WILSON, N.C. – The Kutztown University baseball team dropped two games in day two of its Spring Break Trip Saturday in Wilson, N.C., first falling to West Virginia State, 4-3, before a tough loss to Clarion, 10-7.
Anthony Atticks (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township (Harford C.C.)) was the first of four on the mound for the Golden Bears, (7-4) throwing five innings with three hits and one run allowed. Relief pitcher
Ryan Clow (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) threw 3.1 innings with five strikeouts while allowing three hits and two runs to move to 1-1 on the season.
An RBI in the top of the fifth inning allowed West Virginia State to be first on the board after four innings of scoreless play.
The Golden Bears rallied by posting three runs in the bottom half of the fifth, sparked by a home run to left field from
Nick Lafferty (Croydon, Pa./Archbishop Wood), driving home
Brady Carras (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) to take a 2-1 lead. A West Virginia fielding error allowed the Maroon and Gold to cap the fifth inning with a two-run advantage, 3-1.
West Virginia began to close the gap in the top of the eighth with an unearned run off a Kutztown error. An RBI in the top of the ninth resulted in both teams neck and neck at 3-3, pushing the game into extra innings.
West Virginia posted another unearned run in the top of the 11th inning off of a KU passed ball to take the victory.
The second matchup of the day against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West school Clarion brought about another tough loss for the Golden Bears, 10-7.
An RBI from
Joe Santospago (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Mercer County C.C.)) drove
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) home and allowed the Maroon and Gold to open the game with a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, KU could not keep up the momentum and Clarion tied up the score 1-1 at the bottom of the first, later overtaking the Golden Bears with two additional runs off of an RBI double in the bottom of the third.
Another neck-and-neck game allowed Kutztown and Clarion to tie the score for the third time at the bottom of the sixth inning, 5-5, until a four-run seventh allowed Clarion to pull away for the rest of the evening. Although KU worked to reduce the deficit to just two in the bottom of the seventh, it was not enough to overcome the Golden Eagles.
Pitcher
Mike Kammerer (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) threw six innings on the mound, allowing nine hits and seven runs.
Zach Schram (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North (Mercer County C.C.)) and
Zack Delp (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) each tallied two runs for the Golden Bears in game two, while Rottet was the sole team member to score a run in each matchup.
The Golden Bears continue action Sunday, March 12, for another non-confernce PSAC matchup against California (PA), beginning at 6:30 p.m.
