KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team went 1-1 on Friday afternoon to open its series with the East Stroudsburg University Warriors, dropping the opening game 6-1, but bouncing back with a dramatic come-from-behind 6-3 victory in game two to salvage the split at North Campus Field.
Down, but never out. That has been the mantra for the KU baseball team this season, one that came to fruition for the Golden Bears in a pivotal sixth-inning rally in game two after dropping the opener to ESU.
Down 3-1 with just six outs to work with,
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) and
Mike Villa (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton (Lackawanna)) reached base to lead off the sixth via a hit by pitch and base on balls, respectively. An attempted sacrifice bunt by
Ryan Cox (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell (St. Bonaventure)) was perfectly executed, so much so that the senior from Aliquippa beat it out for a hit to load the bases with no one out.
A balk from ESU starter Nata Fiala scored Rottet before Fiala's first pitch to
Nick Lafferty (Croydon, Pa./Archbishop Wood), getting the Golden Bears within one. After a meeting on the mound, Lafferty swung at the first pitch he saw from the Warrior righty and laced it into the right center field gap for a two-RBI single, plating Cox and Villa to give KU the 4-3 lead. A throwing error on a bunt from
Ryan Weller (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) allowed
Jacoby Pate (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township), whom pinch-ran for Lafferty, and
Collin Bishop (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional) to score, putting the Golden Bears in front 6-3 headed into the final frame.
Kutztown starter
Mike Kammerer (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) finished off a gutty performance in the seventh, stranding two runners in the inning, to earn the complete game victory. Kammerer (4-2) went 7.0 innings, scattering five hits and surrendering three runs, two of which were earned, and kept ESU off the scoreboard in the final four frames.
Cox collected a team-high five hits and an RBI on the day, reaching base in both tilts to extend his on-base streak to 25 games. Lafferty combined for three hits and two-RBI, catching in the opener and serving as the designated hitter for game two.
Game One
Michael Hunter (Mertztown, Pa./Brandywine Heights (Marist)) took the mound for Kutztown to start the series and looked to be in great form in the first inning, striking out the side. Cox singled up the middle with two outs in the home-half of the opening frame and Lafferty then extended the inning, getting on via an ESU error by the second baseman. Bishop took advantage of this opportunity, plating Cox on a single back up the middle to put KU ahead 1-0.
ESU starter Evan Steele worked his way out of that jam via a strikeout, gaining some momentum to bring into the next inning. Steele did exactly that and more, silencing the KU bats for the remainder of his 4.2 innings pitched, striking out a total of 10 Golden Bears. All told, Steele's (2-5) complete line finished as 5.2 innings pitched and six hits allowed with four walks and 10 strikeouts, throwing 120 pitches in the win.
Relief man Mike Pepio came in to close the door for ESU, stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth and pitching 1.1 scoreless innings to earn his third save of the season.
The Warrior offense scratched across two runs in the third inning to take a 2-1 lead and then extended ESU's advantage in the fifth, tacking on an insurance run. However, the tide really shifted the Warriors' way in the sixth as ESU chased Hunter with men on second and third and two outs in the frame.
Jeff Charles (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall (Lehigh Carbon C.C.)) came in to relieve Hunter and East Stroudsburg jumped on Charles quickly, scoring three two-out runs to put itself in the driver's seat.
KU's Hunter took the loss (4-1), his first of the season as he allowed five runs, four of which were earned and struck out five on 104 pitches.
Game Two
With Kammerer on the hill to start game two, things looked bleak for KU in the first inning as ESU took advantage of a Kutztown error, scoring two in its first at-bat. A resilient Golden Bear squad battled back as Cox brought home Rottet, who reached on an ESU error, with an RBI-single to cut the deficit in half.
The Warriors extended their advantage back to two runs in the top-half of the third inning courtesy of a sacrifice fly to go ahead 3-1. Both Fiala and Kammerer settled in at this point as neither allowed a run until the Maroon and Gold's dramatic sixth inning.
ESU manager John Kochmansky elected to leave Fiala in the game after loading the bases and giving up a run via the balk with the clean-up hitter Lafferty stepping to the dish. The Archbishop Wood-prep made the Warriors pay at this critical juncture, giving his team the lead for good with his clutch single.
KU moves to 12-12 after today's split and 6-7 in the PSAC Eastern Division with the Warriors right on its heels at 16-13 overall and 5-7 in conference play.
The Golden Bears will make the short trip to ESU tomorrow for the final two games of the four-game series on the Warriors' turf. First pitch from Mitterling Field in scheduled for 1 p.m.
