PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Kutztown University softball team put yesterday behind it and outscored its opponents 18-4 Saturday in a pair of wins. KU took down Winston-Salem State 7-2 and UNC Pembroke 11-2 in five innings to cap the weekend with an even 2-2 record at the UNC Pembroke Invitational.
Note: Sunday's final game of the UNC Pembroke Invite has been cancelled due to weather.
The bats came alive on Saturday. Kutztown pounded out a combined 23 hits across two games. The Golden Bears overcame a 2-1 deficit in the opener and opened up for 10 of its 11 runs in the final three innings of the nightcap.
Jenna Lipowski (Nanticoke, Pa./Greater Nanticoke Area) and
Kristin Kaleycik (Bethlehem, Pa., Liberty), both freshmen, hit their first career homers at KU in game two.
In the opener against Winston-Salem State,
Ava Bottiglia (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) was impressive in her first collegiate performance. She threw a complete-game victory over the Rams with eight strikeouts. She only allowed one extra-base hit. Her only damage was a two-out, two-run single in the third inning, but the freshman showed composure to limit the damage and settle back in for her first career win.
Kutztown overcame a 2-1 deficit through three with a 12-hit performance over Winston-Salem State. KU connected on three-straight RBI singles in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
Taylor Knappenberger (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland),
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) and
Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) drove in runs.
KU stole five bases in the opener. Keeny swiped two as she sits in fourth in school history with 67 in her career. Freshman
Alyssa Oakley (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) had her first two stolen bases of the year, as fellow freshman
Paola Texidor (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) also stole a base.
The Golden Bears added three insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Hannah Auvil (Baltimore, Md./Sparrows Point) drove an RBI single in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the sixth to highlight the late charge. Senior
Asja Saito (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering) also doubled in a run in the fifth.
Winston-Salem State starter Erica Davis was chased in the fifth and was tabbed with the loss, allowing six runs – two earned.
In game two vs. UNC Pembroke, Kutztown scored four in the third, fourth in the fourth and two in the fifth to cruise to its five-inning victory. Lipowski drove a three-run homer to left in the third inning, taking advantage of a Pembroke error in the inning.
Errors cost Pembroke dearly, as seven of Kutztown's 11 runs were unearned.
Kaleycik capped a four-run fourth with a two-run homer to left, while Keeny knocked her third triple of the weekend to score two runs in the sixth. Keeny had just two triples combined in her first two years at KU.
Bridget Newman (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) and
Adrianna Dilal (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) combined to help KU bring home the victory in the circle. Newman started and threw 2.1 innings, while Dilal came in for long relief to earn the win with 2.2 innings of no-hit ball.
Kutztown returns home and will next travel to Myrtle Beach later this month, Feb. 16-18, for five regionally-ranked games.
