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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team rushed the North Campus Field in excitement, something that may have been a long time coming, after completing a two-game sweep of Shippensburg University on Saturday afternoon, winning 4-2 and 5-3, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action.
 
One inning can change the course of a game, and it happened in each game for KU. The Golden Bears (14-19 overall, 3-11 PSAC) fell behind in both games, but rallied to take leads late, scoring four runs in the fifth inning of game one, and then breaking out for three in the sixth in game two, and then held on behind timely outs by its pitching staff for its most successful conference day this season.
 
Junior Erin Fortney (Bedford, Nova Scotia/Bishop Macdonell (Rollins)) won her second game in as many weeks, and freshman Ava Bottiglia (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) relieved Fortney in the nightcap, and pitched six solid innings to record her fourth victory of the season and improve her record to 4-3.
 
The KU lineup was actually held to single-digits in hits each game, getting eight in the opener and seven in the latter, after ripping 11 and 10 hits in games one and two at Millersville respectively, Friday, Apr. 20. But, still, Kutztown grinded out at-bats and got the timely hits it needed to secure two PSAC wins.
 
Senior Bridget Newman (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) and freshmen Alyssa Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Cumberland Regional) and Alyssa Oakley (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) led the charge of five KU batters to record double-digit hits on the day. The trio ended with three hits, with Donato and Oakley each tallying two RBI. Donato continues her hot streak, riding a four-game hit streak.
 
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) and Cheyenne Jones (Levittown, Pa./Harry S Truman (Northwest Florida State)) each added two hits for KU. Keeny now has 48 hits this season, fourth in the PSAC, and is also fifth in batting average (.429) and eighth in on-base percentage (.476).
 
Kutztown hits the road for the final time this season when it travels to take on Wilmington (Del.) on Tuesday, Apr. 24 for a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m.
 
Game One
 
Trailing 2-0 before they even reached the batter's box, the Maroon and Gold faced some adversity the first three innings at the plate. They were unable to come up with the clutch hit with runners in scoring position all three innings, notably loading the bases in both the bottom of the first and second innings, but failing to capitalize.
 
But in the bottom of the fifth inning, Kutztown finally broke through.
 
After Newman was hit by a pitch to lead things off, Donato connected on her second home run in as many games, a two-run shot that tied the score up at 2-2.
 
Three straight walks by the Raiders (18-14, 6-6) loaded the bases with one out for Fortney. The pitcher helped herself out at the plate, hitting a sacrifice fly to left field that brought in Jones to give KU the lead. Keeny then singled to center, picking up an RBI that allowed Isabel Hoch (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan (Penn State Abington)) to score.
 
That was all the scoring Kutztown needed, as Fortney sat down Shippensburg in order the final two innings.
 
Game Two
 
Once again, the Golden Bears found themselves behind the eight-ball, trailing 1-0 after the top of the first inning. Then, with the score 2-0 in favor of the Raiders, Kutztown answered in the bottom of the second. After a Jones double to lead things off, senior shortstop Blayse Cholish (Peckville, Pa./Valley View) picked up an RBI, her second this season, on a sacrifice fly to right field to help chip away at the deficit.
 
Two innings later, it was another pitcher giving to her cause.
 
With the bases loaded and one out, Bottiglia ripped a shot to shortstop that she could not handle, and the ball rolled into the outfield, allowing Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) to score and tie the game at two-apiece.
 
Kutztown took control of the game in the bottom-half of the sixth inning, scoring three runs on two hits. But Shippensburg also lent a helping hand by committing three errors in the inning. Cholish, Bottiglia and Oakley all scored runs in that big sixth inning for KU.
 
Then, after allowing two of the first three batters in the top of the seventh to reach, Bottiglia settled in and got the final two batters, thanks to a hustle-play by Newman recovering from a wild pitch to throw out a runner at home.