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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – On the first pitch of his first at-bat, redshirt-senior infielder
Ryan Cox (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell (St. Bonaventure)) of the Kutztown University baseball team ripped a single to left field to earn the 100th hit of his career. And the cardiac kids, fresh off a walk-off win in their last game, had an opportunity once again, but were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth inning, falling 2-1 Tuesday afternoon to Wilmington University in a non-conference game at North Campus Field.
The Golden Bears (15-17 overall) erased a one-run deficit in the sixth, but could not do it twice, trailing 2-1 in their final at-bats.
With the tying run on second and the winning run on first with one out, the Wildcats (24-14) recorded two straight outs to secure the victory.
After falling behind 1-0 in the second inning, KU tied the game 1-1 in the sixth thanks to a run by
Jacoby Pate (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township). The freshman led off the bottom part of the sixth inning with a single, his second on the day, and then went first-to-third after a
Bo Rottet (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) base hit. Pate then came around to score after the next batter.
Both teams tallied one hit each over the next two innings.
In the top of the ninth, Wilmington had its leadoff hitter reach base on a single to left. Two batters and two outs later, the runner was on third. The Wildcats next batter found a seam in-between Rottet and third baseman
Jeff Charles (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall (Lehigh Carbon C.C.)) that allowed him to beat out an infield hit, and score the eventual game-winning run from third.
Charles and pinch-hitter
Collin Bishop (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional) each had a hit for KU. The Kutztown pitching staff threw six arms, with
David Brown (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham),
Zach Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College) and
Zach Peters (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) each tossing 2.0 innings.
Kutztown begins a four-game set with Mansfield University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play on Friday, Apr. 27 on the road for a doubleheader. First pitch from Shaute Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.
