Baseball to Host Catholic in Landmark Conference Championship
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College baseball team is hosting the 2015 Landmark Conference Championship round as the second seeded Greyhounds will host four seed The Catholic University of America in a best-of-three championship series for the winner take all at Gillespie Field on May 8-9.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College baseball team is hosting the 2015 Landmark Conference Championship round as the second seeded Greyhounds will host four seed The Catholic University of America in a best-of-three championship series for the winner take all at Gillespie Field on May 8-9.
The Landmark Conference moved away from a traditional double elimination tournament this spring to a series format. After an exciting semifinal round this past weekend with both series using the if necessary game to determine a winner, the two victorious teams are meeting in Bethlehem for another best-of-three series to determine the Landmark Conference Champion that will represent the conference in the 2015 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.
The Championship series begins on Friday at 3:30 p.m. with a single nine-inning game. The teams will meet again on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. for another nine inning game with the if necessary game set to start thirty minutes after the conclusion of game two, if the teams split. 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.
The Greyhounds, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Paul Engelhardt, who has a career mark of 218-150, have posted a 20-18 overall record this spring while recording a 13-8 slate in the Landmark regular season after starting the conference schedule at 0-5. The Hounds defeated Elizabethtown College in the semifinals to earn their right to the Championship series and are making their seventh postseason appearance.
"We are excited about the chance to earn another conference title," commented Engelhardt. "A chance is all you can really ask for, especially after the start we had in conference play but the guys really dug deep and fought back to earn this opportunity. The three game series format has been working in our advantage as of lately, with our bats really coming around and if we keep up solid defense around our pitching staff it should make for a competitive weekend."
With a .311 team batting average this spring, the Blue and Grey have totaled 387 hits including 64 doubles, nine triples, 10 home runs, 81 stolen bases and have a .947 fielding percentage this season. The Hounds have four players in the starting line-up with over 100 career hits with senior right fielder Matt Hanson to become just the second player in Moravian history to reach 200 career hits.
Senior third baseman/designated hitter Ryan Luke leads the Greyhounds at the plate with a .376 average this spring. Luke, a Landmark All-Conference First Team selection for the second year in a row after being on the Second Team in 2013, has connected for 44 hits, 32 runs, eight doubles, a triple, two home runs, 17 RBIs and six stolen bases while senior left fielder Justin Pilchman is hitting .353 with 41 hits, 23 runs, six doubles, a homer, 16 walks, 22 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Junior catcher Mike Roethke earned All-Conference First Team honors for a second consecutive spring and is hitting .328 with 38 hits, 15 runs, six doubles, a triple, a home run, 12 walks and 21 RBIs. Roethke has thrown out 12 of 55 stolen base attempts this season. Sophomore center fielder Anthony Gaetaniello has a .333 average with 44 hits, 30 runs, five doubles, 12 walks, 13 RBIs and a team-leading 24 stolen bases.
Hanson, a three year All-Conference First Team member, has a team-high 49 hits this spring to go with a .343 batting average, 24 runs, seven doubles, two triples, 13 walks, 21 stolen bases and 28 RBIs. Hanson has set the school career record with 61 stolen bases, and he is one of three players on the team with over 100 career RBIs and just one run scored shy of tying the school career mark. Senior shortstop Colin Case made the Landmark All-Conference Second Team this spring and is hitting .331. Case has 44 hits, a team-high 33 runs, five doubles, five triples, a homer, a team-high 17 walks, eight stolen bases and 28 RBIs while junior third baseman Alex Bull has a .308 average with 24 hits, 16 runs, four doubles, two home runs and 15 RBIs.
Junior first baseman Charles Savite was honored as an All-Conference Second Team selection and has 42 hits this season to go with 20 runs, a team-high 12 doubles, two homers and 41 RBIs while senior second baseman Alex Longernecker has 28 hits, 19 runs, three doubles, a homer and 16 RBIs. Junior outfielder/designated hitter Cameron Leon has contributed 12 hits, nine runs, three doubles and six RBIs while senior outfielder/pitcher Chris Lansberry and freshman infielder David Wodzsiz each have contributed five hits with Lansberry adding two runs, a double and three RBIs and Wodzsiz tacking on three runs, a double and an RBI.
Junior catcher Dylan Runne adds three hits, three runs, a double and two RBIs for the Greyhounds while freshman first baseman Logan Welles has three hits with a run, a double and two RBIs. Sophomore Nicolas Ampietro has two hits and three runs while freshman Joey Maker has added two hits and one run scored.
Moravian's pitching staff has a 3.88 ERA heading into this weekend's series and has posted a total of four shutouts and sitting down 219 batters with strikeouts in 310.2 innings of action. The staff has been led by a trio of freshman this season with All-Conference Second Team selection Dan Morrin leading the Hounds with a 1.43 ERA to go along with a 5-1 record, a shutout, 37 strikeouts and 12 walks in a team-high 56.2 innings. Ryan Kahn is 3-3 with a 2.02 ERA, two shutouts, 37 strikeouts and 15 walks in 49 innings on the mound while Nicholas Mazzella is 5-0 with a 3.83 ERA, 24 strikeouts and 19 walks in 47 innings.
Freshmen John Wiedmayer and Bryan Schoch have also had some impressive outings in their first collegiate seasons. Wiedmayer has tossed 29.2 innings with 28 strikeouts including 12 in his collegiate debut while Schoch is 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.
Junior Tommy Natale-Drown has a 1.86 ERA and a pair of strikeouts in 9.2 innings while junior Hunter Guard has a pair of saves, a 1.96 ERA, a 1-1 record and seven strikeouts in 18.2 innings of action. Junior Brett Wagner moved to a reliever role this year and is 2-2 with a save, a 2.37 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 19 innings while junior Ian Carbone has added a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12 innings of work.
Ampietro has tossed 20.1 innings with a 1-1 record and 13 strikeouts while Lansberry has pitched 8.1 innings. Freshman Adam Howard has logged 12.1 innings with 10 strikeouts in his first year at Moravian while junior Anthony Zaloga has 12 strikeouts in 10.1 innings for the Greyhounds.
