OWENSBORO, Ky. - After one contact led to another, Josh Marchinoski finds himself in the middle of a conference title race.

A Butler High and Butler County Community College graduate, Marchinoski is the No. 4 starter in the pitching rotation for Brescia University, a NAIA school competing in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

The Bearcats, 22-10 overall, are 8-0 in conference play so far.

"We've always done well in conference since I've been here," third-year coach Jeff Falkner said. "We were 26-6 in the KIAC the past two years.

"But this is the best team we've put on the field."

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Marchinoski is 3-1 with a 6.81 earned run average. He is 2-0 in conference play.

His ERA was inflated early in an outing against Tennessee Wesleyan, a perennial NAIA power.

"I got my fastball up in that game and they pounded me pretty good," Marchinoski admitted.

Besides that outing, he's been pretty good. And he's had plenty of support. Brescia is batting .338 as a team, with eight starters hitting above .300.

"Josh has a very good curveball and his slider can be effective," Falkner said. "His main issue is control. It's not always the walks he has 14 in 24 innings sometimes it's falling behind 2-0 and giving up the base hit.

"I'd like to see him develop more confidence in his fastball ... not throw it right down the middle, but challenge hitters with it in the zone."

Marchinoski was an all-Region 20 pitcher for BC3 last season, posting a 4-2 record with a 1.26 ERA. He had 43 strikeouts and 13 walks in 50 innings.

Falkner learned of Marchinoski through Bill Quigley, a friend of the Marchinoski family who lived in Owensboro.

"Bill contacted us and Kentucky Wesleyan, the Division II school in town, trying to help Josh find a place to play," Falkner said.

"We didn't get a chance to see him pitch live, but we talked to his (BC3) coach, saw he had good numbers and good physical size. He was certainly worth a look."

An integrated studies major, Marchinoski said he "wanted to play ball down south and this was the farthest I could get."

Entrenched as the Bearcats' No. 4 starter, Marchinoski could be the team's No. 1 or 2 starter next season.

"He has that kind of potential," Falkner said. "We're hoping he realizes it. I'm not saying he's underachieved or we're disappointed with where he's at right now. But through progression, he can get there."

Brescia's school-record win total for one season is 30, set in 2003.

"From the start of the season, we've had our eye on that record," Marchinoski said. "We want to win the league, too."

Brescia finished second in the KIAC both of the last two years.

Following his college season, Marchinoski will return home to pitch for the Slippery Rock Sliders of the new Prospect League.

He was going to try out for the expansion Slippery Rock Sliders of the Frontier League two years ago he even showed up for the initial workout only to go home when told he would forfeit his amateur status if he tried out for a professional team.

"I'm excited about pitching for the Sliders this year," Marchinoski said. "I know I'm going to be facing a higher caliber of hitter and that's going to make me better."

Marchinoski was a teammate of Sliders manager Chase Rowe with Saxonburg of the Eagle County League.

"He told me he needed a couple of pitchers, extended the offer and I took it," Marchinoski said.

Falkner signed off on the deal.

"I'm fine with it as long as they take care of him in terms of innings pitched and he doesn't jump to some other college team," Falkner said. "I like the kid and what he can do for our program.

"I want to see him back here next year."