SAVANNAH, Ga. — Michael Dugan (so. Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) and the Kutztown University baseball team rallied to beat California (Pa.) 9-8 on Tuesday afternoon at the Savannah Invitational.
The Golden Bears (11-3) jumped out to a 4-1 advantage after the first inning, starting with an RBI single by Shayne Houck (fr. Boyertown/Boyertown). Jared Frey (so. Mohrsville/Schuylkill Valley) also knocked in a run with a single, and Dugan knocked two runs to complete the scoring in the first.
The Vulcans (4-2) came back with five runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-4 lead.
KU rallied back in the fifth, plating five runs of its own for a 9-6 lead. James Quigley (so. Bensalem/Bensalem) had an RBI single and Dugan again came through with another two-run single. Dominick Fantanarosa (sr. Coatesville/Coatesville) and Brett Wigder (so. Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) each followed with RBI singles of their own.
Trent Mertz (so. Kutztown/Kutztown) started the game, going four innings and collecting four strikeouts. Jordan Smith (so. New Milford/Blue Ridge) pitched three innings to earn the win, allowing one run, one hit and striking out three. Kevin Morganti (sr. Reading/Muhlenberg) pitched a hitless inning before handing it over to Jason Herr (so. Harrisburg/C.D. East), who got the save.
This win marked the third straight for KU in the Savannah Invitational and even the series with California.
Kutztown 9, California (Pa.) 8
Scores by inning R H E
California (Pa.) 100 500 101 – 8 10 0
Kutztown 400 050 00x - 9 12 4
K: Trent Mertz, Jordan Smith (5), Kevin Morganti (8), Jason Herr (9) and Dominic Fantanarosa, Matt Kulbacki (8)
C: Welsh, Schreiber (2), Plummer (5) and Herman
W: Jordan Smith (2-0), L: Schreiber, S: Herr (2)
Record: K, 11-3; C, 4-1
KU Highlights: Corey Buletza 2-for-5; Mike Kacelowicz 2 runs; Shayne Houck 2-for-3, RBI, 2 runs; Mike Dugan 2-for-4, 4 RBI; James Quigley 2 runs; Brett Wigder 2-for-3, RBI
