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Kutztown 2, Seton Hill 1 (HTML Box Score)
 
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Video: Stoudt's Game-Tying Hit | Dockins' Game-Winning Hit

BUTLER, Pa. – Senior John Dockins (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson (Frederick CC)) hit the game-winning single in the top of the 12th inning to preserve Colin Holmes (Ewing, NJ/Ewing)' gem on the mound as the Kutztown University baseball team won 2-1 in 12 innings over Seton Hill University on Thursday evening in the first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships at Kelly Automotive Park.
 
The Golden Bears (28-19), the fourth seed out of the Eastern Division, upset the top seeded Griffins (36-15) out of the West to advance to Friday's semifinal round. Kutztown will face Pitt-Johnstown (23-22) at 3 p.m.
 
Holmes allowed five hits, three of which left the infield, and threw 98 pitches in his 10-inning effort. It is the most innings pitched in a single game for a Golden Bear since Tim Bausher tossed 9.1 innings against Armstrong Atlantic in 2000. Holmes averaged less than 10 pitches per inning. He struck out three batters while walking two, just his eighth and ninth of the season in a career-high 65 innings. Notably, Kutztown has won in Holmes' last three starts.
 
Down to its final three outs and trailing 1-0, Ricky Gorrell (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) led off the ninth inning with a single to left field, and moved to second on a passed ball on the following at-bat. Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) sacrificed the runner over to third, and senior Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) hit the game-tying RBI single up the middle to score Gorrell from third and tie the game at 1-1.
 
Thursday marked Kutztown's first extra-inning game of the season.
 
Thomas Romano (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) entered the game as a defensive substitution midway through the game and went 2-for-2 at the plate in the waning innings. He led off the 10th inning with a single to right-center field, but was unable to score. Following a leadoff walk by Holmes in the bottom half of the 10th inning, Holmes forced a strikeout on a fouled bunt and then popped up a bunt and turned a double play with a rifle to first base to bring the Golden Bear faithful to their feet.
 
Gorrell led off the 11th inning with a single for the second straight plate appearance, and Stoudt reached base with a hit to put two runners on base, but KU was unable to plate the run.
 
Senior Brandon Shimo (Jermyn, PA/Lakeland (Lackawanna)) relieved Holmes in the bottom of the 11th, and besides a hump-back double that went over the KU shortstop's head, kept Seton Hill in check to take the game to the 12th inning.
 
Romano hit a leadoff single in the 12th inning, marking the fourth straight inning Kutztown led off an inning with a base runner to continue to apply pressure on the Griffins. He was sacrificed to second by Warren Stimpson (Blue Bell, PA/Wissahickon) and scored on Dockins' game-winning single up the middle.
 
Kutztown's top four hitters in the lineup and five of its top six had multi-hit games Thursday night. Dockins, Gorrell, Martinez, Stoudt and Brandon Hickey (Mountville, PA/Hempfield) each had two hits as the team posted 12 hits compared to Seton Hill's six.
 
Shimo picked up his sixth win of the season with the final two innings of work., He threw 24 pitches and allowed one hit with one walk.
 
Both starting pitchers moved swiftly through the first three innings, allowing just one hit each.
 
Seton Hill scored for the first time in the bottom of the fourth inning. Brendan Costantino singled just over the glove of a leaping Dockins at shortstop to open the inning, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, a line drive was hit right at Holmes, who knocked down the potential RBI hit, raced over to the ball near first base and made the underhand toss for the second out as the runner moved to third base. Nick Sell then hit a two-out ground ball just inside the third base bag as the throw was not in time and the runner scored from third for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Golden Bears came close to a two-out run in the sixth. With a speedy Gorrell on first, Martinez ripped a double to the left-center gap. The ball was cut off by the Seton Hill center fielder, relayed to the second baseman and the throw was in time to throw out the potential game-tying run at the plate.
 
Mike Bittel pitched a no-decision for the Griffins. He threw 90 pitches in eight scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. He was relieved by Alex Haines in the ninth, as Jesse Cooper pitched the final three innings and was tabbed with the loss.
 
Kutztown and Pitt-Johnstown meet for the first time since May 17, 2008, when UPJ earned a 8-0 win in the NCAA Atlantic Regionals at Point Stadium in Johnstown.