PHOTO GALLERY

KUTZTOWN, Pa. (May 6, 2012)— Samantha Derr (Lititz, PA/Warwick) (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) of the Kutztown University softball team tossed her 28th victory of the year to become the KU single-season record holder for wins in a season, in route to defeating fourth-seeded Indiana (Pa.) 5-2, Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Atlantic Regional 1 Site Championship.

The Golden Bears (48-4 overall), who are ranked third in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll, also tied the school record for wins in a season with their victory on Sunday.

Kutztown advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Super Regionals and will host West Virginia Wesleyan in a best-of-three series, beginning on Friday, May 11. The winner of the series advances to the Division II Softball World Series in Louisville, Ky. Sunday's win marked the second time under the helm of Kutztown University head coach Judy Lawes, that the Golden Bears have reached the super regionals.

“The girls are pumped about advancing to super regionals and hosting next week,” Lawes said. “We set goals this season and we tried to accomplish every single one of them. Although we didn't win a conference title, making it to this level is bigger and better for us. The girls really believe that they're a good enough team to keep the season going and that's a good thing.”

After a disappointing run in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships, Kutztown knew that facing the reigning conference champ, IUP (31-14-1) wasn't going to be an easy task.

But the Golden Bears held nothing back and set their tone early in the game. In the first inning Kutztown used four hits to score four runs fueled by a two-out rally started by Heather Hannum (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham). The Crimson Hawks immediately responded in the bottom of the first after leading off with two consecutive hits to get them in scoring position. Megan McCormick's sacrifice fly to left field allowed Indiana (Pa.) to slice KU's lead to 4-1.  With two outs and a runner on third, Tara Waldo singled to drive in a run, cutting the score to 4-2.

In the fifth inning, Hannum led off with a single to right field and moved to second after Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (Willow Street, Pa./ Lampeter-Strasburg) laid down a sac bunt. Derr, who led her team in hits on Sunday with three, used one to left field to score Hannum, extending KU's advantage to 5-2.

Derr was one of three Golden Bears who finished with multi hits. Kelly Strittmatter (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian Hills) (Wyckoff, N.J./Indian Hills) and Hannum were 2-for-4. Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) (Galloway, N.J./Absegami) and Lynch each recorded a hit and RBI.

The Crimson Hawks were led by Waldo who had three hits and a RBI. Jen Beaver and Stephanie McCoy each recorded two hits.

Kelly King fell to 20-8 on the year with Sunday's loss. She finished with a game-high four strikeouts.

Derr's record is now 28-2 on the season. She finished with one strikeout against Indiana (Pa.).

“This season has been such a team effort,” Derr said. “I really can't take credit because without my defense, I'd be nothing. “This team just keeps going and they're so fun to play with. In preseason we said that we wanted to make it to the college world series and I believe we can make it there.”