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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team hopes to end its three-game losing streak as it hosts Bloomfield College on March 27 in a Thursday afternoon game at North Campus Field. First pitch for the nine-inning single game is set for 1 p.m.
 
The Golden Bears (10-6) have the losing streak after falling in the final three games of a four-game set against West Chester. Kutztown lost the conference-opening series despite outscoring WCU, 20-19. This game marks the first meeting between the two teams since April 2010, when KU won 13-6 at North Campus Field. Over the previous two years, Kutztown owned a 5-1 record in non-conference home games.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Golden Bears played a four-game set against West Chester to begin PSAC play. On Friday at North Campus Field, Kutztown split the two games. Led by senior pitcher Brandon Shimo (Jermyn, PA/Lakeland (Lackawanna))'s six shutout innings, KU shut out WCU 9-0 in Game 1. In a team one-hitter, Shimo did not allow a hit in his first 5.1 innings pitched. WCU used a four-run sixth inning to win 6-4 in Game 2. On Sunday, West Chester used big inning to take both games. The Golden Rams scored four runs in the first inning and took Game 1 by a 5-3 score. Then, West Chester plated three in a pair of inning in an 8-4 win in Game 2. Junior outfielder Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) had three-multi hit games in the series, going 7-of-16 at the plate. Meanwhile, senior first baseman Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) had six RBI in the four games. He also reached base seven times in 16 tries. With the 1-3 start, Kutztown is one of four teams who stand two games below .500 in the PSAC East.
 
FAST TO 400: Head Coach Chris Blum earned his 400th career victory when the Golden Bears defeated Virginia State in Game 2 of last Thursday's doubleheader. Blum earned the milestone in his 12th season at the helm, doing so in 584 games. He became the ninth PSAC skipper with 400 career wins, and only Mansfield's Harry Hilson accomplished the feat quicker. Furthermore, Blum ranks (through the 2013 season) ninth among active Division II head coaches in winning percentage. On the all-time charts, his 68.6 winning percentage ranks 19th in Division II.
 
START ME UP: Kutztown owns a winning record in large part due to solid starting pitching. The Maroon and Gold starters own a collective 2.82 ERA and .247 BAA. Each of the six starters owns a solid ERA. Corey Snyder (Lincoln University, PA/Avon Grove) and Ryan Clow (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East) have yet to allow a run as a starter (combined three starts). James Rossi (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) (3.00), Shimo (3.24), Colin Holmes (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) (3.60) and Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) (4.15) all also own ERA totals that would mean they allow fewer than three runs for the average six-inning start. With the PSAC East schedule involving home-and-home seven-inning doubleheaders against six teams and two mid-week doubleheaders against Millersville, the Golden Bears will need to keep that standard of balanced quality pitching to compete with a division that current has winning overall records from all eight teams.
 
STOUDT AT THE PLATE: Senior Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) is making the most of his final season at KU. Stoudt has 20 hits in his 14 starts in the lineup, averaging .392 to lead the Golden Bears. Stoudt also leads the team with 18 RBI, including a team-best six multi-RBI games (three 2-RBI games and three 3-RBI games). Batting clean-up in 13 games, the first baseman cashes it in for the Maroon and Gold with a .429 batting average (12-28) with runners in scoring position. Stoudt has five multi-RBI hits, which easily leads the team. Stoudt also has three starts on the mound, owning a 4.15 ERA.
 
BRANDO-NAME QUALITY: Last year, junior outfielder Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) made his name at the Kutztown leadoff hitter, making All-PSAC First Team. This season, he moved to the third slot in the lineup. Yet, he's still providing various threats to opposing pitchers. The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Preseason All-American owns a .387 batting average, as well as a team-best .516 slugging percentage. He leads the team with 24 hits, including eight multi-hit games. Also, Martinez stole 12 bases in 13 attempts, helping him to lead KU with 17 runs scored.
 
CHO ME WHAT'S GOOD: Junior infielder Brandon Cholish (Peckville, PA/Valley View (Lackawanna)) immediately made an impact in the Kutztown lineup, as his .365 average ranks third on team. However, Cholish is providing the most gap power, as he leads the Golden Bears with five doubles. Defensively, the junior is also getting the job done. He successfully converted all 57 chances (38 assists and 19 putouts) for a perfect fielding percentage. Only he and Joe Peters (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown (Delaware Technical CC)) have that mark with at least two chances per team game.
 
THEY NEED FIVE: While Kutztown starting pitching is dominating for the most part this season, the trouble inning for them or the bullpen comes during the fifth inning. Of the 69 runs allowed, the Golden Bears surrendered 21 of them in the fifth (30.4 percent of total runs allowed). KU has yet to allow more than 10 runs in any other inning. The Golden Bears have only been outscored in the fifth inning (21-18) and ninth inning (9-1). They have outscored their opponents 74-39 in the other innings.
 
FANTASTIC FIRST FOUR: In contrast to the harmful five-count, the Golden Bears are dominating on the mound in the first four innings. Kutztown has only allowed 16 runs in 64 overall innings in that juncture. This includes 15 consecutive shut-out third innings before three runs on Sunday in Game 2. Only thrice has the Golden Bears allowed multiple runs in any of these innings. Kutztown owns a 41-16 gross advantage in the first four innings, with 16 runs scored by the Golden Bears in the third innings alone.
 
KEY SPLITS: The Golden Bears have established some keys to victory. However, some trends came to an end against West Chester. KU lost both games on Sunday despite outhitting WCU and having more total bases, thus ending an eight-game winning streak when holding those two advantages. For now, Kutztown has best set a precedent for winning scoring at least five runs (9-0 record). KU is only 1-6 otherwise.
 
MORE KEY SPLITS: Offensively speaking, Kutztown loves to start the inning successfully. The Golden Bears reached 66 times in the leadoff spot of an inning in 123 opportunities (53.7 percent). This heavily outweighs the 39.5 percentage for their opponents (49-of-124). They also advance runners successfully better than 50 percent of the time (184-of-364, 50.5 percent). Meanwhile, pitching wise, the Golden Bears are slamming the door shut with runners in scoring position, as opponents bat only .225 in that situation.
 
Looking in the Other Corner: the Bloomfield Deacons
 
NON-CONFERENCE TROUBLES: Bloomfield lost all of its seven games outside of the CACC. In those games, the Deacons were outscored 46-15 and scored fewer than four runs in each game. The Deacons dropped all five games in Florida from March 9-12, including two losses to Assumption College. Of the previous six non-conference opponents, those teams own a combined 39-41 record (.488 winning percentage). Of those teams, only Dowling (12-7) and LIU Post (6-5) own winning records.
 
OFFENSIVE FREEZE: With only 38 runs scored in 11 games, the Deacons are still looking to find a spark offensively. The team collectively bats only .224, with only two qualifying players (one at-bat per team game) batting at least .300 on the season. Bloomfield did a bit better so far through four CACC games, batting .243 in those contests. The Deacons are still looking for their first home runs of the season, and they have only one triple through the 11 games. Bloomfield slugs only .279 as a team. Opponents own a 2.33 ERA against the Deacons, who have not topped 12 hits in a game this season.
 
ASSESSSING THE ARMS: The Deacons have sent five different starters to the mound this season. Lucas Junger (1-1 record, 2.50 ERA) and Allen Rivera (0-1 record, 2.84 ERA) have the best success so far. Francisco Scudiero (13 K in 16.0 IP) and Justin Eclavea (team-high 20.1 IP) may also play a role.