BASE: Walk-off win highlights series sweep over Del.Val.
The Colonels baseball team is riding out the season above .500 as they have their final games of the season at King’s College on Friday and at home on Saturday against the Monarchs in a Senior Day doubleheader.
In the conference, the blue and gold are under .500, but their out of conference games have pushed them to a high overall record.
Wilkes started out their season with an eight game win streak and has maintained a winning season.
Wilkes alumnus Kevin Gryboski is in his fourth season as head coach of the Colonels and has maintained above a .500 season for two years in a row. He motivates his team by making sure they stayed focused every game.
“We have played a ton of one run games this season in the conference,” said Gryboski. “One bounce or one pitch either way and we could be sittin in a different position than where we are today.”
Senior Michael Patrizio leads the team with a batting average of .350 with 41 hits and 13 RBIs (as of April 23). He and his teammates focus on staying active at the plate to back up their defense with offensive contributions.
In their most recent home doubleheader, the Colonels went 2-0 over Delaware Valley University.
Game one went into extra innings as the Colonels and Aggies had a tied ball game in the bottom of the seventh.
The Aggies scored in the top of the first inning off of a pass ball and the Colonels did not answer until the bottom of the sixth inning with a single to left field by first year Zack Luksic, who brought in junior AJ Brosious.
Wilkes held the Aggies into the bottom of the ninth and scored by capitalizing on a bad throw by the Aggies. The run was scored by junior Jason Spezzaferra who got on base with a single to left field.
Wilkes won 2-1 and senior Tony Moletoris collected the win on the mound, pitching a complete nine innings allowing six hits, one run and added six strikeouts.
“It felt great to get the win today,” said Moletoris. “We needed this win just for momentum and confidence for the end of the season. It was hard fought but well deserved.”
The second game proved to be in Wilkes favor as they won 2-0.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when graduate student Dominick Bayo singled to left-center, bringing in Patrizio and junior Max Alessi.
“It felt great,” said Bayo. “I was just doing my part to help the team win. You never know what is going to be a defining moment in a game, so it’s always good to come up big when the opportunity arises.”
Wilkes’ defense held DelVal throughout the entirety of the game, not allowing any runs.
Senior pitcher Gage Coudriet got the win on the mound after pitching 6.2 innings with no runs scored, only allowing four hits and a walk, adding five strikeouts. Junior pitcher Sawyer Kemp closed the seventh inning on the mound for Wilkes, ending the game.
Wilkes looks to finish out their season strong as they take on their cross-town rival.
“Our goals for the last week of the season are the same, to go out and compete and win games,” said Moletoris. “Especially this week with King’s, these games are just as important as the rest of the games this season.”
Junior AJ Brosious gets hugged by senior Rob Iacono after the walk-off win.
Baylee Guedes is graduating in May of 2023 with a major in Communication Studies obtaining a concentration in Multimedia Journalism, as well as a minor...