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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team was led by strong pitching in game one and some late timely hitting in game two to seal a 5-1, 3-2 sweep over Mansfield University Saturday afternoon in the teams' Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opener and Kutztown's home opener at North Campus Field.
 
Junior right-hander Jason Henderson (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) got the cold and windy day at North Campus Field started and struck out a career-high-tying eight batters in the Golden Bears (11-4, 2-0 PSAC East) 5-1 game one victory. Senior catcher Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) closed out the day with a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to bring the Kutztown dugout rushing onto the field to celebrate its PSAC opening-day sweep over the Mountaineers (7-6, 0-2).
 
GAME ONE
 
Henderson responded nicely after letting up a leadoff double by striking out the side in the first inning. It gave Kutztown momentum which led to a four-run first inning.
 
Albaugh's single loaded the bases with out in the bottom half of the first. Junior Carson Baker (Lehman, PA/Lake-Lehman (Lackawanna)) worked a walk to plate KU's first run.  With two outs later that inning, sophomore Thomas Romano (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) and junior John Dockins (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson (Frederick CC)) put together back-to-back RBI hits to give KU the early 4-0 lead.
 
Henderson's only flaw occurred on the first pitch of the third inning. Mansfield's Max Miller got ahold on Henderson's first pitch and drove it over the left field wall to cut the lead to 4-1. Henderson struck out the final two batters of the third inning on seven total pitches.
 
Sophomore Ricky Gorrell (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) and junior Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) hit doubles in the fourth inning as Stoudt knocked in Gorrell to close the scoring and give KU a 5-1 lead. Stoudt had a multi-hit game for the Golden Bears (2-for-3).
 
Mansfield applied some pressure in the fifth inning and had two runners on base with no outs. Henderson kept the ball in the infield and closed the inning with a seven-pitch strikeout to end the inning and his day on the mound.
 
Henderson pitched five innings and allowed six hits and a run while walking just one. Kutztown's bullpen of Jordan Garcia (Mount Carmel, PA/Fleetwood) and Connor Wing (West Chester, PA/Unionville) each pitched a scoreless inning of relief as Wing notched a game-ending strikeout.
 
GAME TWO
 
Sophomore Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) hit his first career home run in the nightcap, and it could not have come at a better time. His leadoff long drive that rang off Kutztown's World Series billboard in left field gave Kutztown a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning.
 
Mansfield posed a threat in the top of the sixth and loaded the bases with no outs off a hit by pitch and two singles. Kutztown's Dave King (Tremont, PA/Minersville) relieved James Rossi (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) during the inning and helped limit the damage. He forced Conor Thompson into a double play that scored the runner at third, the only allowed run of the inning.
 
Kutztown did all its damage in the seventh inning with one out. Junior Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) hit a single to right field on the first pitch and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt by Mansfield pitcher Johnathan Earnest. Stoudt hit a single to put runners on the corners, and on a 2-1 count, Albaugh drove a single to right field that scored Hauck and gave Kutztown the 3-2 victory.
 
Kutztown's first four hitters in the lineup each had multi-hit games (Martinez, Hauck, Stoudt, Albaugh). Jordan Gottshall (Birdsboro, PA/Exeter Township) picked up the win for the Golden Bears with a scoreless seventh inning. Senior Tom Neely (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) started for Kutztown in the nightcap and allowed one run off two hits in 3.1 innings of work.
 
The Golden Bears travel to Mansfield and look to keep its perfect conference record alive on Sunday, March 24. The doubleheader is slated to begin at 1 p.m.