KU vs. Limestone Boxscore

KU vs. Stonehill Boxscore

CLERMONT, Fla. (March 13, 2012)—The Kutztown University softball team concluded its five day stint at the National Training Center (NTC) Spring Games by recording two shutouts earlier on Tuesday afternoon.

The Golden Bears (15-1 overall) handed Limestone College an 8-0 loss and defeated Stonehill College, 2-0 in its final NTC Spring Game. Kutztown went 7-1 in Florida and recorded four shutouts.

Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) (Bethlehem, Pa./ Liberty) used a walk-off home run in the fifth inning to help KU close out against Limestone. With no outs and Heather Hannum (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) (Horsham, Pa./ Hatboro-Horsham) on first, Knipe crushed the ball over the fence to end the game in five innings.

KU scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. With one out and Kelly Strittmatter (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian Hills) (Wyckoff, NJ/ Indian Hills) on first, Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (Willow Street, Pa./ Lampeter-Strasburg) belted her first homer of the 2012 season over centerfield to give KU the 2-0 advantage. Knipe drove in two more runs in the third inning after she used a single to score Lynch and Kelly Fitzgerald (Upper Darby, PA/Archbishop Prendergast) (Upper Darby, Pa./ Archbishop Pendergast).

With KU up 4-0, it used the fourth inning to keep its bats going.  Nicole Colineri (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) (Scotch Plains, NJ/ Scoth Plains-Fanwood) walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch and Elizabeth Kangas (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) (Douglassville, Pa./ Daniel Boone) singled to drive in Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) (Stroudsburg, Pa./ Stroudsburg) who also reached on a single to put Kutztown up 6-0.

Booth, Fitzgerald, and Knipe each finished with two hits each. Knipe tallied four RBIs.

Samantha Derr (Lititz, PA/Warwick) (Lititz, Pa./ Warwick) recorded the win for the Golden Bears. Derr finished with two strikeouts and limited Limestone to just two hits.

Against Stonehill, it took Kutztown a while to get warmed up but Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) used her speed to score on a passed ball to give KU the 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. In the sixth inning, Booth scored Colineri who reached on a throwing error to give the Golden Bears the 2-0 advantage.

Stonehill was unable to answer due to pitcher Tori Marcavage (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) (Collegeville, Pa./ Perkiomen Valley) who finished with five strikeouts. Marcavage didn't let up any walks and allowed only two hits.

“The pitching and defense has been the backbone of this trip,” Kutztown University head coach Judy Lawes said. “Tori and Sam were both great today. The confidence is building among the pitching and defense and they are building off each other. The pitchers are throwing well because they know their defense is there to back them up.”

Kutztown returns to action when it heads to the Salem Invitational on Friday, March 16. KU will face Glenville State College at 11 a.m. and Shepherd University at 1 p.m.

“We plan on staying the course for the next round of games,” Lawes said. “It's tough consistently playing and not practicing. But it we keep our focus, we'll be fine.”