Box Score



Kutztown 8, Mercyhurst 0 (5 inn.) (HTML Box Score)
 
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The Kutztown University softball team scored four runs in the first inning to guide it to a 8-0, five-inning victory over Mercyhurst University on Sunday morning in the final game of the Pioneer Classic.
 
The Golden Bears (3-6) ended the tournament with a 2-3 record with both wins coming against Mercyhurst (0-8). They only allowed four hits in the shutout victory while notching seven themselves.
 
Junior pitcher Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional (Hofstra)) threw a complete game shutout in the circle. She has been tabbed with the win in all three of Kutztown's wins this season, and notched three strikeouts.
 
Kutztown scored all four runs in the first inning with two outs. Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) opened the scoring by sprinting home on a wild pitch. Freshman Savannah Nierintz (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby) hit a two-run triple two batters later, as a Mercyhurst fielding error plated Kutztown's fourth run.
 
Following an inning-opening triple by Booth in the second, Rachel Lawes (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) knocked in Booth with an infield groundout. Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) and Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip (Hofstra)) notched base hits the next two at-bats, as Marka Ballard (Redwood City, CA/Mercy Burlingame) hit an RBI for the 6-0 lead.
 
Danielle Sienko (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) drove in Kutztown's final two runs with two outs in the fourth inning on a two-run double. It was one of her team-leading two hits on the day.
 
The Golden Bears return to action during spring break in Salem, Va. and Clermont, Fl. Their seven-day slate starts on Friday, March 14.