Boxscore

CATAWBA, N.C. (February 24, 2012)— The Kutztown University softball team recorded its first shutout of the of the season when it defeated Catawba College, 4-0 earlier Friday afternoon at the opening day of the Catawba Invitational Softball Tournament being held at Salisbury Community Park through Sunday.

The Golden Bears (4-0 overall) were scheduled to play at 6 p.m. on Friday against Fairmont State University, but due to severe thunderstorms the game has been moved to Saturday at noon.

Kutztown is off to a great start this season and after taking a three week break from its season-opener which also took place in North Carolina, it hasn't missed a beat.

The Golden Bears were led by senior Kelly Fitzgerald (Upper Darby, PA/Archbishop Prendergast) (Upper Darby, Pa./ Archbishop Prendergast) who was 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored. Senior Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (Willow Street, Pa./ Lampeter-Strasburg) and junior Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) (Galloway, N.J./ Absegami) each finished with a hit each against the Indians (8-5 overall).

Kutztown jumped to an early 2-0 lead in first inning after Fitzgerald singled up the middle to score sophomore Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) (Turnersville, N.J./ Washington Township). Senior Heather Hannum (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) (Horsham, Pa./ Hatboro-Horsham) scored the second run off a Catawba throwing error. The Golden Bears scored their final two runs in the fifth and sixth inning.

Each team finished with four hits a piece but the Indians were unable to score due to Kutztown's solid defense.

Sophomore pitcher Samantha Derr (Lititz, PA/Warwick) (Lititz, Pa./ Warwick) was phenomenal in the circle. She recorded three strikeouts and only threw 50 pitches during the game.

B. Murray finished with two hits against Derr, while M.Kovalcin and K. Burgess recorded a hit a piece.

Murray recorded the loss for Catawba who is 3-4 on the season. She finished with three strikeouts, two walks and an error.

“Our defense performed very well today,” Kutztown University head coach Judy Lawes said. “Derr was very controlled today and led with a lot of strikes. We were able to execute when we needed to on both offense and defense. We're happy with the win and look to face Fairmont State tomorrow.”