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SALEM, Va. – Junior
Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)) belted her team-leading fourth home run of the season to highlight the Kutztown University softball team's 6-2 victory over the University of Massachusetts Lowell Sunday morning in the final game of the Salem Tournament.
Kutztown's scheduled game against West Virginia Wesleyan at 1 p.m. on Sunday was cancelled due to rain.
Smith was 3-for-4 with her two-RBI homer for the Golden Bears (9-2), winners of six in a row. Leadoff hitter
Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) went 3-for-4 and has had three straight multi-hit games. She also swiped three bags on Sunday.
As a team, Kutztown (9-2) tallied 16 hits, the second-most of the season. Along with Smith's and Booth's strong days at the plate,
Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township),
Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg),
Krista Schauder (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area), and
Rachel Lawes (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) each had two hits apiece against Massachusetts Lowell (3-12).
Sophomore
Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional (Hofstra)) threw her second complete game of the season. In seven innings of work, she notched a season-high seven strikeouts while allowing just one walk. She improved to 4-1 in her first season with the Golden Bears.
Kutztown struck first with a two-out RBI from senior
Nicole Henninger (Reading, PA./Muhlenberg) in the first inning to score
Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami). Hetzler and Booth drove in RBI singles in the second and third innings, respectively, to give Kutztown a 3-1 advantage after three.
Smith extended the lead in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer to right field, scoring Hetzler. The Riverhawks' Abby Jamieson belted a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning to bring the game to 5-2. Isgro's sacrifice fly in the fifth inning rounded out the scoring on Sunday to seal Kutztown's 6-2 victory.
Jamieson had three of UMass Lowell's six hits with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. Pitcher Marielle Handley picked up the loss by allowing four runs in three innings on the mound. She allowed nine hits and surrendered three walks.
The Golden Bears went 4-0 at the Salem Tournament to extend its winning streak to six. They take on Armstrong Atlantic State on Monday, March 18 for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
