KUTZTOWN, PA (March 31, 2011) – Playing with the confidence of Roy Halladay on opening day, the Kutztown University baseball team rolls into the weekend looking to earn some top conference wins heading into the heart of its season.
KU has four games this weekend after Thursday's scheduled non-conference tilt at Philadelphia University was postponed. No make-up date has been announced. The Golden Bears will travel to Millersville University on Friday for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest, and then host the Marauders at North Campus Field on Saturday. Both weekend games are doubleheaders set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
Live stats for Friday's games at Millersville can be found by CLICKING HERE, as well as live radio from Marauder Park by CLICKING HERE.
For live stats of Saturday's weekend finale, please CLICK HERE.
After taking three of four from Shippensburg last weekend, the Golden Bears (14-8 overall, 4-4 PSAC East) are hoping to extend their current three-game winning streak. In just one week's time, KU went from scoring just 10 runs in a four game set against East Stroudsburg, to putting up 34 runs in its series against Ship. It also had 10 or more hits in its last three games.
“Unfortunately or fortunately, we had dropped three games in the first series last year and ended up with a pretty good run, so the guys knew we could come back from a bad start,” said head baseball coach Chris Blum. "We really focused on the basics of hitting and our approach at the plate in practice. It's much easier when you swing at balls in the strike zone and we hope to keep that up heading into the weekend.”
Kutztown's latest offensive outburst has it ranked 25th in Division II by College Baseball Lineup and fifth in the Atlantic Region top poll as voted on by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). With getting offensive production from so many hitters in the lineup, KU has started to back up its top preseason ranking in the conference and currently leads the PSAC in multiple offensive categories. The Golden Bears currently lead the PSAC in batting average (.339), runs scored (196), hits (265) and doubles (52).
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) has been nothing short of outstanding lately, moving his average up to .388 with a team-leading four home runs. He also leads the team slugging percentage (.675), runs scored (27-leads PSAC), hits (31), runs batted in (22) and doubles (11). Houck was also named this week's PSAC Player of the Week for his games against Shippensburg.
Houck is one of three Golden Bears to start each of KU's 22 games this season. Seniors James Quigley (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) and Mike Dugan (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) have become Kutztown's everyday players at third base and right field, respectively, and are both batting above .310 this season.
Like Houck, Dugan has been a major contributor for KU at the plate. He had five hits in Saturday's doubleheader and had four RBIs. Dugan ended his 3-for-15 hitting slump against Ship and currently leads the team with 11 multi-hit games. A fifth-year senior, Dugan knows how long a season is and how you can't let one bad string of games ruin a season.
“College baseball seasons will wear and tear on you physically and mentally,” said Dugan. “One game you could have a great game filled with hits, and the next you could go hitless. The previous day I wasn't comfortable in the batter's box. I felt like I wasn't doing anything right, but I understood that Saturday was a new day and not to bring my disappointing day into my current at bats.”
Dugan is batting .349 this season and is second on the team in runs scored (23), hits (29) and doubles (six). Dugan's speed has also put him atop the team in triples (two) and stolen bases (seven).
Freshman Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) currently leads the team in hitting, holding a .389 average. He also has 19 RBIs and six doubles in his first year with KU. Also in the top five in batting average are Todd Rubendall (Collegeville, PA/Methacton) (.387), Cody Montz (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) (.371) and Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) (.367). Ten Golden Bears are currently hitting over .300.
As much as the bats have helped KU get some wins lately, a team can only go as far as its defense allows it to. As a staff, KU is fifth in the PSAC in team ERA (3.55) and is third in strikeouts (157).
Trent Mertz (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) leads KU with four wins on the year. He currently holds a 3.57 ERA and leads the team with 26 strikeouts. Jonathan Grosse (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Bluepoint) and Nich Boles (King, N.C./West Stokes/North Carolina A&T) also have 20 or more strikeouts on the year with 23 and 20, respectively. Grosse leads all KU starters with a 2.73 ERA in his five appearances this year.
Millersville (17-5, 4-2 PSAC East) split its games this past weekend against Mansfield. KU split its games with Millersville last year with each team winning games on its home field, including a lopsided 21-1 KU victory on Apr. 23. The Marauders enter the weekend ranked 20th in Division II and second in the Atlantic Region as voted on by the NCBWA.
Mike August and Derek Kline lead MU at the plate and are two of the top power hitters in the conference. August is batting .405 this season and leads the PSAC with 25 RBIs. Kline is hitting .400 this season and leads the PSAC with six home runs.
“I think were finally starting to come together as a real team,” said Dugan. “Everyone understands what a team needs to do to win, on and off the field. Millersville has always been a contender in the PSAC and once again have returned this season with a quality team. We feel confident in our chances of winning this weekend as we know have a team that can beat anyone, as long as we go out each game and play the way we know how.”
After its weekend set against the Marauders, Kutztown will travel to Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Md. on Monday, Apr. 4 beginning at 1:00 p.m.
--KU--
