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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team is looking to go on a late-season run to qualify for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships, and it begins with a weekend season-series against Bloomsburg University that starts with KU's Senior Day on Saturday, April 23 at 1 p.m. The two teams then travel to Bloomsburg's Litwhiler Field to finish the series on Sunday, April 24 at 1 p.m.
Kutztown (18-24, 8-12 PSAC) enters the weekend in fifth place in the PSAC East, trailing Shippensburg University (20-22, 9-11 PSAC) by a game for the final playoff spot. KU would need to finish a game ahead of the Raiders because Shippensburg holds the head-to-head tie-breaker.
Bloomsburg (20-18, 7-13 PSAC) sits right behind in sixth in the East, looking to go on a run of its own. While KU and BU face off this weekend, SHIP has a weekend season-series with nationally-ranked No. 1 Millersville University (36-3, 18-2 PSAC).
Kutztown enters the game on a two-game losing streak, dropping two non-conference games earlier in the week. The Golden Bears are looking to rebound against a team that has also been struggling of late, as Bloomsburg has dropped its last eight contests.
The Golden Bears will turn to their pitching staff to shut down the No. 6 ranked offense in the PSAC.
Matt Swarmer (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin),
Mike Kammerer (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic), and
Paul Piromalli (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West (Mercer County C.C.)) lead the rotation. Swarmer (3-3, 3.97 ERA) has the second most-strikeouts in the PSAC, fanning 72 over 45.1 innings. Kammerer (2-2, 3.45) recently came back from injury and fired 4.1 innings with three hits and two earned runs in his return against Shippensburg on April 16. Over his last three starts, Piromalli is 2-0 and has thrown 18 innings of four-run baseball, allowing 18 hits with 14 strikeouts.
Dave King (Zerbe, Pa./Minersville) leads the bullpen with a 2-0 record and 1.80 ERA in nine appearances.
Anthony DeVito (Philadelphia, Pa./Central (Mercer County C.C.)) had to step into a spot-starter role with injuries over the past two weeks, but is expected to return to the pen with a 4-2 record and 18 strikeouts over 24 innings.
As a staff, KU is second in the PSAC in strikeouts, sitting down 308 batters over 304 innings pitched.
Kutztown needs consistent hitting over the series and the rest of the season to make its push towards the postseason. The Golden Bears have scored at least nine runs in a game nine times this season, but have drove in one run or less in four of their last eight games. Bloomsburg enters the game with a team ERA of 6.15, allowing opponents to hit .316 against it.
Alec O'Dell (Edgewood, Md./West Chester Bayard Rustin (Harford C.C.)) has led KU on offense all season, hitting a team-high .325 with a team-leading 37 hits, 28 RBIs, 27 runs, eight steals, a .553 slugging percentage and a .446 on-base percentage. Catcher
Derian Sarlat (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) is batting .302 over 25 games played (19 starts) with 11 runs scored. Freshman
Eric Lane (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) is hitting .292 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and 12 runs scored. Shortstop
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua), also a freshman, sits at .260 with one homer, 22 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
Brady McNab (Hatboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Frederick C.C.)) and
Mike Milazzo (Titusville, N.J./Notre Dame) round out the KU attack, driving in 22 and 17 RBIs apiece.
Bloomsburg's power has been led by the bat of Ryan Kirman and his program-record 15 home runs this season. Despite his .320 average and 42 RBIs, BU has five players hitting for a better average. Austin Edgette is hitting a PSAC-leading .474, the third-best mark in Division II. Edgette has two home runs, 38 RBIs, 47 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. Joey Casselberry (.360 batting average, seven home runs, 49 RBIs), Tyler Benson (.346, two home runs, 26 RBIs, 48 runs scored) and Shane Woelfel (.327, 13 RBIs, 25 runs scored).
As a team BU sits third in the PSAC in homers (46), fourth in RBIs (302) and runs scored (286).
The two teams met in non-conference play earlier this season in the spring at Newport News, VA during the Builder Invitational Tournament. Bloomsburg won both games, outscoring the Golden Bears 37-11.
