HTML Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2
 
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team used a hot start to take the opener 6-5, but Bloomsburg University rallied late in the nightcap to force a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division split on Friday with a 7-4 win from Jan Hutchinson Field.
 
The Kutztown (27-12, 13-8 PSAC E) offense needed little time to find its groove against Bloomsburg (17-9, 12-4), scoring five runs off six hits with two home runs in the first inning of the day.
 
Blayse Cholish and Asja Saito led off with singles, setting up Colleen Smith to hit her team-leading sixth home run of the season. After a Danielle Sienko single to center field, Marissa Linquist smacked a two-RBI home run to give KU an early 5-0 advantage.
 
The Huskies tallied a run in the bottom of the first, and another in the third off a solo home run from Caitlin O'Connor. Kutztown plated its final score in the sixth off a BU fielding error to take a 6-2 lead heading into the final inning, but the home team wasn't done yet.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Bloomsburg immediately put pressure on Kutztown with an RBI-double and a bases-loaded jam. O'Connor closed the gap to 6-5 with an RBI-single to put KU on its heels. With two outs, Cholish came over from shortstop to make a diving catch on the left field line to preserve the Golden Bear victory.
 
The Huskies were the ones to get off to the hot start in the nightcap, taking a 3-0 lead after the first. However, the Golden Bears stole the advantage in the top of the fifth behind a three-run homer from Danielle Amato for KU's third bomb of the day. BU tied it back up at 4-4 with another solo home run in the bottom of the inning.
 
Kutztown went three up, three down in the sixth, and Bloomsburg capitalized at the plate. BU's Anna McElroy received a little help from the left-field foul pole to record a three-run homer and the final scores of the game.
 
Dominique Ficara had a busy day in the circle, pitching 11.3 innings and facing 51 batters between the two games. She limited the Huskies to three hits in the nightcap, and recorded four total strikeouts. Savannah Nierintz earned the save in the opener after retiring the final four batters.
 
Catcher Bridget Newman went 3-for-6 from the plate on the day, while Cholish and Amato batted 2-for-4 in game two.
 
The Golden Bears remain on the road tomorrow, Saturday April 18 for a PSAC doubleheader at East Stroudsburg University, slated to start at 1 p.m. The two teams split shutout games earlier this season at Kutztown.