West Lawn, PA – The Misericordia University baseball team defeated King's College, 6-1, in the opener of the MAC Freedom Championships, Friday afternoon at Owls Field.

Ian McCole tossed eight strong innings for the Cougars. The MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Year scattered eight hits and surrendered just one run with seven strikeouts.

Shane Hughes and Tyler Holzapfel each had two RBI to lead the Cougars' offense while Billy Kerwien went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Holzapfel also had a team-high two runs scored.

After McCole threw a 1-2-3 first inning, Kenny Jarema set the tone with a leadoff single up the middle to extend his on-base streak to 29-games. The MAC Freedom Player of the Year came around to score later in the inning on a Holzapfel groundball, 1-0.

The Monarchs knotted the game up in the second inning when Sean McKee singled through the right side to plate Matt Mellinger. McCole limited the damage with a strikeout and a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Misericordia added three runs in the third inning. Steve Weisensee walked to open the frame and advanced to second base on a Monarchs' fielding error. The senior outfielder stole third base and advanced home on a throwing error to take the lead, 2-1.

Hughes added another run with a double to left field and later scored on a Kerwien single to right field, 4-1.

In the sixth inning, Kerwien helped protect the Cougars' lead with a leaping grab on a line drive to the right side. The second baseman robbed the Monarchs of a one-out hit and doubled-up the runner at first base.

The Cougars added two more insurance runs in the seventh inning. Holzapfel plated the first run with an RBI triple to the right-centerfield wall. Hughes then singled through the right side to expand the team's lead to 6-1.

After allowing the first two runners to reach base, McCole worked out of an eighth inning jam unscathed. The Cougars' ace induced a pop up and struck out the following two batters to wrap up his night.

Kyle Melahn tossed a scoreless ninth inning for the Cougars. The All-MAC Freedom first-team selection struck out one batter and threw 22 pitches.

The Cougars improved to 30-10 on the season while the Monarchs fell to 17-18. Misericordia will play the winner of Manhattanville/DeSales, tomorrow at 11:00 AM at Owls Field.