EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - The Kutztown University softball team is on fire.
The Golden Bears made it 13-straight wins after taking two from East Stroudsburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Zimbar Field. KU
(21-7, 4-0 PSAC) won game one 10-5 and followed it with a 6-4 victory in game two.
The two teams started off game one tied at one after each scored in the first inning. Kutztown added another run to make it 2-1 in the top of the third off a
Danielle Amato (Henderson, Nev./Coronado) RBI-single to left field. The Golden Bears blew the game open in the fourth, getting RBI's from
Rachel Lawes (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin),
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) and
Nicki Mann (Greentown, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) to make it 5-1.
East Stroudsburg responded with an RBI in the fifth, before KU added five more runs in the top of the seventh to make it 10-2.
Jacqueline Walsh (Downingtown, Pa./Coatesville) and
Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) both had two-RBI singles with
Asja Saito (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering) also contributing an RBI. ESU homered in the bottom half of the inning before getting retired to give KU its 10-5 win.
Savannah Nierintz (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby) threw a complete-game to pick up her 10
th victory on the season.
Both team started off fast in game two, with each scoring two runs apiece in the first inning. ESU took its first lead of the afternoon when it jumped ahead 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the third.
Kutztown answered right back with four runs in the top of the fourth. Jennings hit an RBI-single to left field to tie it at 3. Walsh and Jennings came around to score off of wild pitches to make it 5-3. Kenny came around to score later in the inning off an error to give KU a 6-3 lead. ESU picked up one more run in the bottom of the inning, but was shut down over the final three innings to seal the 6-4, KU victory.
Jackie Morell (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) pitched the final 6.2 innings in relief to pick up her third win on the year.
Keeny led the Golden Bears on offense, batting a combined 4-for-8 with an RBI and three runs scored on the day. Saito went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jennings contributed three RBIs.
Heather Visco led the way for East Stroudsburg (9-9, 0-4 PSAC), finishing the day 6-for-8 with an RBI and four runs scored.
The Golden Bears get a week off before returning to the diamond with another road PSAC doubleheader against West Chester University on Saturday, April 2. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
