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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team enjoyed its home opener and earned two wins over East Stroudsburg University Saturday afternoon with big hits by Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)) and Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) fueling a 5-2 game one victory and a 7-0 win in game two in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action at North Capus Field.
 
Sophomore pitcher Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional (Hofstra)) took a one-hitter into the sixth inning of the first game against ESU when she let up a mere two runs. Throughout both games, Ficara let up a combined seven hits and saw help from her teammates in the field.
 
 “Going into today, I just knew we needed two wins,” Ficara said. “One thing that stayed in my head was the card that we each have in our pockets. The one I have says we can't lose if they don't score and that was my mentality every inning: three up, three down, no-one scoring, keep everyone off the bases and trust my defense.”
 
In game one, Smith was quick to get KU on the board in the first inning with a two-run homer over the right field fence. After five innings of slow play between the teams, the Golden Bears woke up the crowd again in the fifth inning when Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) and Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) got on base and were brought in by Smith's second home run of the game. Smith went 2-for-2 in the first game with two home runs and five RBI for the Golden Bears (14-16, 4-4 PSAC).
 
Increasing her PSAC-leading home run tally to eleven, Smith finished the doubleheader with a .425 batting average and seven RBI throughout both games.
 
“I felt good hitting and I was definitely seeing the ball really well,” Smith said. “I'm very confident at the plate right now. There's nothing going through my mind, it's just 'see ball, hit ball'. The second pitcher was a lot slower and in my opinion it's much harder to hit slow pitching. You have to wait as long as you possibly can and try to work the opposite field.”
 
ESU (13-12, 2-4) got on the board in game one with two runs in the top of the seventh inning with small hits by Sierra Wagner, Jennifer Denaro and Kellie Mignoli, who ripped a double up the middle bringing Wagner in to score. Haley Thomas followed behind Mignoli with a double to center field, scoring Mignoli. Unfortunately, the inning was finished with a strikeout from ESU, giving KU the first win of the day.
 
The Golden Bears came out strong in the second game, putting together clutch hits to load the bases. Booth started the inning with a single up the left field line, followed by a walk from Lynch. Smith drove in Booth with a single to right field, moving Lynch over to the third. Henninger followed up with a shot to center field, bringing Lynch in to score and moving Smith into scoring position as well. The inning ended when Knipe hit a single out to center field that was thrown in and just in time to tag out Smith attempting to steal another run.
 
Knipe's bat came alive in the second game when she hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning over the right center fence.
 
“It felt awesome, I was due,” Knipe said. “I was having a really bad first game and I wasn't seeing the inside pitch well. I was going up there saying I need to find the outside pitch; I need to get a hit. As soon as I got it and felt contact, I just knew it was going over the fence.”
 
Jessica Kurtz (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) got on base after Knipe's home run with a single followed by a walk from Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) and a sacrifice bunt by Booth that brought in another run for KU.
 
Booth went 4-for-6 throughout both games. Henninger went 3-for-5 with six RBI and two walks.
 
The Golden Bears return to action on Monday, April 8 to host a doubleheader against Felician College at North Campus Field beginning at 2:30 p.m.