Tuesday, April 29, 2003

MORAVIAN BASEBALL TEAM PREPARES FOR FIRST TRIP TO POSTSEASON SINCE 1992

BETHLEHEM, PA --- The Moravian College baseball team will be making its first appearance in the postseason since 1992 when the third-seeded Greyhounds travel to second seed Albright College for a first round game in the 2003 Commonwealth Conference Tournament. Game time is slated for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30th in Reading.

Wednesday’s other first round game features top seeded Elizabethtown College hosting fourth seed Messiah College. All four teams will meet at Owls Field in Reading on Friday and Saturday May 2nd and 3rd to finish the tournament. The champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2003 NCAA Division III Tournament.

Moravian is under the direction of head coach Ed Little, who has a career record of 296-299-2 in 21 seasons. He had guided the Greyhounds to a 14-13 mark this spring including a 12-9 mark in Commonwealth Conference action, which tied Elizabethtown and Albright for first place in the standings, however, Moravian was swept by both schools in three-game series so the Greyhounds were seeded third in the tournament.

The Greyhounds last trip to the postseason was back in 1992 when Moravian finished 18-13 overall and 9-3 in the MAC Southwest League to win the league title. The Greyhounds were knocked out of the MAC playoffs by eventual champions Johns Hopkins University.

Freshman third baseman Mike Sofka (Westfield, NJ/Westfield HS) leads Moravian at the plate with a .356 batting average. Sofka has 21 hits this spring with 14 runs scored, 14 RBIs, three stolen bases, a double, two triples and a home run.

Senior shortstop Luke Bricker (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown HS) leads the Greyhounds with 29 hits, 24 runs scored and seven doubles this season, and Bricker has contributed a .333 batting average, 16 RBIs, a triple a home run, two stolen bases and eight walks. Bricker has also made two appearances on the mound. He has a 1-0 record and one save in four innings of relief. Bricker leads the Greyhounds in the field with 67 assists.

Senior first baseman Bob Frey (Hellertown, PA/Saucon Valley HS) also has 29 hits this season, and he leads Moravian with three home runs and 18 RBIs. Frey, who owns the school career records for homers with 20 and RBIs with 99, also has a .326 batting average, 21 runs scored, five doubles, two triples and 13 walks this spring. Frey also has the school career records for total bases with 212 and at-bats with 427. On the mound, Frey has a 2-0 record, a 2.79 ERA and six strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. Frey has a team high 186 putouts this spring.

Senior catcher/outfielder Jeff Meila (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has contributed 25 hits in his senior season to move into second place on Moravian’s all-time hit list with 124 career hits, and he is tied with Frey for second. Meila also has 17 RBIs, nine runs scored, 12 walks, a double and a home run this season.

Junior second baseman Matthew Turtell (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst HS) has 24 hits, 18 runs, 13 RBIs, 15 walks, five stolen bases, a double, a triple and a home run, and he has made 53 assists in the field this year.

Junior outfielder/pitcher Greg Peters (Hellertown, PA/Saucon Valley HS) leads the Greyhounds with eight stolen bases in 2003, and Peters has added 20 hits, 16 runs, 15 RBIs, seven walks, three doubles, a triple and two home runs. On the hill, Peters is 1-4 with one save, a 5.76 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 25 innings.

Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Chris Clancy (Kendall Park, NJ/Bishop George Ahr HS) has collected 18 hits, 15 runs scored, seven RBIs, nine walks, six steals, a triple and a homer this spring while posting a 4-4 record on the mound with a 4.32 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 50 innings of work.

Junior outfielder Ethan Ordog (Roebling, NJ/Holy Cross HS) has contributed 14 hits, 15 runs scored, 13 RBIs, ten walks and three doubles this spring while freshman designated hitter Bryan Wolf (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS) has added nine hits, seven runs, six walks, five RBIs, two doubles and a triple. Junior catcher Michael Young (Palmerton, PA/Palmerton Area HS) has six hits on the year with five RBIs, three runs scored and a home run.

Sophomore infielder/outfielder Adam Goetz (Dunellen, NJ/Rutgers Prep HS) has four hits and three runs on the year, and he has tossed two innings in relief this spring. Freshman third baseman Andrew Wayne (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough HS) had contributed three hits, two runs scored and a double in limited action while sophomore outfielder Michael McCarthy (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery HS) and freshman catcher Adam White (Bernville, PA/Tulpehocken HS) each have one hit as reserves. McCarthy has added two runs scored and a double, and he has 2 1/3 innings while White has scored a run.

Sophomore pitcher Stephen Tomaszewski (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) leads the Greyhound pitching staff with a 5-1 record this spring. Tomaszewski has a 4.59 ERA and 38 strikeouts in a team high 51 innings of action. At the plate, Tomaszewski has one hit with a double and three RBIs.

Junior Brett Porter (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park HS) has posted a 1-1 record on the mound with a 7.34 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings of action. Sophomore Daniel Wright (Reading, PA/Reading HS) has tossed eight innings for the Greyhounds with four strikeouts while sophomore Andrew Wach (Boonton, NJ/Boonton HS) has pitched four innings with four strikeouts. Sophomore Zach Dimovitz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland HS) has seen 4 1/3 innings of action this spring while sophomore Michael Roxbury (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan HS) has tossed 1 2/3 innings. Sophomore Tai Nagata (Pottstown, PA/The Hill School) and freshman John Howarth (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) each have pitched one inning of relief this season for Moravian.