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Game 1 |
Game 2 KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team completed its fifth doubleheader in the past five days on Wednesday afternoon from North Campus Field, sweeping non-conference opponent Chestnut Hill College with a 2-1, ninth-inning walk-off victory in the opener, and a 3-1 triumph in the nightcap.
Nearly the entire Kutztown (26-11) squad saw playing time on Wednesday and two freshmen pitchers earned their first career wins from the circle with complete-game performances.
In the opener, KU and Chestnut Hill (7-25) were forced into extra innings after both pitchers kept their opponents off the scoreboard through the first seven.
The Griffins were able to plate the first run of the game in the eighth off a sacrifice fly, but a bases-loaded wild pitch scored
Rachel Lawes to knot it back up.
In the ninth, Kutztown forced an infield line-out double play before the Griffins could score. With KU now up to bat and
Marissa Linquist starting off the inning on second base,
Sam Fraser advanced Linquist to third with a fly ball out to right field.
Colleen Smith entered the game as a pinch hitter for her first at-bat of the day, and drove in Linquist for her second walk-off game-winning hit in the past two games.
In the nightcap, Smith led off the second inning with a double and
Danielle Sienko put KU up 2-0 with her third home run of the season, a long shot that bent around the left field pole.
The Griffins cut the advantage to 2-1 in the fourth, but the Golden Bears responded with an insurance score in the fifth. After a Linquist double,
Blayse Cholish fired off an RBI-single for the final run of the day.
Danielle Amato and
Bridget Newman were given the chance to bring the heat from the circle. Amato made her first pitching appearance of the season in the opener, tossing all nine innings with six strikeouts and allowing four hits. Newman made her second appearance of the season in the nightcap and her first since Feb. 7, allowing four hits and notching three strikeouts in a complete-game effort. Neither pitcher gave up an earned run in the wins.
Cholish led the Maroon and Gold with three hits on the day, while Amato, Smith, Sienko each tallied two.
Lisa Lawson hit a double and
Casey Charterina stole second after a single in game one.
Chestnut Hill's Kaitlyn Johson pitched seven shutout innings in the opener, with Briannen Holloway coming in during the extra innings. Courtney Dayter gave up three earned runs in complete-game setback in game two.
The Golden Bears will only have one day off before heading to Bloomsburg University on Friday, April 17 for a conference doubleheader starting at 2:30 p.m. The two teams split their first matchup of the season.
