Sunday's Live Stats |
Monday's Live Stats
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team looks to make a push towards the postseason with a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) series against Mansfield University. The Golden Bears start by hosting Mansfield on Sunday, April 10 at North Campus Field. The two teams then travel to MU's Joseph B. Shatue Field to finish the series Monday, April 11. Both doubleheaders are set to start at 1 p.m.
Kutztown (15-17, 5-7 PSAC) enters the series tied for fifth in the PSAC, just a game out of the fourth and final postseason position with 16 PSAC games left in the season.
The Golden Bears are coming off a 6-2, non-conference win against Wilmington University on Wednesday.
Brady McNab (Hatboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Frederick C.C.)) and
Kyle Rogers (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) combined to go 4-for-6 and drove in five of the team's six runs in the win.
Outfielder
Alec O'Dell (Edgewood, Md./West Chester Bayard Rustin (Harford C.C.)) has paced the team on offense this season, hitting .347 with a team-high 33 hits, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 23 runs scored and five steals. Freshmen
Eric Lane (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) and
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) are each batting over .300 in their first year in the program. Lane is hitting .340 with three home runs and 10 runs scored, while Rottet is batting .302 with one home run, 14 runs and four steals. Both have 10 RBIs.
Mike Milazzo (Titusville, N.J./Notre Dame) and McNab are tied for second on the team in RBIs with 17. Milazzo is also tied for second on the team with three home runs. McNab is third on KU with 25 hits and has added 11 runs scored on the season.
KU's offense has been heating up in recent weeks, averaging just under six runs a game over its past eight contests. Seven KU batters have double-digit RBIs.
Mike Kammerer (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) and
Matt Swarmer (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) have led KU's pitching staff. Kammerer is 1-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 24.1 innings. Swarmer sits at 3-2 with 52 strikeouts over 32.2 innings. Starter
Paul Piromalli (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West (Mercer County C.C.)) bounced back with a strong performance against West Chester in his last start. The senior lefty held the Golden Rams to five hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts over five innings to pick up his first victory of the season.
The Golden Bears' bullpen is led by
Dave King (Zerbe, Pa./Minersville) and
Anthony DeVito (Philadelphia, Pa./Central (Mercer County C.C.)). King is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA over seven appearances. DeVito is 3-1 and has recorded two saves with a 2.45 ERA over 10 appearances. The two have combined for 22 strikeouts over 23 innings.
Pat Flynn (Pottstown, Pa./West-Mont Christian Academy) leads the team with three saves.
As a staff, KU is tied for second in the PSAC with 242 strikeouts.
Mansfield (13-15, 3-9 PSAC) sits last in the PSAC East, riding a two-game winning-streak into the series after taking two games from Shippensburg last Saturday. MU won the opener, 13-2, and followed it with a 6-2 game two win. The Mountaineers have dropped 10 of their past 15 matchups.
MU has been led on offense by Taylor Hillson and his .392 batting average. Hillson has added 16 RBIs and 22 runs scored on the season. Tanner Klein leads Mansfield in RBIs (22) while Kash Zephan has a team-high five home runs and 20 RBIs. MU has six players hitting above .300 and eight hitters with double-digit RBIs.
Chase Pepper and Tommy Alexander are the workhorses of the MU pitching staff. Pepper sits at 3-3 with a 3.51 ERA and three complete-games over seven starts. Alexander has made the same amount of starts, and has a 2-3 record with a 4.73 ERA.
Kutztown and Mansfield split its season-series the past two years. KU holds a 20-8 advantage over MU dating back to the 2009 season.
Be sure to check kubears.com or KU's athletic twitter account (@KUGoldenBears) for any scheduling changes.
