KUTZTOWN, Pa. (April 7, 2012)— Senior Kelly Fitzgerald (Upper Darby, PA/Archbishop Prendergast) (Upper Darby, PA/ Archbishop) and junior Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (Willow Street, PA/ Lampeter-Strasburg) each got their hands on home runs in a pair of non-conference  wins against Mercyhurst College on Saturday afternoon, at North Campus Field.

The Golden Bears (36-1 overall) defeated the Lakers (21-18 overall) 7-0 and 10-4. Kutztown is ranked fifth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll. With Saturday's victories, KU pushed its winning streak to 26.

KU's offense finished with 25 hits in the series.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Fitzgerald hit a two-run homer in the third to lift the Golden Bears to a 3-0 advantage. Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) (Bethlehem, PA/ Liberty) who reached on a single eventually scored off a passed ball to close third inning with a 4-0 lead.

KU put up one run in the fourth, fifth, and sixth inning to stretch the lead to 7-0.

Fitzgerald was 3-for-4 with a single, double, and home run. She also finished with a game-high four RBIs. Samantha Derr (Lititz, PA/Warwick) (Lititz, PA/ Warwick), Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) (Turnersville, NJ/ Washington Twp.), and Kelly Stittmatter (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian Hills) each recorded two hits each. Derr and Strittmatter also scored two runs apiece. Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) (Galloway, NJ/Absegami), Lynch, and Knipe each tallied a hit.

Derr recorded the win for Kutztown and notched her ninth shutout of the season. Derr threw a no-hitter until the sixth inning and held Mercyhurst to just three hits. Derr finished with five strikeouts.

Annie Trulove took the loss for the Lakers. Truelove struck out five batters.

In Game 2, the Lakers took a 3-0 lead in the third inning after scoring a run in the second inning and posting two runs in the third off two KU errors. Kutztown quickly evened the score in the bottom of the third after three runs and two hits. Hetzler led off the inning after being hit by a pitch and Strittmater reached on an error. With runners on second and third, Fitzgerald doubled to score Hetzler, slicing Mercyhurst's lead to 3-1. Heather Hannum (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) (Horsham, PA/ Hatboro-Horsham) singled to score Strittmatter and Knipe drove in Fitzgerald.

Kutztown posted five runs in the fourth inning. Nicole Colineri (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) (Scotch Plains.NJ/ Scotch-Plains-Fanwood) reached on a single and gave KU its first lead of the game following Fitzgerald's hit to left field. Up 4-3 with the bases loaded Lynch didn't waste any time and crushed the first pitch for a grand slam to extend the lead to 8-3.

“Heart has a lot to do with what we are doing now,” Lynch said. “I've been working on getting ahead in the count and not looking at too many pitches.  Being aggressive, yet selective has helped me out a lot this year.”

Lynvh also hit two homers against East Stroudsburg on Friday. She is second on the team in home runs with seven.

KU scored its final two runs in the fifth and sixth inning.

Fitzgerald had another huge game and went 4-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs, and two doubles. Strittmatter, Hannum, and Lynch each grabbed two hits. Lynch finished with five RBIs.

Derr recorded the win and improved to 20-0 on the season. She pitched 4.3 innings and retired three batters. Kristi Janoske recorded the loss for Mercyhurst.

“The first game was a display of what we typically do,” Kutztown University assistant coach Don Justus said. “Sam came out and took control which made it easy for our offense to put up runs. It was a tough spot to be in during the second game when we were down. Mercyhurst is a good team. I'm proud how the team kept its composure and rose to the challenge to battle back.”

Kutztown will travel to West Chester University on Friday, April 13 for a PSAC East Division doubleheader set to begin at 2: 30 p.m.