The inevitable showdown is just hours away.
For much of the season, Kutztown and California, Pa has played musical chairs in the Atlantic Regional rankings. Both teams have spent time ranked second and third in the regional rankings during the season. The Golden Bears and Vulcans collide at high noon at Lilly Field with a trip to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Super-Regional next week. (TOURNAMENT CENTRAL)
Kutztown (43-17) must sweep to keep its season alive. Although it appears to be a daunting task on paper, the Golden Bears are more than capable of winning two straight games. Kutztown is probably one of the most dangerous teams remaining in the tournament because it can beat anybody, anywhere and anytime. The Golden Bears will not be intimidated by their tall task ahead.
California won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division and lost the PSAC title game to Bloomsburg by 7-5 and 5-3 scores. The Golden Bears are the only PSAC team to beat Bloomsburg this season. Bloomsburg has five losses. Two of them were at the hands of the Golden Bears. In addition, Kutztown has two victories over Lenoir-Rhyne, another squad ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll.
The Vulcans (37-12) advanced to this point in the season by beating Fairmont State, 7-4 and Shepherd, 1-0 in their first two NCAA tournament games. Against Shepherd, the Vulcans won the game in the bottom of the seventh on a Amanda Wallace walk-off double. In the win over FSU, Alyson Johnson sparked the Vulcans by hitting a pair of home runs.
Senior Lauren Shaheen was named PSAC West Pitcher of the Year and sophomore Jillian Russell was named PSAC West Player of the Year. Shaheen tossed her eighth shutout of the season in the victory over Shepherd.
The Golden Bears bounced back from their 8-3 first round defeat to Shepherd by shutting out Fairmont State, 2-0, and Shepherd, 7-0, Saturday afternoon behind the dominating effort of PSAC East Pitcher of the Year Katlin Arbogast (Ambler, PA/Wissahickon). She struck out 24 batters over the two games to toss her 30th career shutout and 100th career complete game. She needs one victory to reach 100 for career.
Senior Maria Schiavo (Old Forge, PA/Old Forge) had two hits in the second game against Shepherd. PSAC East Freshman Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) had three hits, including a home run in the opening game of the day against Fairmont State.
“We have a lot of fight left in us and we're all excited and looking forward to the opportunity that we have in front of us,” Arbogast said. “We're confident and we just need to do what we did today.”
Kutztown has won four straight games over California, including a 4-1 victory in the teams' last meeting in 2008. Overall, Cal leads the all-time series, 23-10.
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