EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team ended its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) drought Friday afternoon, earning a split at East Stroudsburg University's Zimbar Field. KU came back to win game one 8-6, but fell in walk-off fashion 6-5 in game two.
The Golden Bears have now improved to 12-15 overall and 1-7 in the PSAC East Division.
KU recorded double-digit hits in both games for the second straight doubleheader, after totaling 23 hits in the two games against Millersville April 6. Friday, the Maroon and Gold tallied 12 in each game for a total of 24 on the day.
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent), who entered the two-game set seventh in the PSAC in hits (34) and 10th in batting average (.419), improved in both categories Friday. The junior finished the day 4-for-9 (.444) with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.
Not to be outdone,
Cheyenne Jones (Levittown, Pa./Harry S Truman (Northwest Florida State)) also had four hits on the day, going 4-for-6, including a double and a home run, and also added two RBI and two runs scored.
Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy),
Bridget Newman (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) and
Alyssa Oakley (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) all had three hits each, and
Jenna Lipowski (Nanticoke, Pa./Greater Nanticoke Area) added two hits in the two games.
Kutztown hosts West Chester University for two games tomorrow, Saturday, April 14 at North Campus Field. First game is set to begin at 1 p.m.
Game One
Runs were at an all-time high as both teams scored in the first two innings and in at least four of their seven team at-bats. The major difference where the game was won came in the seventh and final inning.
Trailing 6-5, KU wasted little time in taking the lead back.
Jennings led off with a single down the left field line. In the very next at-bat, Newman followed with a two-run shot over the left field wall to give the Maroon and Gold a 7-6 lead. As soon as the ball hit the bat, her teammates jumped up and ran onto the field to celebrate, knowing the ball was leaving the ball park.
Five batters later,
Jacqueline Walsh (Downingtown, Pa./Coatesville) tacked on an RBI sacrifice fly to push the advantage to a two-run cushion.
Erin Fortney (Bedford, Nova Scotia/Bishop Macdonell (Rollins)) came back into the game to record the final three outs, and pick up her second victory of the season. Freshman
Ava Bottiglia (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) pitched the fifth, and Fortney closed the doors on ESU in the final two innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out two for the six outs.
Jones had a solo home run in the sixth, her first of the season, to pull KU to within the one-run deficit. Kutztown trailed for just an inning-and-a-half, as it held early leads by scoring two runs in the first and one in each of the next two frames.
After a one-out single by Oakley and Newman hit-by-pitch,
Alyssa Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Cumberland Regional) lined a shot to the right fielder that could not be corralled, and wound up rolling to the fence, allowing Oakley and Newman to come around to score for an early 2-0 lead.
In the second, two doubles from Jones and Keeny produced a run. Three hits in the third inning gave KU its fourth run of the game as Newman and Donato both singled, and Lipowski laced an RBI double over the center fielder's head, brining around pinch-runner
Blayse Cholish (Peckville, Pa./Valley View).
Keeny, Newman, Donato and Jones each had two hits, accounting for eight of KU's 12 hits.
Game Two
For 6.5 innings, it looked as if Kutztown was going to come away with the sweep. Leading 4-0 after 4.5 and 5-2 in the final frame, the Warriors hit a one-out, walk-off grand slam to salvage the two-game set 6.5
Starting pitcher
Adrianna Dilal (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) sat down 10 of the first 11 batters she faced, as both teams eased into game two.
The first runs of the game came in the top of the fourth when Jones singled home
Paola Texidor (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township), and then got into a run down on the base paths, allowing pinch-runner
Angie Carty (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) to come home for the 2-0 lead.
The Maroon and Gold added two more runs in their next at-bats, tallying four hits in the inning.
Asja Saito (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering) led off with a single, followed by a base hit from Keeny that put runners on first and third. On the next pitch, Keeny stole her 18th base of the season, which ranks second in the PSAC. Oakley then ripped an RBI single to right field, and like Jones, got into a run down on the next pitch, which allowed Keeny to slide into home safely for a four-run cushion.
ESU cut its deficit in half in the bottom portion of the fifth on just one hit. A walk, a hit-by-pitch, and a throwing error all combined to allow two Warriors runs across the plate.
Newman tagged an RBI double in the top of the seventh, and KU figured it could breathe with a three-run advantage (5-2), needing just three outs.
But softball is a game of inches, and unfortunately Kutztown needed just a few inches off Mary Wallick's game-ending slam to keep it in the park.
It was a disappointing ending to an otherwise great team-performance for KU, as it tasted a victory in PSAC play, and has some momentum to lean on for a showdown with first-place West Chester on Saturday.
