MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (April 14, 2012)—The Kutztown University softball team swept Millersville University 2-1, and 10-3 in a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division games, Saturday afternoon at MU Softball Field.

Kutztown improved to 40-1 overall, marking its sixth consecutive season of 40-plus wins under Kutztown University head coach Judy Lawes. KU remains undefeated in the PSAC with a 12-0 record. Additionally, KU is ranked fifth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll and first in the NCAA Atlantic Regional poll.

In the opening game, the Marauders (15-28 overall, 5-8 PSAC) came close to snapping KU's win streak, which stretched to 32. It was a quiet game offensively for both teams as they combined for six hits, four belonging to Kutztown.

MU's only two hits came in the third inning to give it the 1-0 lead. However, Kutztown's bats answered in the fourth inning. With one out, Heather Hannum (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) (Horsham, Pa./ Hatboro-Horsham) doubled  and Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (Willow Street, Pa./ Lampeter-Strasburg) singled to get the Golden Bears going. With runners on second and third, KU capitalized off a wild pitch to even the score 1-1. Samantha Derr (Lititz, PA/Warwick) (Lititz, Pa./ Warwick) also got her hands on a double to record a RBI and put Kutztown up 2-1.

Derr pitched another stellar game and finished with four strikeouts. She is now 23-0 on the season,

In game 2, it was Millersville who struck first again. The Marauders plunged to a 3-0 lead in the first and held Kutztown scoreless for an inning. In the third, KU used four hits including a two-run homer from Kelly Fitzgerald (Upper Darby, PA/Archbishop Prendergast) (Upper Darby, Pa./ Archbishop Pendergast), a triple from Nicole Colineri (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) (Scotch Plains, NJ/ Scotch Plains-Fanwood), and a single from Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) (Stroudsburg, Pa./ Stroudsburg) to seize the 4-3 lead.  KU pushed the lead to 7-3 in the fourth when it capitalized off hits two hits and three Marauder errors.

Between the fifth and seventh innings, Kutztown continued to rack up hits to keep Millersville out of reach. Kutztown finished with 11 hits in the second game.

Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) (Bethlehem, Pa./ Liberty) had a big game and went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs. Booth and Colineri finished with two hits each. Colineri recorded two RBIs and Booth finished with three runs and a RBI.  Kelly Strittmatter (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian Hills) (Wyckoff, NJ/ Indian Hills), Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) (Galloway, NJ/ Absegami) and Fitzgerald all tallied a hit and a run.

Derr struck out a game-high five batters and didn't allow any runs. Stephanie Pritchard (Parkesburg, PA/Octorara) (Parkesburg, Pa/ Octorara) opened the game for KU, making her third appearance.

Kutztown will return back to action on Friday, April 20 for a PSAC East Division doubleheader at Shippensburg University at 2:30 p.m.