Box Score WEST LAWN, Pa. – Kutztown got the tying run to second in the bottom of the ninth, but Mercyhurst held on for a 6-5 win in the first round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional in a contest played at Owls Field.
Trailing by two heading into their last at bat, but
Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) (Mertztown, Pa./Brandywine Heights) ripped a shot that scooted past the Laker left fielder for a triple.
Travis Kreitz (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown) (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) followed with a single to cut the deficit to one, advancing to second on an error, and chasing Mercyhurst's Brad Duffy from the game.
Dan Altavilla entered, however, and retired the next two hitters to end the game.
Mercyhurst jumped ahead 4-0 after the first inning, with the scoring opening on an error by KU. Ethan Santora and Andrew Fitzpatrick had RBI singles in the inning, with Colin Loughner knocking in a run with a sacrifice fly, as well.
The Golden Bears chipped away at the deficit with single runs in each of the next three innings.
In the second,
Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) (Topton, Pa./Brandywine Heights) struck out but reached first on a wild pitch. After moving to second on another wild pitch,
Sean McCormick (West Chester, PA/Henderson) (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) drove him home with a single to through the left side to make it 4-1.
Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) led off the third inning with a single for KU and advanced to second on another wild pitch by Mercyhurst.
Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) followed with a grounder to third that was thrown away by the Lakers, allowing Hauck to cut the lead to 4-2.
In the fourth, Kreitz hit a bomb that made it over the wall in right field for his fourth home run of the season.
Mercyhurst answered back in the fifth when Anthony Tomasone doubled to left to open the inning and later scored on a sac fly by Santora.
The teams continued to trade scores as KU added one in the sixth before the Lakers scored in the seventh.
Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) doubled to lead off the sixth and
Corey Buletza (St. Clair, PA/Pottsville) (St. Clair, Pa./Pottsville) drove him home with a base hit through the right side to make it 5-4 after six innings.
Mercyhurst's first two batters of the seventh walked and Zak Blair stroked a double that brought home Tomasone for a two-run buffer for the Lakers.
Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) had three hits and scored twice for KU, while Kreitz's homer contributed to a multi-hit day as well.
Dominick Ruscitti (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville-Newbaugh/Dominican College) (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville-Newbaugh) took the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits in six innings. The final of three Kutztown relievers to pitch
, Jason Henderson (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) struck out three in two innings of work.
Duffy improved to 7-1 for Mercyhurst, allowing four earned runs in 8.1 innings. He struck out nine and walked just one, but KU tagged him for nine hits. The save was the first of the year for Altavilla.
Santora had three hits for Mercyhurst, while Shane Latshaw and Blair had two hits apiece.
With the loss, KU takes on Seton Hill in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18.
