Quakertown, PA (May 6, 2007) – The DeSales University baseball team could not get anything going offensively, managing just four hits, as fourth seeded Wilkes University won its first-ever Freedom Conference championship with an 8-1 win over the top seeded Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Quakertown Memorial Park.
Wilkes scored one run over each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead before the Bulldogs scored its lone run of the game in the top of the fourth inning cutting the lead in half. Junior Scott Matejicka (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) plated sophomore Matt Connors (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) with an RBI groundout as DeSales pulled itself back in the game.
After senior Jon Kensecki (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) retired the Colonels in order in the fourth, DSU went in order in the fifth and Wilkes took control of the game. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Corey Helfrich smoked a double to left-center plating two runs and Justin Popovich drew a bases loaded walk giving the Colonels a 5-1 lead.
DSU went quietly once again the sixth inning when sophomore Mike Bianca (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. St. Joseph) singled to lead-off the inning but was caught stealing second base ending any Bulldog threat. Wilkes struck again the sixth for three more runs to take an 8-1 lead as Chris Mayerski and Brad Woznisky each had RBI singles.
The Bulldogs had just one base-runner over the last three innings finishing the game with just four singles and one run, while Wilkes had nine hits and drew nine walks to plate its eight runs.
Tom Buckler earned the win going all nine innings for the Colonels as he earned MVP honors winning two games during the tournament and pitching 11 innings allowing just two runs. Kensecki took the loss allowing six hits and four walks along with five runs in four innings pitched.
Senior Matt Lezinsky (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) had two of the Bulldogs’ four hits, while Connors and Bianca had the other two base knocks as DSU ends its season with a 26-15 overall record.
