Box Score 1 | Box Score 2



West Chester 8, Kutztown 0 (HTML Game One Box Score)
 
Kutztown 5, West Chester 1 (HTML Game Two Box Score)
 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Junior Colin Holmes (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) stepped up for the 29th-ranked Kutztown University baseball team when it needed him the most. After dropping the first game to West Chester University 8-0, Kutztown rode the complete game of Holmes to a 5-1 game two victory in Friday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader at North Campus Field.
 
The Golden Bears (31-12, 15-7 PSAC East) held onto second place in the East through Friday's action. Heading into the final day of the regular season on Saturday before the PSAC Championships begin on Wednesday, May 8, Millersville, Kutztown, and East Stroudsburg have clinched a playoff spot in the East.
 
Kutztown can finish anywhere from first to third in the East. It would need a sweep of West Chester on Saturday and an ESU sweep of Millersville to earn the Eastern title, and would only drop to third with two losses to West Chester on Saturday and an ESU sweep of Millersville.
 
Holmes improved to 5-1 on the season with one of the best outings of his career. In seven innings, the junior southpaw needed just 69 pitches, 46 for strikes, to earn the complete game victory. He only needed more than five pitches in three plate appearances in the nightcap.
 
Holmes allowed seven hits in his first career complete game. He struck out two batters and lowered his season ERA to 3.98.
 
West Chester struck first with an RBI single in the third inning as the first four batters of the inning struck at the first pitches of the at-bat. Holmes did not allow a runner to reach second base after the third inning.
 
Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) gave Holmes and the Golden Bears back the lead with an RBI single through the right side in the bottom half of the third. Not only did Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) score from second on the play, Ricky Gorrell (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) advanced two bases, slid safely into third, and went on to score off a throwing error from the West Chester right fielder.
 
Still holding a 2-1 lead in the sixth, Kutztown loaded the bases with one out for John Dockins (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson (Frederick CC)). Dockins hit a single through the left side on the first pitch as the runners went station-to-station to give KU a 3-1 lead. Martinez hit a two-run, two-out double down the left field line later in the inning to stretch the lead to 5-1.
 
Martinez was 3-for-4 at the plate in game two and had three of Kutztown's seven hits. West Chester also had seven hits led by Jack Provine's 3-for-3 game.
 
In game one, West Chester pitcher Joe Gunkel was lights out on the hill. He threw a four-hit shutout in the 8-0 win as 73 of his 96 pitches went for strikes. He had nine strikeouts with no walks.
 
West Chester scored in five of the seven innings and had 13 hits to Kutztown's four. Gorrell (2-for-3) and Thomas Romano (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) (2-for-2) combined for Kutztown's four hits in the opener.
 
James Rossi (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) started his first game of the season and of his young career in the opener. He had three strikeouts in four innings but struggled with his command in the early going that aided West Chester in gaining an early lead.
 
The Golden Bears close out their regular season with two games at West Chester on Saturday, May 4 beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats and audio will be available for the doubleheader.