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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team had a pair of game-winning hits in the late innings of Friday's doubleheader to stretch its winning streak to 10 games. It defeated 18th-ranked Shippensburg University 4-3 in game one and 6-5 in game two in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at North Campus Field.
 
The Golden Bears (16-4, 6-0 PSAC East) kept their perfect conference record alive while extending their overall winning streak to a season-high 10 games. The 6-0 start to PSAC East play is KU's best since it won the first eight games in 2009.
 
The 10-game winning streak is the longest dating back to the 2009 season in which it rattled off 11 in a row from March 13 to April 4 and winning its first nine PSAC East games.
 
In game one, junior Carson Baker (Lehman, PA/Lake-Lehman (Lackawanna)) capped off a two-run inning with a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning. In game two, sophomore Ricky Gorrell (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to seal Kutztown's second victory of the day.
 
“Today showed the fight and character of our team and what it takes to win,” head coach Chris Blum said. “We had some timely hitting late in games and we were able to use a lot of pitchers. (J.R.  Seader) and (Billy  Felo) got done what they needed to on the mound late in game two and threw a lot of strikes.”
 
GAME ONE
 
The Raiders (16-7, 3-3) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of both games. In game one, Kutztown responded with two runs in the bottom half of the first off a balk by the Shippensburg pitcher and an RBI single by senior catcher Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn).
 
Shippensburg regained the lead with an unearned run in the second inning, and then the game slowed down and was dominated by pitching.
 
Junior right-hander Jason Henderson (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) started for the Golden Bears and pitched five innings with four strikeouts while allowing six hits and three runs, two earned.
 
With two runners on and one out in the fifth, Albaugh hit a groundball through the shortstop's legs to score junior Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) and tie the game at 3-3. Two batters later, Baker connected on a single to right field to score junior Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) from third giving Kutztown the 4-3 lead.
 
Senior left-hander Jordan Garcia (Mount Carmel, PA/Fleetwood) relieved Henderson in the sixth and kept the ball in the infield, keeping Shippensburg off the board. Following an inning-opening strikeout in the seventh by Garcia, freshman Matt Swarmer (Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin) came in to pick up the two-out save, his third of the season.
 
Hauck was 4-for-4 at the plate in the opener. Sophomore Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn), this week's PSAC East Player of the Week, also had a multi-hit game (2-for-4) as KU had 10 hits.
 
GAME TWO
 
Trailing 4-0 in the second, Kutztown got on the board off an error by the Shippensburg shortstop that scored two runs. Stoudt hit a sacrifice fly in the inning to cut the Raider lead to one (4-3).
 
With two outs in the third, Kutztown tied the game at 5-5 off a throwing error by the second baseman to score two runs. The game would remain scoreless up until the seventh inning. Kutztown's bullpen, specifically James Rossi (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee), J.R. Seader (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway/ Maryland-Baltimore County), and Billy Felo (Dauphin, PA/Central Dauphin/Chesapeake College) pitched effective innings to give the Golden Bears an opportunity in the seventh.
 
With one out in the seventh, Thomas Romano (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) and Joe Peters (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown (Delaware Technical CC)) each singled to put two runners on. John Dockins (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson (Frederick CC)) then hit a groundball the other way to move the runners over to bring Gorrell to the plate. Working a 2-2 count, Gorrell drove a single to center field to score Romano and bring the KU dugout racing out to first base to congratulate the sophomore on the clutch hit.
 
“Everybody did what they had to do in that situation,” Blum said. “We got two guys on, (John  Dockins) moved them over, and Ricky came up with two outs and put a good swing on the ball. That's what we teach; to not let the moment get too high, to not let the game get too low, just keep playing the game.”
 
Hauck, Peters, and Gorrell each went 2-for-4 in the nightcap as Hauck ended his day 6-for-8 at the plate. Like in game one, Kutztown recorded 10 hits.
 
The Golden Bears return to action for the second half of the doubleheader in hopes of extending their winning streak on Saturday, March 30 at Metro Bank Park Stadium, home of the Harrisburg Senators, in Harrisburg, Pa. beginning at 1 p.m. Admission is free for all fans.