PEMBROKE, N.C. – Asja Saito (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering)'s two-out RBI-double in the fourth inning turned out to be all Savannah Nierintz (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby) needed as the senior right-hander shutout West Virginia State in a 1-0 win to lead the Kutztown University softball team to a 1-1 record on its first day of the 2017 campaign. The Golden Bears began its season earlier in the day with a 4-0 loss to UNC Pembroke.
 
Blayse Cholish (Peckville, Pa./Valley View) got the fourth inning started with a one-out infield single, and following a foul out, Jacqueline Walsh (Downingtown, Pa./Coatesville) extended the frame with an infield single of her own to set the stage for Saito. The junior sent the first pitch she saw to left field to drive in Cholish for the only run of the afternoon.  
 
KU was primed to add insurance in the fifth when Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) led off with a walk and Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) moved her up to third on a single. Jennings then stole second to give the Golden Bears runners on second and third with none away. A ground out to first and two straight lineouts ended the threat though and the score remained 1-0.
 
West Virginia State carried the momentum of getting out of the bases loaded jam into the sixth with a leadoff single, but Nierintz quickly stole it back by fielding her position and starting a 1-6-2 double play. The Yellow Jackets were not done though, as three consecutive singles loaded the bases. In what turned out to be her biggest at-bat of the day, Nierintz delivered a strikeout to keep the 1-0 lead intact.
 
West Virginia State had one final rally in it in the top of the seventh as it got yet another leadoff single. A groundout moved that runner up to second with one out, but she would get no further as Nierintz kept her cool once again by inducing a flyout before ending the game with her sixth strikeout of the afternoon.
 
In addition to the final two frames, Nierintz worked around runners reaching scoring position in each of the first three innings. In total, she scattered eight hits in her seven innings and stranded nine runners on base. She did not issue a walk in what was her eighth career shutout.
 
Jennings finished the nightcap 2-for-3 with a stolen base to end the day 3-for-5 with a hit by pitch. Keeny also reached base twice and stole a base in the nightcap as she went 1-for-2 with a walk.
 
Walsh joined Jennings in recording a hit in both games.
 
Trailing 3-0 entering the fifth inning against UNC Pembroke, Kutztown threatened with the bases loaded to bring the go-ahead run to the plate with one out. Gabby Tareila (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) began the frame with a leadoff single, and after a pop out, Bridget Newman (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) drew a walk. Walsh then singled to load the bases, but UNC Pembroke pitcher Abbey Walters bared down to strike out the next hitter before the threat ended with a ground out.
 
After UNC Pembroke added a fourth run on a solo home run by Walters in the bottom half of the fifth, again KU put two runners in scoring position in the top of the sixth. Jennings was hit by a pitch with one out, and Cheyenne Jones (Levittown, Pa./Harry S Truman (Northwest Florida State)) followed with a first-pitch-swinging single. Although the next batter struck out, a wild pitch allowed Jennings and Jones to move into scoring position during the next at bat, but this time the threat was ended with a strikeout.  
 
In addition to being hit by a pitch in the sixth, Jennings singled in the first inning as she was the only Golden Bear to reach twice during the season-opener.
 
Freshman Adrianna Dilal (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) went the distance in her first career collegiate appearance, surrendering three earned runs on 11 hits. She struck out one and walked two.
 
In addition to allowing just the four hits, Walters struck out five and walked just one in the shutout.
 
Prior to the solo homer, UNC Pembroke's three runs came in the first two innings. The Braves got on the board with a clutch two-out single by Taylor Gerhart in the first inning that drove in Jamie Johnson, who had led the frame off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt.
 
It looked as if the score would remain 1-0 entering the third, but a two-out triple by Lexie Coxe would lead to two more runs. Johnson played a part once again, driving in Coxe with a single before an error extended the inning and allowed Johnson to score on a single by Abbey Walters.
 
Kutztown continues its opening weekend in North Carolina tomorrow, Feb. 4, with two more games as it takes on Winston-Salem State at 2 p.m. and UNC Pembroke at 4 p.m.