Monday, May 3, 2004

MORAVIAN BASEBALL TEAM PREPARES FOR SECOND STRAIGHT POSTSEASON BERTH

BETHLEHEM, PA --- The Moravian College baseball team will be making its second straight appearance in the postseason when the third-seeded Greyhounds travel to second seed Juniata College for a first round game in the 2004 Commonwealth Conference Tournament. Game time is slated for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5th in Huntingdon.

Wednesday’s other first round game features top seeded Messiah College hosting fourth seed Elizabethtown College. All four teams will meet at Owls Field in Reading on Friday and Saturday May 7th and 8th to finish the tournament. The champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2004 NCAA Division III Tournament.

Moravian is under the direction of head coach Ed Little, who has a career record of 309-322-2 in 22 seasons. He had guided the Greyhounds to a 13-20 mark this spring including a 12-9 mark in Commonwealth Conference action.

The Greyhounds, who were also the third seed a year ago, lost a pair of games in last year’s tournament, falling to Albright College, 12-6, and Elizabethtown, 7-4. Moravian’s last trip to the postseason before last spring 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.

Moravian has 267 hits with 60 extra-base hits, 40 doubles, ninetriples and 11 home runs. Senior shortstop Matt Turtell (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst HS) leads the Greyhounds with 41 hits and a .380 average with 15 RBIs, 30 runs, 11 stolen bases, six doubles, a triple, a home run and 15 walks.

Senior catcher/designated hitter Michael Young (Palmerton, PA/Palmerton HS) has added a .378 batting average to go with 31 hits, 20 RBIs, eight runs, five doubles, a triple and 16 walks while sophomore first baseman Richie Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has 33 hits, 21 runs, 22 RBIs, a double, a triple and six home runs.

Freshman outfielder Pete Moore (Bogota, NJ/Bogota HS) has 28 hits, 19 runs, eight walks, three doubles, two triples, two home runs and 12 RBIs while junior infielder/catcher Mike Trimble (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has 18 hits to go along with 13 runs, a double and seven RBIs. Junior pitcher/outfielder Chris Clancy (Kendall Park, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) collected 18 hits, ten RBIs, 11 runs, three doubles and a triple before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2004 season.

Senior outfielder Ethan Ordog (Roebling, NJ/Holy Cross HS) has added 17 hits, 13 walks, three doubles, seven runs and 11 RBIs. Senior infielder/outfielder/pitcher Greg Peters (Hellertown, PA/Saucon Valley HS) has 16 hits, 11 runs, 19 RBIs, 14 walks, four doubles, a triple and two home runs while junior infielder/pitcher Chris Benigno (Howell, NJ/St. Rose HS) has 15 hits, nine runs, two doubles, a triple and six RBIs.

Sophomore second baseman Andrew Wayne (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough HS) has added 15 hits, 12 runs, seven walks, five doubles and 11 RBIs. Freshman first baseman Mike Dubitsky (Westfield, NJ/Westfield HS) has four RBIs and three runs on four hits and four walks while sophomore first baseman Bryan Wolf (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS) contributed six hits with four runs and a triple before suffering a season-ending injury.

Freshman outfielder/pitcher Sean Brown (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional HS) has four hits, three runs, five RBIs and a double while junior outfielder/pitcher Steve Tomaszewski (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has eight hits, 10 runs, two doubles and eight RBIs. Junior infielder/pitcher Adam Goetz (Dunellen, NJ/Rutgers Prep HS) has added five runs, a hit and a double.

On the mound, junior Andrew Wach (Boonton, NJ/Boonton HS) is 2-1 with a save, a 0.93 ERA, a complete game and nine strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings of work. Tomaszewski has a 5-2 record with a 1.60 ERA, six complete games, two shutouts, 43 strikeouts and 20 walks allowed in 50 2/3 innings.

Peters has a 4-3 record with 33 strikeouts and a 4.07 ERA in 42 innings. Peters has tossed three complete games while Clancy has a 1-4 record, 25 strikeouts, four complete games and a 6.50 ERA in 36 innings. Senior Brett Porter (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park HS) is 1-1 with a 5.56 ERA and ten strikeouts in 34 innings. Porter also has one hit on the season. Brown has a 0-4 record, a 5.47 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings.

Sophomore pitcher/outfielder John Howarth (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) has posted a 0-1 record and a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings of relief, and Howarth has added two hits, two RBIs, six runs and a double while Benigno has a 0-3 record and 12 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings of action. Junior Daniel Wright (Reading, PA/Reading HS) has tossed 12 1/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA and three strikeouts.