Live Stats v. SU I Live Stats v. ESUKUTZTOWN, Pa. - The Kutztown University softball team looks to extend its nine-game winning-streak into two weekend Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) doubleheaders, hosting Shippensburg University on Friday, March 25 followed by a road-matchup with East Stroudsburg University on Saturday, March 26. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and Saturday's is set to start at 1:00 p.m.
The Golden Bears (17-7, 2-0 PSAC) are the sixth-best hitting team in all of Division II with a team batting average of .350. KU also leads the PSAC in hits (233), and doubles (41). Kutztown ranks second in the PSAC in both RBIs (119) and runs scored (136) and third in stolen bases (36).
In their most recent doubleheader, the Golden Bears won both games against Goldey-Beacom College, taking game one 8-0 and game two 6-1. KU has outscored its opponents by a margin of 51-19 over its current winning-streak.
Kutztown has been led on offense by freshman
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) and her team-high .482 batting average (41-for-85). Kenny has also contributed 11 RBIs, 23 runs scored and 14 stolen bases on the season.
Danielle Amato (Henderson, Nev./Coronado) is batting .411 with a team-leading three home runs and 15 RBIs.
Gabby Tareila (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) and
Rachel Lawes (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) are both batting at least .400 as well, with Tareila sitting at .404 with 14 RBIs and Lawes hitting .400 with 11 RBIs.
Danielle Sienko (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) and
Blayse Cholish (Peckville, Pa./Valley View) round out the offense with 13 and 15 RBIs apiece. In total, KU has nine batters hitting over .300 and six players with double-digit RBIs.
Bridget Newman (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) and
Savannah Nierintz (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby) lead the KU pitching staff. Newman is 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA over five starts. Nierintz is 7-5 and has a 2.05 ERA over 68.1 innings pitched and sits 11th in the PSAC with 41 strikeouts. Amato helps round out the rotation, and has a 4-1 record with a 3.05 ERA over 41.1 innings.
Shippensburg (9-12) enters Friday's doubleheader on a two-game winning streak. It will be the first PSAC conference game for the Raiders this season and the first game played in over 12 days. Maddie Schafer leads the Raiders on offense, going 20-for-56 (.357) with 10 RBIs. As a team, SU has four players batting over .300 and four with double-digit RBIs. Taryn Wilson leads Shippensburg's pitching staff, going 5-1 on the year with a 2.40 ERA over 46.2 innings.
East Stroudsburg (9-5) comes into Saturday after splitting a road doubleheader at Chestnut Hill College. It too will be the first PSAC conference game for the Warriors this season. Haley Thomas leads ESU in batting, going 23-for-42 (.548) with three home runs, 11 RBIs and 12 runs scored on the year. The Warriors have five batters hitting over .300. The ESU pitching staff is made up of Allison Mende (1-2, 1.69 ERA), Amanda Carlin (3-1, 2.57) and Rachael Liguori (5-2, 4.67).
The Golden Bears split both the four-game season-series against SU and ESU last year, with each team winning two games apiece.
