Thursday Live Stats I
Saturday Live StatsKUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team is getting set to take on Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) rival West Chester University in its season-series, starting with a doubleheader on Thursday, March 31 at 1 p.m. at West Chester's Serpico Stadium. The two teams then head to KU for the series-ending doubleheader the next day on Saturday, April 2. First pitch on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. at North Campus Field.
The Golden Bears (12-15, 3-5 PSAC) are coming off of a two-game series split with then-No. 11 East Stroudsburg University (22-4, 6-2). KU won games two and three of the series by scores of 6-1, and 8-1. Its first win against ESU snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Warriors.
KU was led on offense by outfielder and
PSAC East Athlete of the Week Alec O'Dell (Edgewood, Md./West Chester Bayard Rustin (Harford C.C.)). O'Dell went 7-for-11 at the plate over the weekend series, with a home run, a triple and seven RBIs. O'Dell recorded at least one hit in each of the four games played.
Mike Milazzo (Titusville, N.J./Notre Dame) finished 4-for-9 with a home run and two RBIs. Freshman
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) hit 4-for-10 with four runs scored.
Brady McNab (Hatboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Frederick C.C.)),
Kyle Rogers (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) and
Zach Schram (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North (Mercer County C.C.)) all added two RBIs.
Both
Matt Swarmer (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) and
Mike Kammerer (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) picked up wins in the series. Swarmer (3-2, 4.45 ERA) threw a complete-game, allowing just three hits and one earned run with eight strikeouts. He now sits fourth in all of Division II with a strikeout per 9 of 14.54. Kammerer (1-2, 2.82) went 4.1 innings with eight strikeouts in his win. The two help lead a staff that has the second most strikeouts (202) in the PSAC.
West Chester (14-7, 4-4 PSAC) is coming off a 3-1 series loss to then-No. 3 Millersville University (23-2, 7-1). Its win in game four of the series snapped Millersville's PSAC-record 22-game winning-streak. Shortstop Nick Ward led WCU on offense, hitting a combined 9-for-16 (.563) with five RBIs and three runs. Pitcher Andrew Gernett picked up a victory, going five innings in a 19-8 West Chester win.
Pitching will be key in the series, with West Chester hitting .298 on the year (9th in PSAC) and Kutztown batting .257 (16th). Both staffs have the potential to take over, especially against teams that are in the bottom half of the PSAC in RBIs and hits.
KU is led by Swarmer and Kammerer, who have combined to strikeout 78 batters over 52.2 innings pitched. Swarmer leads the team and is tied for second in the PSAC with two complete-games. He also is just 12 strikeouts away from 200-career strikeouts, a feat that has only been achieved by eight others in program history. Rottet and
Anthony Atticks (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township (Harford C.C.)) have also picked up wins on the season. Starter
Paul Piromalli (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West (Mercer County C.C.)) is also capable of getting it done, coming off a 4-4 year with a 2.81 ERA last season. Reliever
Pat Flynn (Pottstown, Pa./West-Mont Christian Academy) leads the team with three saves.
Anthony DeVito (Philadelphia, Pa./Central (Mercer County C.C.)) (2-1, 3.60 ERA) has two.
Dave King (Zerbe, Pa./Minersville) has the lowest ERA out of the bullpen, holding a 1.23 over six appearances.
West Chester is led by the trio of Nick Stallings (2-1, 2.66 ERA), Joe Gutowski (1-0, 3.24) and Mike Cipolla (4-1, 3.75). Reliever Mike O'Neill has seven saves on the season.
Both teams have shown they can score, with KU and WCU scoring 10 or more runs four different times. However, KU averages 2.4 runs per loss while WCU averages 5. West Chester averages 3.75 runs in PSAC losses.
Whichever offense can put together the most against two strong staffs will take the series.
WCU is 9-3 against KU over the last three years. West Chester holds a 12-8 record against Kutztown dating back to 2011.
