second see Susquehanna University and third seed The Catholic University of America battling in the other first round game at 2:30 p.m. Action will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday while Monday's championship round is slated for 11:00 a.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for seniors while children under 10 and all Landmark Conference students, faculty and staff with ID are free. For more information on the tournament, visit http://moraviansports.com/sports/bsb/2013-14/Landmark/index.
The Greyhounds, under the direction of eighth-year head coach Paul Engelhardt, who as a career mark of 192-128, have posted a 29-8 overall record this spring, becoming just the sixth team in the 75-year history of Moravian's baseball program to win 20 games in a season, and all six seasons have been under coach Engelhardt coming in each of the last six years that have seen the program in the postseason. The Greyhounds are just two wins shy of tying the single season win record of 31 set in 2011.
Moravian, which is ranked No. 22 in both the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 and the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Top 30 as well as being ranked first in the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, posted a 14-4 slate in the Landmark regular season to earn the top season. The Hounds are trying to become just the second top seed and host to win the Landmark title. The only other squad to do it was Moravian's 2010 team.
"This is the best the conference has ever been and it seems like it is getting better and better every year," stated Engelhardt. "USMMA is a scary team. They have a few kids that can really hit it, and a few pitchers that can shut you down. We won a 2-0 shutout in the opener, and they beat us in game two before the offense erupted in game three to win the series. It is a one game thing and if you make any mistakes, it could cost you the game. But at the same token, you have to go out and play relaxed and not worry about what might happen.
The Greyhounds are hitting .339 this spring with 453 hits including 86 doubles, a school-record 22 triples and four home runs, and the team also has 64 stolen bases and has a .954 fielding percentage this season. Moravian has had five players reach their 100th career hit this year, and the Hounds have a total of six players in the starting line-up with 100 or more career hits.
Junior right fielder Matt Hanson is hitting .419 and leads the squad with three homers, 48 runs, 22 walks, nine hit-by-pitch and 46 RBIs to go along with 54 hits, eight doubles, four triples and 11 stolen bases. Freshman left fielder Anthony Gaetaniello has the Hounds' top average at .451 on 32 hits to go with 29 runs, 14 RBIs, six doubles and a pair of triples, and Gaetaniello is hitting .548 (23-for-42) since being inserted into the leadoff position 10 games ago. Hanson has made 54 putouts while Gaetaniello has 32 putouts and an assist.
Junior third baseman Ryan Luke leads Moravian with 57 hits and 16 doubles to go with a .399 batting average, 35 hits, 36 RBIs, four triples, 18 2alks and 11 stolen bases. Luke is second on the squad with 78 assists in the field, and he also has 42 putouts. Sophomore first baseman Charles Savite became the latest player to reach 100 career hits last Sunday, and he is just the second sophomore in school history to reach the milestone. This spring, Savite has a .356 average to go along with 52 hits, 30 runs, seven doubles three triples and 44 RBIs, and he has a team high 312 putouts to go with 21 assists.
Junior shortstop Colin Case is hitting .345 with 48 hits, 39 runs, six doubles, three triples, a homer and 21 RBIs, and Case has made a team high 100 assists in the field to go with 45 putouts. Senior center fielder Joseph Connell is fifth in school history with 166 career hits with 44 coming this season along with 24 runs, eight doubles, two triples, 32 RBIs and a team-high 16 stolen bases. Connell also has73 putouts and one assist in the field, and he along with Case and Savite are the only players to see action in all 37 games so far this spring.
Senior Daniel Seitzinger, junior Alex Longernecker and sophomore Alex Bull have platooned at second base this season. Seitzinger is hitting .339 with 20 hits, 19 runs, three doubles and 11 RBIs while Longernecker has a .333 average on 23 hits 22 runs, seven doubles, four triples and nine RBIs. Bull has contributed 18 hits, 11 runs, three doubles and six RBIs. Seitzinger has made 43 putouts and 47 assists in the field while Longernecker has 35 putouts and 44 assists and Bull has 14 putouts and 12 assists.
Senior Matthew Gutkes has split time behind the plate and as a designated hitter this season, and he is hitting .329 with 27 hits, 10 runs, seven doubles and 12 RBIs at the plate and has made 79 putouts and 14 assists as a catcher. Sophomore Mike Roethke has 18 hits, 13 runs, four doubles and 10 RBIs at the plate, and he has 137 putouts and 26 assists while catching.
Junior Justin Pilchman has seen action as a designated hitter and in left field, and he has contributed 26 hits, 14 runs, five doubles and 16 RBIs while junior first baseman/designated hitter Joey DiSarno has added a .343 average with 12 hits, six runs, a pair of doubles and 13 RBIs. Junior outfielder Chris Lansberry and senior infielder Kyle Spence each had seven hits this season with Spence adding six runs, two doubles and four RBIs and Lansberry contributing five runs, a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Cameron Leon has five hits and a pair of runs on the year while freshman outfielder Cedar McCredie as scored five times and added three hits and a pair of RBIs.
Moravian's pitching staff has a 3.90 ERA this spring and has posted a total of six shutouts while striking out 230 batters in 314 innings of action. Leading the staff in senior closer Chris Soltys, who is 5-0 with four saves, a 0.26 ERA, 41 strikeouts and just nine walks in 35 innings of action. Sophomore Ian Carbone has also been strong out of the bullpen with a 1-0 record, one save, a 0.49 ERA, 17 strikeouts and just two walks in 18.1 innings while sophomore Hunter Guard is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA, 11 strikeouts and three walks in 17 innings. Senior Jason Jamula has a 1-0 mark with a 2.45 ERA and eight strikeouts in 11 innings of relief work while senior Ben Hammel has a 2-1 mark as 21 strikeouts in 20 innings of action.
Senior Robert Solano leads the starters with a 5-0 record, a 3.44 ERA, one shutout, two complete games, 33 strikeouts and nine walks in a team-high 52.1 innings. Freshman Nicolas Ampietro is 4-2 in his debut season with a 3.49 ERA, one complete game and 25 walks in 38.2 innings. Senior Thomas Mariano is 4-3 with a complete game and 31 strikeouts in 45 innings of action while sophomore Anthony Zaloga is 3-0 with 21 strikeouts in 24.1 innings of action. Sophomore Brett Wagner has a 2-2 slate with 19 strikeouts in 32 innings this season.
"It feels good to be playing at home," Engelhardt explained. "Last year, we had to go on the road. It is the fourth time in five years we've played at home, and we know we'll get big crowds. It makes it easy for the kids to be at home, and it is something special for the school. It is something that the kids earned with their play in the regular season, and we're looking forward to playing in our home park and enjoy it with our family and friends."
The Greyhounds will have one more game with nationally-ranked Rowan University on Friday, May 9 at Gillespie Field before the field for the 2014 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament is announced on May 12.
