Live Stats
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team hits the road for its spring break trip this weekend for a stretch of five games in six days as part of the fifth-annual Collegiate Baseball Classic in Wilson, N.C. spanning from Mar. 9-14.
Kutztown joins four other Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) teams, Bloomsburg University, Lock Haven University, California University (PA) and Mercyhurst University, which will compete in the showcase hosted by Barton College and the Wilson Tobs, members of the Coastal Plain League. Mountain East Conference (MEC) members West Virginia State University and Wheeling Jesuit University round out the field of competitors for this College Classic which features seven Division-II universities.
For the Golden Bears,
Nick Lafferty (Croydon, Pa./Archbishop Wood),
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) and
Ryan Cox (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell (St. Bonaventure)) are each hitting above .400 after four games played this season with a combined eight extra base hits and 10 RBI. On the bump,
Gavilan Fogarty-Harnish (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) and
Michael Hunter (Mertztown, Pa./Brandywine Heights (Marist)) both delivered solid performances in their first starting appearances of the season, going 4.0 and 5.0 innings, respectively, without giving up a run.
KU (1-3) will duel with Wheeling Jesuit (1-3) to open play on Friday, Mar. 9 for a 6 p.m. first pitch from Fleming Stadium. The Cardinals struggled last season, finishing sixth in the MEC's North Division with a 7-35 overall record and 6-24 mark in conference play. Despite WJU's struggles, Kutztown will have to be mindful of 2017 All-MEC Second Team pitcher Michael Finch, who has yet to surrender a run in two starts, having thrown 12.0 innings this season. In 2017, Finch recorded a 3.85 ERA over 46.2 innings in eight conference starts and finished seventh in the final MEC ERA rankings.
The Maroon and Gold will then see their top competition of the weekend in North Carolina on Saturday, Mar. 10 at 1 p.m., meeting PSAC-foe No. 8 Mercyhurst. The Lakers, who finished last season with a 32-4 overall record and were ranked first in the NCAA Atlantic Region, are off to a 5-0 start behind their ace on the mound, Russell Lamovec. Lamovec is the reigning Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year and has struck out 21 batters in 13.0 innings this season, having yet to allow a hit.
On Sunday, Mar. 11, the Golden Bears are pitted against the West Virginia State University Yellow Jackets at 1 p.m. WVSU finished fourth in the MEC South a year ago with a 21-26 overall mark and 14-18 record in conference play. KU will be looking for revenge in this one against a WVSU team which bested it 4-3 in an 11-inning pitcher's duel at this same event one year ago. Most recently, West Virginia State (4-3) took three of four from PSAC-school Clarion University, in which the Yellow Jackets scored a combined eight runs in those three victories.
Kutztown will then take on its final non-conference PSAC opponent of 2018 to complete the Collegiate Classic, matching up with Cal on Monday, Mar. 12 at 2 p.m. The Vulcans (7-2) missed out on last year's PSAC Tournament, finishing with a 20-24 overall record and 11-13 mark in conference play, fifth in the PSAC Western Division. Chris Wastchak and Levi Krause are two hitters for KU to watch in the middle of the California (PA) lineup. Both were voted to the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association's (NCBWA) Preseason All-Region squad as second-team selections and have combined for 26 of Cal's 68 RBI so far this season.
After a day off on Tuesday, Mar. 13, the Golden Bears final game of the trip will be against the local-Barton College Bulldogs at 2 p.m. on Mar. 14. Barton (7-14) went 28-23 overall and 13-14 in the Conference of the Carolinas last season. Chase Riker and Troy Maslowski lead the Barton offense with a combined six doubles and 24 RBI, hitting .313 and .458, respectively.
Live stats will be available via links above, which are also accessible on the homepage and on the baseball schedule page on www.kubears.com.
