MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Kutztown University softball team continued action in the second day of the Snowbird Freeze Out Tournament in Myrtle Beach Saturday, opening with a 5-1 victory over Concord before dropping its second game of the day to Southern New Hampshire, 7-3. The win gave KU head coach
Judy Lawes her 900th career win.
KU's first matchup of the day went scoreless for the first 3.5 innings of play, until a KU passed ball allowed Concord to post its only run of the afternoon in the bottom of the fourth.
Down by one at the bottom of the sixth,
Jacqueline Walsh (Downingtown, Pa./Coatesville) hit a two-run double to right field, sparking Kutztown's campaign to overtake the Mountain Lions for the remainder of the afternoon. She scored both
Angie Carty (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) and
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) on the play, giving KU a 2-1 lead over the Mountain Lions and sending
Gabby Tareila (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) to third.
The Maroon and Gold continued their momentum with an RBI double from
Cheyenne Jones (Levittown, Pa./Harry S Truman (Northwest Florida State)) soon after, doubling the Golden Bears' lead to 4-1, after Tareila and Walsh rounded out the sixth inning with four Golden Bear runs.
The top of the seventh inning brought about another run from Keeny after
Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) drove in the final RBI of the game, giving KU a 5-1 lead for the rest of the matchup.
Keeny led the Golden Bears with three hits and two runs in game one, along with two stolen bases.
Savannah Nierintz (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby) threw a complete-game victory with three strikeouts to move to 3-1 on the year.
In game two against Southern New Hampshire,
Jackie Morell (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) helped the Golden Bears take the lead in the top of the third with a run off of Carty's RBI single to right field. The lead would not last long, as the Penmen responded with three runs in the same inning, taking a 3-1 lead.
A home run from Jones in the fifth helped KU close the gap, trailing by one until Carty scored her second run of the day off of an RBI from Jennings, evening the score at 3-3 at the top of the fifth. Jones finished the day 2-for-2 at the dish.
The Penmen pulled away from the Golden Bears, bringing in one run in the bottom of the fifth. KU went without a run for the rest of the game, as SNHU pulled away with a three-run homer in the sixth to lead 7-3.
Carty was the sole Golden Bear to score runs in both matchups of the day.
Morell started for KU and pitched 4.1 innings and allowed four runs – one earned – with no walks. Nierintz came on in relief and allowed three runs – none earned.
Kutztown returns to action for the final day of the Snowbird Freeze Out Tournament tomorrow, Feb. 19, when they will face West Virginia State.
