Box Score WILMINGTON, Del. – No. 18 Kutztown ripped five extra base hits, but a four-run first inning by Wilmington proved too much to overcome in a 9-7 loss for the Golden Bears in non-conference baseball action.
Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) (Topton, Pa./Brandywine Heights) homered and doubled for KU (18-6), while
Corey Buletza (St. Clair, PA/Pottsville) (St. Clair, Pa./Pottsville) also went deep.
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown), already Kutztown's all-time doubles leader, had a pair of two-base hits in the contest.
In the bottom of the first, Mike Godwin hit a grand slam for the Wildcats to put KU behind early.
Kutztown cut into the lead in the second when a two-out single by
Cody Montz (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) (Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Schuylkill Haven) scored Buletza and
Brandon Hickey (Mountville, PA/Hempfield) (Mountville, Pa./Hempfield) to make it 4-2.
Wilmington answered back in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single by Adam Soley that stretched the lead back to four.
After the Wildcats added another run in the third, Houck stroked an RBI double in the fourth to score
Ricky Gorrell (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) to make it 7-3.
Stoudt led off the fifth with a homer to right and Buletza went deep to center field, but a run by in the fifth by Wilmington allowed KU to cut it only to 8-5.
Kutztown pulled within a run in the eighth when
Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) scored during a double play and
Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) knocked in Houck to make it 8-7.
A run by Wilmington (13-10) in the bottom half of the inning put the game out of reach.
Houck,
Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) and Hickey each had two hits for KU.
BJ Janney, Jordan Johnson and Jordan Oncay joined Godwin and Soley with multi-hit days for the Wildcats.
Colin Holmes (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) took the loss for KU, starting and going three innings.
Godwin started for Wilmington, but lasted just 1.2 innings. Frank Samluk, the third of six Wildcats to take the mound in the contest, notched the victory. Oncay was credited with the save.
Kutztown, winners of 11 of its last 14, will host Millersville on Friday, March 30 at 1 p.m. in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference doubleheader.