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CLERMONT, Fl. – The Kutztown University softball team opened the Florida-portion of its spring break schedule on Tuesday, but dropped a pair of games to Minnesota Duluth and Saint Leo at the National Training Center. KU fell in its first game to Minnesota Duluth 8-4 in nine innings, and 2-1 to Saint Leo in the nightcap.
 
Game One
 
Kutztown was able to answer each of Minnesota Duluth's spurts on offense in Tuesday afternoon's extra-inning battle; all of which except the ninth inning. It took six innings for the Golden Bears to tie the game after Minnesota Duluth scored off an error in the first inning.
 
Mary Kociencki (Columbia, N.J./Sparta ) pitched the first three innings for Kutztown and was relieved by Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional (Hofstra)), who pitched up through the eighth.
 
Three Minnesota Duluth errors allowed Kutztown to take advantage and tie the game at 1-all in the sixth. Errors on the third baseman, shortstop, and second baseman scored Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) to tie the game with two outs.
 
In the top of the eighth, Ficara made her first mistake and let up a two-run home run to the first batter of the inning. Now in extra innings, a runner was placed on second base before the first at-bat.
 
Isgro hit a sacrifice fly with one out to score Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg), this week's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Player of the Week, from third in the bottom half of the eighth. Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)) doubled to left field the following at-bat to put the tying run in scoring position with two outs. Duluth's shortstop committed the team's fifth error of the game the next at-bat, scoring Smith from second and tying the game at 3-3.
 
However, Minnesota Duluth scored five runs in the top of the ninth as Kociencki re-entered the game at pitcher to start the inning for Kutztown. Three singles and a triple, all with less than two outs, told the tale of the ninth inning which proved to be too much for Kutztown to mount a third comeback of the game.
 
Senior Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) drove in a run in the bottom half of the inning, but that was all the offense Kutztown could manage in its final at-bat.
 
Minnesota Duluth's Ashley Lewis, who hit the two-run homer in the eighth, did most of the damage offensively with a 4-for-5 performance with three RBI. Kierra Jeffers also had three RBI for UMD.
 
Game Two
 
The nightcap was a pitcher's duel as Ficara faced off against Saint Leo's Alana Tabel. Both hurlers threw complete games and only allowed one earned run apiece.
 
Both teams scored a run in the first inning. Batting first as the away team, Kutztown scored off an error by the catcher as Booth stole home to give KU the early lead. Booth also stole second in the inning and is 14-for-15 in stolen base attempts this season.
 
An RBI single by Saint Leo tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Ficara retired four straight batters heading into the fourth inning. Saint Leo's leadoff hitter was hit by a pitch, moved into scoring position with a groundout the next batter, and scored off a throwing error by Kutztown's shortstop to give Saint Leo a 2-1 lead.
 
Kutztown used back-to-back singles by Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) and Knipe in the sixth to put a runner in scoring position, but it was as close as Kutztown would get to tying the game. Knipe was 3-for-3 for the Golden Bears.
 
The Golden Bears ripped 10 hits off Tabel, but plated just one run. Tabel notched five strikeouts in seven innings on the mound for Saint Leo.
 
Kutztown continues its spring break trip with two games tomorrow, Wednesday March 20. KU will play Minnesota Duluth again at 11 a.m., and Merrimack at 1 p.m.