Box Score 1 | Box Score 2



WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team shut out West Chester University for 13 of the 14 innings played at Serpico Stadium Friday afternoon.  However, a five-run first inning by West Chester in the opener prevented KU from picking up the sweep as WCU took the opener, 5-1.  KU rallied for a dominating 8-0 victory in the nightcap.
 
Friday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division showdown featured the top two teams in the East.  The Golden Bears (27-14 overall, 10-8 PSAC East) entered the day on a three-game winning streak, as the Golden Rams (28-7, 12-6) are rated 22nd in the latest Division II national poll.
 
KU senior third baseman Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) hit his second grand slam of the season in the fourth inning of the second game.  The homer stretched the KU lead to 7-0, and was his seventh of the season and 42nd of his career.  Houck is now one home run away from tying the PSAC all-time record set 15 years ago by Mansfield's Greg Robertson.  Houck also needs two RBI's to tie the KU career record of 192 set by John Rozich in 1999.
 
Fellow senior Cody Montz (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) (Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Schuylkill Haven) went 3-for-8 on the afternoon, including 2-for-4 in the nightcap to raise his team-leading average to .378.  While doing so, he stretched his career-high hitting streak to 13 games, the longest of any Golden Bear this season.
 
Junior southpaw Tom Neely (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and freshman right hander Connor Wing (West Chester, PA/Unionville) (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) completely shut down the top hitting team in the PSAC in the nightcap. 
 
Neely threw 4.1innings and allowed one hit with a pair of strikeouts.  Despite walking seven, Neely kept WCU off the board to pick up his team-leading fifth victory of the season.  Wing took over for Neely in the fifth and also let up just one hit while striking out three.  Both hurlers lowered their ERA's under two on Friday with Neely at 1.33 and Wing at 1.99.  Wing also leads the club with 31 strikeouts.
 
West Chester scored all five of their runs on the day in the first inning of the opener.  Senior Trent Mertz (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) started for KU and let up the WCU runs despite allowing just two hits in the inning and four for the game.  However, he walked a pair and hit two batters as the Golden Rams scored off a single, sacrifice fly, and a Matt Baer three-run bomb to left field.  Mertz went five innings and struck out four batters.
 
Houck accounted for the only RBI in the opener.  Junior Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) opened the fourth inning with a double down the left field line, and Houck would bring him home with an RBI single to right center field.
 
Joe Gunkel picked up the victory on the mound for West Chester to improve his record to 6-0.  The sophomore gave up five hits while striking out three and walking none.
 
KU used three straight hits to get on the board in game two.  With one out in the third inning, Andrew Otterberg (Wall Township, N.J./Wall Township) (Wall Township, NJ/Wall Township) doubled to left center field to give KU a man in scoring position.  Montz moved him over to third with an infield single, and Hauck cleared the bases with a two-run double down the left field line.  Hauck would score with a two-out base hit from Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) (Topton, Pa./Brandywine Heights), who now has a hitting streak of eight games.
 
After Houck's slam put KU up seven after the fourth, Sean McCormick (West Chester, PA/Henderson) (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) brought in Stoudt in the seventh for KU's eighth run of the game.
 
KU racked up 11 hits in the second game to West Chester's two.
 
Fred Breidenbach picked up the loss for the Golden Rams.  He pitched four innings and allowed seven runs off eight hits with a pair of strikeouts.
 
The two teams will meet again on Saturday to close the season series.  With a pair of wins, KU would move into a first-place tie and hold a potential tiebreaker with West Chester.  Game time on Saturday at North Campus Field is 11 a.m. due to expected inclement weather in the area.  Fans can follow the action with live stats and live video.