KINGSTON and WILKES-BARRE TWP. — This weekend, the Colonels swept crosstown rival King’s College in a three-game series, advancing their record to 10-10 overall and 6-3 in the conference.

On Friday, the Colonels set the tone for the series in the first inning of game one. Junior captain Jack Fischer led off the inning with a single to right field. Senior Joe Champi followed his lead with a double into left-center, putting two men in scoring position. Senior Jay Clymer’s single scoring Fischer and junior Nicholas Capozzi’s single scoring Champi, both finding a hole through the left side, giving the Colonels the 2-0 lead.

Wilkes was able to maintain this lead until the Monarchs’ offense broke open with five hits in the fifth inning, one of which was a two-run homer by senior Chris Rebar, giving the Monarchs the 4-2 lead.

However, in the bottom of the sixth, the Colonels regained their lead by scoring four runs of their own. Sophomore Matt Reinert, freshman Michael Patrizio and junior Brady Wing loaded the bases after each being walked. A two-out walk for Fischer, brought in Reinert and a hit-by-pitch for Champi brought in Patrizio. Freshman pinch-hitter Anthony Favor had a first-pitch drive into left-field, scoring Wing and Fischer to bring the Colonels ahead 6-4.

A run in both the seventh and eighth innings for the Monarchs tied the game at 6-6. But in the bottom of the ninth, a lead-off solo homerun on the fourth pitch of Capozzi’s at-bat gave the Colonels the 7-6 victory and freshman pitcher Colin Smith the win after outings on the mound by freshman Matthew Konikow, juniors Matt Maranca and Noah Durnin and freshman Andrew Indzonka.

“It was a huge series for us since anytime we face King’s the competition level and emotions are going to be high,” said Capozzi. “All weekend it felt like a playoff atmosphere and it was really great for our team to be able to sweep them.”

On a windy Saturday, the Colonels traveled to King’s College to finish their series with a doubleheader, winning game two of the series 13-6 in twelve innings and winning game three 3-1 in a regular seven innings.

In the first inning, Patrizio reached first on an error by the Monarchs’ shortstop, which Champi capitalized on with an RBI-single. A Reinert single to left-field helped to bring in Champi, giving the Colonels an early 2-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth, the Monarchs took advantage of freshman Matt Mellinger’s lead-off walk and senior Brad Wilkins’ single to right-field to put two men on, ultimately scoring both of them and tying the game 2-2.

When the game remained tied at the bottom of the seventh, Wilkes and King’s embarked on five extra innings to conclude the game.

In the top of the eighth, a single by Wing kicked off the Colonels’ rally. After advancing to second on a pitch in the dirt, Wing was able to score off a clutch single by Champi to left-field, putting the Colonels ahead 3-2.

However, the Monarchs quickly answered back in the bottom of the inning, tying the game 3-3.

In the top of the ninth, Reinert made his way around the bases. He singled to right-field, advanced to second on a sac-bunt by freshman Bryan Nifenecker, and tagged up on freshman Vincent Uzzi’s fly-out to right-field, putting Reinert on third base for Wing’s RBI-single into shallow center-field, giving the Colonels the 4-3 lead.

A lead-off double by King’s Rebar continued the back-and-forth game play, allowing him to score and tie the game at 4-4.

The game remained tied until the top of the twelfth inning when Patrizio led off with a single past second base. After stealing second, Patrizio was able to advance to third on an overthrow by the pitcher. With an overthrow by the centerfielder to third, Patrizio was able to cross the plate and take the 5-4 lead in this heat-of-the-moment action, being the catalyst to the Colonels break-out inning.

A walk by Fischer and a single to centerfield by Clymer put two men on for Capozzi’s clutch double to left-center, bringing their lead to 7-4. A single to left-field by Reinert, walks for Nifenecker and sophomore Tyler Walther, an error to second base for Wing, and a double to center for Patrizio allowed the Colonels to bat around the lineup and expand their lead to 13-4.

Although the Colonels had a substantial lead, the Monarchs did not go down without a fight in the bottom of the twelfth, tacking on two runs to make the game 13-6.

A solid five innings on the mound from junior Jeremy Worlinksy followed by three innings from freshman Nolan Ott kept the game close and allowed Smith to improve his record to 3-1 with four innings in relief.

After the high intensity of game two, Wilkes and King’s simmered down for a fast-paced game three, allowing the Colonels to win 3-1 and sweep King’s in the series for the first time since 2015.

In the top of the first, Patrizio led off with a walk, making his way around the bases and scoring off of Champi’s sac-fly to right-field, giving the Colonels the 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, the Monarchs scored their only run of the game, tying the game 1-1.

In the top of the second, the Colonels regained their lead for good after Wing got on with a walk, stole second and scored off of Champi’s single to left.

In the top of the fourth, the Colonels stretched their lead to 3-1 after Patrizio doubled to right-center and scored off of Fischer’s single to shallow left-field, giving Indzonka his first save after a scoreless seventh inning following six efficient innings by sophomore Matt Amaral.

The Colonels will face Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Apr. 10 for a game at 3:00 p.m. at Artillery Park and will start a three-game series with Manhattanville College on Apr. 13.