GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (April 29, 2011) – Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) and Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) each hit solo home runs to start the seventh inning to lead the Kutztown University baseball team to a 8-5 comeback victory in the opening game against Bloomsburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup Friday afternoon at Danny Litwhiler Field. KU dropped the nightcap, 11-9.
Kutztown (21-16 overall, 11-11 PSAC East) entered the top of the seventh inning down 7-6 with the top of the lineup due up. Already having a great day at the plate, Houck connected on a pitch off Bloomsburg's Vinny Voorhees, sending it over the fence in left center field to tie the game. Houck had a game-high three hits and three RBIs in the opener, and was 2-for-4 in the nightcap to increase his season average to .385. He now has a team-leading 11 home runs this season, increasing his career total to 35. The junior needs two more homers to become the KU all-time leader in homers.
Stoudt followed up Houck's homer with some heroics of his own. The freshman hit his third home run of the season to give KU a one-run advantage. He now has a career-high six game hitting streak and increased his batting average to .365.
The Golden Bears got some insurance runs later in the inning. Stoudt's older brother, Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights), hit an RBI single up the middle scoring seniors Mike Dugan (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) and James Quigley (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem). KU held onto the 8-5 lead as junior Dominick Ruscitti (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville-Newbaugh/Dominican College) closed the door with his third save of the season. Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) was 2-for-3 in the opener.
Jonathan Grosse (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Bluepoint) threw a whopping 108 pitches in the opener en route to his fourth win of the season. The senior peppered the strike zone all day, throwing 74 strikes and striking out a season-high eight batters. He allowed eight hits against the Huskies and walked just two batters.
Cody Montz (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) continued to improve upon his career season. He went 3-for-8 at the plate Friday as he continues to lead KU in hitting with a .385 average.
Dugan and Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) also had multi-hit games in the opener. Along with having two doubles in the opener, Dugan went 4-for-8 at the plate Friday with a pair of RBIs. Dugan leads KU with 18 multi-hit games this season. He also extended his current hitting streak to eight games.
The nightcap was a true test for the Golden Bears who were forced to come back from a first inning 3-0 hole. KU found itself down six runs entering the final inning but was confident it could mount a comeback on the Huskies. KU started the seventh with four consecutive singles. Earning some key RBIs in the seventh were Dugan, Quigley, Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights), and Todd Rubendall (Collegeville, PA/Methacton). Despite bringing the possible go-ahead run to the plate, the comeback came to a halt as the Huskies took a 11-9 decision.
Bloomsburg (19-19, 9-13) proved to be effective at the plate in the nightcap. It had 13 hits and had six players with two or more hits. Casey Cooperman earned the win for Bloom as he went over 6.1 innings with a strikeout.
The Golden Bears return to action on Saturday as they will host BU at North Campus Field for Senior Day in a doubleheader set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
--KU--
