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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team is looking to go on an NCAA Tournament run that starts in the Atlantic Regionals with an opening round match up against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) rival West Chester University on Thursday, May 5 at noon at the University of Charleston in West Virginia.
The Golden Bears and Golden Rams were two of the 42 at-large teams to earn a NCAA Tournament berth on Monday to make up the field of 64 teams (22 teams earned automatic bids after winning its conference championship). Kutztown finished the regular-season second in the PSAC East with a record of 31-15 (10-6 PSAC) and earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. West Chester was named the No. 3 seed in the tournament after it won the PSAC East Division title, compiling a record of 47-7 (14-2 PSAC).
The Atlantic Regional is one of 16, four team double-elimination tournaments to crown a regional champion. Each regional is made up of two brackets that run May 5-7. The winner of the top and bottom Atlantic brackets will face off in a best-of-three series to determine the Atlantic Super Regional champion on May 11-12. The eight Super Regional winners will head to the tournament finals at the Regency Athletic Complex Softball Field in Denver, May 17-21.
Kutztown is joined in the Atlantic Region 2 by another PSAC-rival in No. 7 Lock Haven (36-17, 14-6 PSAC) and No. 2 host Charleston (45-9). Region 1 is made up of conference foes in No. 4 Bloomsburg (44-7, 19-1 PSAC) and No. 5 California University of Pennsylvania (35-4, 19-1 PSAC) and No. 1 West Virginia Wesleyan (50-8) and No. 8 (Winston-Salem (30-21).
KU has competed in the NCAA Tournament in 17 of the past 23 years. The Golden Bears hold a 34-33 all-time record in the tournament, including a 4-0 advantage against West Chester. Kutztown recorded its 13th 30-win season in program history under head coach
Judy Lawes (892-497-2 over 29 seasons). The Golden Bears collected two wins at the PSAC Championships, solidifying their spot as one of the five at-large bids from the region.
Kutztown was swept during its season-series with West Chester this season. The Golden Bears fell to Lock Haven in the two games the teams played at the PSAC Championships. KU did not play any of the other remaining teams in its bracket during the season.
The Golden Bears have been led all season by PSAC East Freshman of the Year,
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent). Keeny hit .425 (second in the PSAC) out of the leadoff spot, collecting 68 hits with 17 RBIs, 39 runs scored and 29 stolen bases (tied for first). Keeny's batting average is the best freshman mark in the PSAC and seventh-best in all of Division II among freshmen. It is also the highest freshman average in program history since Sharon Toth hit .495 in 1987.
Danielle Sienko (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter),
Danielle Amato (Henderson, Nev./Coronado) and
Bridget Newman (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford), all All-PSAC East First team honorees, round out the KU offense. Sienko is batting a career-high .352 with three home runs, 27 RBIs and 18 runs scored. Amato is hitting .348 with a career-high six home runs, 36 RBIs, and 25 runs scored. Newman hit a career-high .348 with five home runs, 16 RBIs, 15 runs scored and a team-high .483 on-base percentage.
Gabby Tareila (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford),
Rachel Lawes (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin),
Nicki Mann (Greentown, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) are all hitting over .300. Tareila has driven in 16 RBIs, Lawes has chipped in 20 RBIs and 19 runs scored while Mann drove in nine and scored 17 times. As a team, the Golden Bears are hitting .325 (second in PSAC) and eight different players have driven in double-digit RBIs.
The Golden Bears are third in the PSAC in runs scored (245), hits (408), and on-base percentage (.380), and fourth in RBIs (211) and stolen bases (58).
Savannah Nierintz (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby), another All-PSAC East First team member, led KU's pitching staff in collecting 18 wins (third in PSAC) with a 1.94 ERA over 24 starts. She threw 20 complete games (fifth) and struck out 121 batters (eighth). Newman went 6-2 over 12 starts, throwing five completes games with two shut outs, and 21 strikeouts. As a team, KU holds opponents to a batting average of .251.
Kutztown has the fifth-best fielding percentage in the conference at .941.
Thursday will be the 119th meeting between Kutztown and West Chester. The Golden Bears hold an 89-29 lead in the programs' series, dating back to the 1984 season.
If Kutztown wins, it will advance to face the winner of No. 2 Charleston and No. 7 Lock Haven on Friday, May 6 at 11 a.m. If KU drops its first game, it will face the loser at 1:30 p.m.
ATLANTIC REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 5th, (Games 1 & 2)
12:00pm Game 1, (G1)- #3 West Chester (home) vs. #6 Kutztown (away)
2:30pm Game 2, (G2)-#2 Charleston (home) vs. #7 Lock Haven (dark)
Friday, May 6th, (Games 3, 4 and 5)
11:00am Game 3- winner of G1 vs. winner of G2
1:30pm Game 4-loser of G1 vs. loser of G2
4:00pm Game 5-winner of G3 vs. loser of G4
Saturday, May 7th, (Game 6 and game 7, if necessary)
12:00pm Game 6, winner of G4 vs. winner of G5
2:30pm Game 7, winner of G6 vs. loser of G6
