BOX SCORE

Quakertown, PA (May 7, 2011) – Junior Jack Kavetski ran thru a stop sign but slid home safely with the winning run as the DeSales University baseball team came back from a 4-2 deficit and an 8-7 deficit in the ninth inning, scoring two runs to stay alive in the Freedom Conference playoffs on Saturday morning.

DeSales advances to the 12:00 pm game on Sunday afternoon to face the loser of the FDU-Florham/Misericordia match-up set to begin at 3:00 pm on Saturday. The Bulldogs win their 20th game of the season, marking the 13th straight time DeSales has won 20+ games.

A tie game entering the ninth inning saw the Monarchs (16-19-1 overall) take an 8-7 lead in the top of the inning when Rich Acierno hit a solo home run to right-field. Junior Travis Hughes entered the game at that point and pitched out of a jam to keep DSU within one run.

Senior Ronnie Wentz had a terrific at-bat to lead-off the ninth, fouling off a few pitches and lacing a double off the wall to right-center. After a strikeout and wild pitch moved Wentz to third, sophomore Justin Scerbo grounded out to the pitcher keeping Wentz at third.

Kavetski came to the plate and hit a ground ball to shortstop but the King's shortstop short armed the throw and Kavetski was safe when the Monarch first baseman was unable to scoop the throw. Sophomore Brian Mauro came to the plate and hit the first pitch thru the right side with Kavetski running on the pitch. He scampered to third and when the ball bounced away from the rightfielder, Kavetski rounded third and ran thru assistant coach Matt Hollod's stop sign and slid home safely as the Bulldog bench stormed Kavetski at the plate.

DSU fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning when Ryan Sweeney hit a two-run home run, his third of the tournament, but senior Doc Neiman immediately tied the game with his own two-run homer in the bottom of the first to tie at two.

King's scored solo runs in the second and third innings before sophomore Dan Gayeski entered the game and held the Monarchs scoreless in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings allowing the offense a chance to get back in the game.

In the fifth, DSU tied the game at four on an RBI hits from Mauro and Neiman and in the sixth the Bulldogs took control with three runs to lead 7-4 on RBI groundout from Mauro, another King's College error, and an RBI base hit from junior Jason Hadinger.

Kavetski scored three times out of the lead-off spot, Mauro finished 4-for-6 with an RBI, Neiman was 2-for-5 with three RBIs, and sophomore Chris Zucchi and Scerbo combined to go 4-for-9 with three runs scored at the bottom of the order. Hughes earned the win pitching one inning of relief. Gayeski tossed 5.1 innings allowing eight hits and four runs, striking out four.