The Kutztown University softball team is expecting to spend the entire day at California University's Lilly Field on the second day of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional softball tournament. The Golden Bears (41-17 overall) must begin a four-game winning streak if they want to advance to next weekend's Super Regionals. The first step in that journey comes Saturday afternoon against a familiar foe, Fairmont State. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Both squads find themselves in the consolation bracket after suffering first round defeats. Third-seeded Kutztown could not recover from an early four-run deficit in dropping an 8-3 contest to sixth-seeded Shepherd. Meanwhile, seventh-seeded Fairmont State lost 7-4 to second seeded California. In addition to keeping its season alive, the winner of this game plays at 5 p.m. against the loser of the California-Shepherd contest.
However, first things first for the Golden Bears, who will be meeting the Falcons for the fourth time this season. Kutztown has won the three previous meetings this season. Two games were decided by one run and the other was a two-run decision.
“Fairmont can hit the ball,” Kutztown head coach Judy Lawes said. “We know what they can do and what type of team they have. Our pitching has to step up for us. We're moving on from the Shepherd game and the kids know at this point in the season everything is about blood, guts and heart. We also have to go out and have fun too.”
The eight runs allowed by Kutztown was a season high. The Golden Bears had only allowed five or more runs five times this season. Katlin Arbogast (Ambler, PA/Wissahickon), the PSAC East Pitcher of the Year, faced four Shepherd batters. Arbogast has pitched 4.2 innings against FSU this season and has a 3.86 earned run average. Meanwhile, Monica Glomb (Mars, PA/Mars) has posted a 2.08 ERA against the Falcons in 13 innings.
PSAC East Freshman of the Year Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) has several happy memories against Fairmont State. She slugged a two-out, three-run home run to lift the Golden Bears to a 3-2 victory in the Catawba tournament on Feb. 27. The next day, Kutztown scored five runs in the sixth inning to rally and beat the Falcons, 7-5, in the same tournament. In the third meeting three weeks later in Salem (Va.), Lynch struck again for the Golden Bears by delivering a two-out, two-run walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 4-3 KU triumph.
Nicole Henninger (Reading, PA./Muhlenberg) has a .500 batting average against the Falcons this season. Three of her five hits were doubles. Maria Schiavo (Old Forge, PA/Old Forge) has hit FSU pitching at a .444 clip this year.
In an oddity, Fairmont State had 22 hits against the Golden Bears this season. They were all split between Brittany Tellhammer (five hits), Brooke Keane (five), Kayla Gray (four), Elizabeth Derick (four) and Chelsea Simon. Gray has tortured the Golden Bears this season by belting three home runs and driving in eight runs.
“We know what we need to do,” Henninger said. “We're going to leave everything we have out on the field and see what happens. We're not ready to go home yet. I know we're all going to play with our heart and soul to keep advancing in the tournament. I am confident we'll hit the ball better.”
