Box Score 1 | Box Score 2



Game 1 Boxscore
 
Game 2 Boxscore
 
WILSON, NC – The wait came to an end for the Kutztown University baseball team.  It made its yearly trip down south to kick off its 2012 campaign against Barton College Friday afternoon.
 
Kutztown (1-1) and Barton (1-1) split their two games at Fleming Stadium as KU defeated the Bulldogs 7-3 in the opener.  Barton responded in the nightcap with a 6-0 win.
 
In the opener, a Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) home run was the ultimate difference maker.  Down 2-1 in the fifth inning with two outs and a man on first, the senior third baseman came up clutch yet again.  Houck hit a drive to left field that carried over the fence and put the Golden Bears up for good.
 
Houck has now hit 36 home runs in his career and is one away from tying the school record set by John Rozich in 1999.  The reigning back-to-back conference Athlete of the Year is also one homer away from moving into fifth place in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) history.
 
Kutztown needed just three hits to get the job done against Barton.  It was able to capitalize off four Barton errors and worked deep into pitch counts to earn seven walks.
 
KU held onto a slim one-run lead heading into the seventh inning.  Senior Cody Montz (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) connected on an inning-opening single for the second time on the afternoon to get the rally started.  KU battled through two Barton relievers in the inning as a walk, a wild pitch, and a throwing error allowed four runs to cross the plate for the Golden Bears.  The five-run, 7-2 lead was insurmountable for Barton who responded with one in the bottom half of the seventh, but proved to be too little too late.
 
Senior right-hander Dominick Ruscitti (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville-Newbaugh/Dominican College) (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville-Newbaugh) got the opening day start for KU.  Ruscitti transferred from Dominican College last year and spent most of his time in the bullpen.  In his first start in maroon and gold, Ruscitti kept KU in contention and showed a starters' stamina by throwing 84 pitches.  In 4.2 innings of work, he let up six hits while striking out three.
 
The bullpen did a fantastic job of holding the narrow lead.  Junior left-hander Tom Neely (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) relieved Ruscitti in the fifth and needed just eight pitches to fly out a pair of Barton hitters.  Sophomore right-hander Jason Henderson (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) took KU to the finish in earning his first save of the season.  He struck out three batters in 1.2 innings and allowed just one run off two hits.  Henderson led the club with a 0.73 ERA in 2011.
 
The nightcap of the twin bill was Kyle Norville's to lose. The Bulldog left-hander threw a two-hitter and struck out four Golden Bears.  More impressive, the junior struck out the side in the third inning.  Barton got on the board early with two runs in the first inning off a two RBI single by Mitchell Wheeler.  BC also scored a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
 
Chris Rawlings and Ryan Daughtry each went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate to lead the Bulldogs.  Barton tallied eight hits in the shutout victory over Kutztown, the first since the opening weekend of the 2005 season.
 
Junior right-hander J.R. Seader (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway/ Maryland-Baltimore County) (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) made the start for KU in the nightcap.  He went 4.1 innings while allowing four runs on seven hits.  Filling in for Seader in relief was sophomore Colin Holmes (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) and freshman Connor Wing (West Chester, PA/Unionville) (West Chester, PA/Unionville).
 
Juniors Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) and Todd Rubendall (Collegeville, PA/Methacton) (Collegeville, PA/Methacton) recorded the lone hits for KU.
 
Many Golden Bears saw the first action of their careers on Friday.  Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) started the opener at second base, while Thomas Romano (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) and Ricky Gorrell (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) made appearances later on.  Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) started the finale in right field with Travis Kreitz (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown) (Gilbertsville, Boyertown) taking his place in the bottom half of the sixth.
 
The Golden Bears return to action tomorrow for the second half of their season-opening weekend. KU and Barton square off at 12 p.m. on Saturday for another doubleheader.