Wednesday, April 13, 2011

SIX MORAVIAN BASEBALL PLAYERS RANKED IN NCAA STATISTICS

INDIANAPOLIS, IN --- Six student-athletes from the Moravian College baseball team are ranked in the fourth NCAA Division III Baseball Statistics Ranking of the 2011 season released this week, and the Greyhounds are ranked in the top 50 in eight team categories.

Junior pitcher Brendan Close (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS) is ranked in six categories including being tied for fifth in the nation with seven victories.  Close, pictured at right, is also fifth in earned run average at 0.53, six in strikeouts per nine innings at 12.53, fifth in strikeouts with 71, seventh in walks allowed per nine innings at 0.71 and fifth in hits allowed per nine innings at 4.76.

Junior first baseman Kevin O’Keefe (Alexandria, VA/Bishop Ireton HS), pictured at left, is tied for 92nd in the country with 13 stolen bases the season.

Senior outfielder Mike Zubia (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS), pictured at right, is tied for 41st in the country in triples with three this season, and he is tied for 99th in triples per game at 0.12, tied for 96th in RBIs per game at 1.00 and tied for 97th in sacrifice flies with three.

Junior shortstop Dave Zubia (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS), pictured at left, is currently tied for 74th in the nation in hit by pitch, having been hit eight times this spring, and he is tied for 87th in hit by pitch per game at 0.35.

Junior pitcher Kyle Longernecker (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS), pictured at right, is tied for 20th with five saves this spring.

Freshman pitcher Jonathan Harasin (Springfield, VA/South County HS), pictured at bottom left, is 27th in earned run average at 1.29 and tied for 49th in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.29.

The Greyhounds are 19th in earned run average at 2.58, and Moravian is tied for 22nd in stolen bases with 67, 27th in stolen bases per game at 2.58, 19th in walks allowed per nine innings at 2.66, 21st in hits allowed per nine innings at 7.94, 31st in strikeouts per nine innings at 7.9, tied for 44th in triples with nine and tied for 34th in winning percentage at .731.

Moravian, which is 19-7 overall and 11-1 in Landmark Conference action, is scheduled to return to the field on Saturday, April 16th in a non-conference doubleheader at Arcadia University beginning at 12:00 p.m.