KINGSTON – The Wilkes University baseball team salvaged a split with cross-town rival King's College taking game one 7-5 before falling 12-3 in game two of a MAC Freedom doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Artillery Park.
 
Wilkes moved to 12-16 overall and 6-9 in MAC Freedom games following the split while King's improved to 13-14 overall and 9-6 in league contests taking the season series two games to one over the Colonels.
 
The Colonels got on the board early in game one scoring four runs in their first at-bats thanks to four hits and a throwing error from King's that plated the final run. Jack Fischer (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) began the rally with a double to right center before moving to third on a Brandon Reno (Hunlock Creek, PA/Northwest Area) single to right field. After a line out for the second out of the inning, Charles Giacometti Jr. (Dallas, PA/Dallas) singled home Fischer moving Reno to second. Jonah Harder (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) came through with another two-out base hit scoring Reno and Giacometti after a throwing miscue by the Monarch first basemen on the play. Harder finished off the four-run first crossing the plate on a wild pitch.
 
After King's scored its first run of the game in the top of the second, the Colonels responded in the bottom of the third notching a run of their own pushing the advantage back to four up 5-1. Nicholas Capozzi (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) singled to left field followed by another single to left from Giacometti. Harder added his second two-out RBI hit when he singled through the right side scoring Capozzi.
 
The Monarchs made things close in the top of the fourth when Tyler Reynolds connected on a three-run home run cutting the Wilkes lead to 5-4. Wilkes answered right back with two more of their own in the bottom half of the frame as Reno singled home Vinny Bobbin (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Blue Mountain) who led-off the inning with a bunt single and Capozzi knocked home Fischer who walked two batters earlier to give the Colonels some breathing room up 7-4 after four.
 
King's was threatening in the top of the sixth when starter Noah Durnin (Bath, PA/Northampton) left the game with the bases loaded and two outs, but reliever Andrew Indzonka (New Windsor, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) came through with a clutch strikeout to end the frame and the Monarch rally.
 
King's added one run in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI double from Dan Hartson, but Indzonka recorded back-to-back pop ups, one to first base and one to second base, to close out the game earning his fifth save in the process.
 
Wilkes received outstanding performances from the middle of its lineup as the 3-through-6 hitters finished 8-for-14 with five of the seven RBI's in the victory. Reno, Capozzi, Giacometti and Harder each recorded two hits.
 
Durnin was solid in the start for Wilkes going 5.2 innings allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits to post his third win of the season.
 
King's jumped out to an 11-1 lead after three innings of play in game two on way to the nine-run victory. Christian Pack highlighted a six-run second inning for the Monarchs with a grand slam home run. King's added five runs in the third inning to take the big lead.
 
Reno accounted for the first Colonels run when he drilled a solo shot to left center in the bottom of the first. Matt Reinert (Telford, PA/Souderton) singled to lead-off the fourth inning for Wilkes and later scored the Colonels second run when he crossed home plate on a Michael Patrizio (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery) fielder's choice. Bryan Nifenecker (Amityville, NY/St. Dominic) finished off the Wilkes scoring in the game knocking home Jack Hines (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) with an RBI double down the left field line in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Reno led all Wilkes hitters in game two finishing 3-for-3 with one RBI off the home run. Brady Wing (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) collected two hits in three at-bats.
 
Wilkes used five pitchers in the game with starter JT Hibschman (Millville, NJ/Millville) suffering the loss going two innings allowing ten runs on six hits.
 
Wilkes is back in action tomorrow with a single nine-inning game against Penn State Schuylkill starting at 12:00 p.m. at Artillery Park.