Box Score 1 | Box Score 2



Kutztown 13, East Stroudsburg 10 (HTML Game One Box Score)
 
Kutztown 8, East Stroudsburg 0 (HTML Game Two Box Score)
 
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – It may have come a little later than fans might have expected, but on the final day of the regular season, the Kutztown University softball team secured its spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with a pair of wins on Friday against East Stroudsburg. Kutztown won the opener 13-10 and the nightcap 8-0 in six innings.
 
With the wins, the Golden Bears (25-21, 9-7 PSAC East) advance to the PSAC Tournament beginning on Wednesday, May 1 in Quakertown. Kutztown will either be the second or third seed in the East depending on West Chester's outcome on Saturday.
 
If West Chester loses one game to Millersville on Saturday, Kutztown would be the No. 2 seed in the East as KU holds the tiebreaker over West Chester having won three of four against the Golden Rams. If West Chester wins both against Millersville, Kutztown will be the No. 3 seed out of the East.
 
Head coach Judy Lawes approaches yet another milestone of her career with the pair of victories. In her 26th year at the helm of the Golden Bears, Lawes won her 799th career game with a chance to win her illustrious 800th in postseason play.
 
Senior Nicole Henninger (Reading, PA./Muhlenberg) went 7-for-9 at the plate in the doubleheader sweep. She went 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI hits in game one, and drove in Kutztown's first run of the second game.
 
Three Golden Bears hit a home run on Friday. In game one, freshman Danielle Sienko (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) hit her first career homer to lead off the third inning. In game two, freshman Lindsey Kelley (Stafford, VA/North Stafford) also hit her first career home run with a solo shot in the sixth inning. With two outs and leading 7-0 in the top of the six in game two, senior catcher Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) hit a homer down the left field line to eventually end the game after six.
 
It is the second consecutive game Lynch has hit a home run after not hitting any in the other 44 games this season. Both of her home runs were pulled down the left field line, and both were in her final at-bat of the game.
 
Sophomore Mary Kociencki (Columbia, N.J./Sparta ) hurled a complete game shutout in game two. In six innings she let up four hits and tabbed one strikeout. She also picked up the win in relief in game one and has won 11 games this season.
 
Game One
 
Along with Henninger, Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) also had a strong opening game at the plate with three hits and two runs scored from the leadoff position. Also notching multi-hit games were Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) and Danielle Sienko (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter).
 
Kutztown put up three runs in the first inning, all with two outs. Lynch drove a two-run double to right, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and was drove in by Henninger to give Kutztown the early advantage.
 
ESU responded with a two-out single to get on the board, but the Golden Bears did not hold back and put together another strong inning in the second. Two errors on East Stroudsburg led to three runs crossing the plate early in the inning which gave Henninger her second opportunity in as many innings to drive in a run. Her RBI double capped off a four-run inning giving Kutztown a 7-1 lead.
 
With Kutztown leading 8-3 in the third after the Sienko home run, ESU's Haley Thomas brought the Warriors back with a bases-clearing double to plate three runs as ESU scored four in the third to cut Kutztown's lead to 8-7.
 
The fourth and fifth marked the first open frames of the game for either team. Kutztown made up for the outage with five runs in the sixth highlighted by RBI's from Hetzler and Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)).
 
Kutztown starter Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional (Hofstra)) lasted only 2.1 innings in game one and allowed six hits and five runs. Kociencki relieved her in the third and struck out two batters while walking one.
 
Game Two
 
Booth, Lynch, Henninger, and Isgro all had two hits against the Warriors in the nightcap. Like in the first game, Kutztown scored three runs in the first inning in game two. Henninger and Isgro had back-to-back RBI hits to get the offense started for KU. Isgro and Kelley had RBI's in the third as well to give KU a 6-0 lead through three.
 
Kociencki kept the Warriors bats quiet for the remainder of the game that led to the pair of Kutztown homers in the sixth to end the game. The shutout was Kociencki's fourth of the season.
 
The Golden Bears will know their playoff opponent following Saturday's PSAC games across the conference.