CLERMONT, Flor. - The Kutztown University softball team opened up the team's spring break trip in Florida on Saturday with an 8-0 setback against #14 West Virginia Wesleyan, but salvaged a win in its second game of the day with a 3-0 victory over Georgian Court University behind a complete-game, one-hit shutout from sophomore Danielle Amato (Henderson, Nev./Coronado).
 
In game one of the day, Kutztown (5-5) and West Virginia Wesleyan were in a pitchers-duel through the first 3.5 innings of play. The Bobcats struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning when Brooklyn Waddell connected for a two-run home run off KU pitcher Savannah Nierintz (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby).
 
The Bobcats added another run in the fifth inning on a RBI double from Anna Eggleston to extend the lead to 3-0 over the Golden Bears. West Virginia Wesleyan cemented its lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when it plated five more runs to seal KU's fate.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan's Sayaka Foley threw a complete-game shutout with five strikeouts and held KU to just three total hits in the game.
 
Freshman Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) went 2-for-3 in the contest for the Golden Bears, while Danielle Sienko (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) went 1-for-3.
 
In game two, the Golden Bears faced off against Georgian Court and displayed excellent pitching and defense in its 3-0 victory.
 
Amato threw a complete-game shutout against the Lions, allowing only one hit and striking out four batters.
 
Kutztown managed to score a run in the third, fourth and fifth inning to give itself a comfortable three-run lead for Amato to work with.
 
In the third, sophomore Nicki Mann (Greentown, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) reached on an error and Asja Saito (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering) came around to score to give KU a 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears followed that up with a run in the fourth on a RBI double from senior Krista Schauder (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) that scored pinch-runner Marissa Linquist (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford).
 
KU extended its lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning on a RBI single by Mann that brought in freshman Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy). Jennings started off the inning with a double.
 
Amato faced 24 batters in the shutout and only allowed two baserunners all day. She provided the pitching that the Golden Bears needed to salvage a 1-1 record on the day following the 8-0 setback earlier.
 
Kutztown had five hits in the win. Mann went 1-for-3 with a RBI and a stolen base. Schauder went 1-for-3 with her RBI double and Jennings was 1-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI. Sienko and Amato both recorded a hit in the victory.

The Golden Bears return to action in Florida tomorrow, Sunday March 6, against Upper Iowa University at 9 a.m. and The College of Saint Rose at 11 a.m.