HAMPTON, VA (February 18, 2011) – Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown)'s grand slam in the tenth inning solidified a 12-8 extra-inning victory against the Newport News Apprentice School Friday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in the 2011 Builder Invitational. (BOXSCORE)
The Golden Bears entered the tenth inning in a 7-7 tie before eventually putting up five runs to secure the victory. After Sean McCormick (West Chester, PA/Henderson) laid down a bunt to score Todd Rubendall (Collegeville, PA/Methacton) on a throwing error by the first baseman, the Apprentice School would walk the bases loaded, bringing Houck to the plate with KU up 8-7. He would go on to drill a 370 foot grand-slam home run to left field, ending his day batting 3-for-6 along with a game-high seven RBI's.
“Coming up to bat with a one-run lead, I was looking for a fastball middle-in and something I could hopefully drive into the gap,” said Houck when commenting on his game-winning home run. “I knew I hit it hard and thankfully for us, it went over the fence.”
The junior third baseman also hit a three run bomb in the top of the first inning, getting KU out to an early 3-0 lead. This is Houck's first multi-home run game of the season after having three last season. He is currently fifth on the team in batting average (.391).
Houck, a Division II preseason All-American, is wasting no time picking up where he left off in 2010. Houck became Kutztown's all-time single season leader in home runs (17), doubles (24), runs scored (74), RBI (77), total bases (160). His 83 hits were tied for fifth-most in a single season.
Kutztown needed some clutch hits down the stretch in order to keep the game alive and prevent it from dropping its first game at the Builder Invitational since 2008. Down 7-6 in the top of the seventh inning, senior's James Quigley (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) and Mike Dugan (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) led off the inning and paired up to bring in the game-tying run for the Golden Bears. After being walked twice already in the game, Quigley hit a leadoff double to left centerfield and was brought home by Dugan who hit a sacrifice to second base, scoring Quigley off a fielding error. Dugan finished the day with two hits and an RBI.
Junior's Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) and Cody Montz (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) also collected two hits apiece on Friday. Montz currently leads the team with an impressive .700 average through five games.
Trent Mertz (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) earned his first win of the season for KU, facing the final five batters and allowing just one run.
Kutztown (3-2 overall) has won its opening two games of the Builder Invitational and still has its sights on a seventh consecutive tournament championship. It has also seen three of its first five games go into extra-innings.
KU continues tournament play tomorrow as it will compete in a pair of games, facing off against Briarcliffe College at 9:00 a.m. and Bloomsburg at 6:00 p.m.
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