Boxscore

SALEM, Va. (March 18, 2012)—The Kutztown University softball team used 17 hits to take down Ohio Valley University, 11-2 in the closing day of the Salem Invitational, earlier Sunday afternoon.

The Golden Bears (20-1 overall) are currently ranked 12th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll. With Sunday's win, KU extended its winning streak to 12.

After Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) (Turnersville, NJ/ Washington Twp.) scored in the first inning to put KU up 1-0, she pushed Kutztown's lead to 4-0 when she belted a three-run home run in the second inning. It was Hetzler's first homer of the season and the third of her career.

In the fourth inning, Kelly Fitzgerald (Upper Darby, PA/Archbishop Prendergast) (Upper Darby, Pa./ Archbishop Prendergast) used a sac fly to score Nicole Colineri (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) (Scotch Plains, NJ/ Scotch Plains-Fanwood) to give the Golden Bears the 5-0 advantage. Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) (Bethlehem, Pa./ Liberty) drove in two more runs after she doubled to right field to drive in Kelly Strittmatter (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian Hills) (Wyckoff, NJ/ Indian Hills) and Hetzler.

Ohio Valley finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning after a solo home run from Chanel Bouchard.

In the sixth inning, KU used five hits to score four runs, giving it the 11-1 lead. The Fighting Scots tried to respond in the seventh inning but only tallied one run.

The Golden Bears were led by Hetzler who finished with three hits, three runs, and three RBIs. Knipe was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Colineri was 3-for-4 with two runs and a RBI. Strittmatter, Heather Hannum (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) (Horsham, Pa./ Hatboro-Horsham), and Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (Willow Street, Pa./ Lampeter-Strasburg) each finished with two hits.

Pitcher Mary Kociencki (Columbia, N.J./Sparta ) (Columbia, NJ/ Sparta) recorded the win and finished with four strikeouts.

Over the course of spring break, Kutztown played 13 games and finished with a record of 12-1.

“Overall this has been a good trip for us,” Kutztown University head coach Judy Lawes said. “It's been a long ten days but we're proud of how we preformed and we're looking to get back and crack open our conference schedule.”

The Golden Bears return to action on Friday, March 23 when they face Georgian Court University in a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 at North Campus Field.