READING, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team scored the final five runs of the evening to comeback and defeat Albright 6-5 with an eighth inning run on Monday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.
With the game tied at 5-5,
Mike Milazzo (Titusville, N.J./Notre Dame) kept the eighth inning alive with a two-out walk, and
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) followed with a single to advance pinch-runner
Kurtis Hultz (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone (Cecil College)) into scoring position. A groundout by the next batter appeared to have ended the inning, but an error and a heads-up play on the base-paths by Hultz allowed him to come into score the game-winning run.
Josh Houser (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock (Harford C.C.)) came on in the top of the ninth and despite the leadoff hitter singling and reaching second with zero outs, he struck out the next two before fielding a bunt single and throwing to first in time for the final out and his first career save.
After the postgame handshake line, the most memorable moment of the night came when
Ben Eppley (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Frederick C.C.)) proposed to his now- fiancé in front of both teams clapping and a cheering crowd as
SHE SAID YES!
Rottet's ninth inning single gave him two hits on the evening.
Ryan Cox (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell (St. Bonaventure)) also had two hits and scored two runs with a double, while
Jeff Zebrowski (Chester Springs, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) came off the bench to finish 2-for-2 with a double and a run.
Anthony Atticks (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township (Harford C.C.)) and
Peter Masterson (Park Ridge, N.J., Park Ridge) both threw a perfect 1-2-3 inning, while
Gavilan Fogarty-Harnish (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata),
Kevin Sell (Mertztown, Pa./Brandywine Heights),
Ryan Clow (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) and
Matt Matricardi (Dresher, Pa./Upper Dublin) also threw scoreless frames. Sell struck out the side in the sixth, and Matricardi would end up with the win to improve to 3-2 as he pitched the eighth.
After Albright opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the second, Cox's leadoff double in the fourth led to KU's first run. He moved up to third on
Nick Lafferty (Croydon, Pa./Archbishop Wood)'s infield single and after the first out and an Eppley walk, he came into score on
Joe Santospago (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Mercer County C.C.))'s RBI groundout.
Albright quickly stole the momentum right back in the fifth though. With two outs and the bases loaded, Noah Beebe roped the first pitch he saw down the right field line for a double to clear the bases.
Kutztown got back within two in the bottom half of the inning, with
Connor Teschko (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) getting hit by a pitch to leadoff. The next two batters both got out but Cox extended the frame with a two-out single, and both came around to score when
Daulton Fidler (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg)'s single to right field was mishandled.
The first four batters of the bottom of the sixth all reached base with Zebrowski leading off with a double, and
Brady Carras (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) cutting the deficit in half to one with an RBI single.
Zack Delp (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) walked and Teschko loaded the bases when he reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt, and Milazzo tied the game for the first time with a sacrifice fly.
Both teams stranded runners in scoring position in both the seventh and the eighth.
KU returns to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play on Friday at Shippensburg for a doubleheader at 1 p.m.
