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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team broke out of a hitting slump when it scattered 23 hits over the course of two games Friday afternoon, one day after combining for just six hits total in two games. Unfortunately for KU, Millersville University also brought its bats, as it recorded 27 hits in winning both Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division games Friday afternoon at North Campus Field, the home-opener for Kutztown.
The Golden Bears (11-14 overall, 0-6 PSAC East) powered out a season-high 13 hits in game one, and once again reached double-digits with 10 in the nightcap. But the Marauders (14-11, 3-1), who ranked in the top-two in the PSAC in eight offensive, statistically categories, showed their ability with nine of the 27 hits for extra bases, compared to KU's four, winning game one 8-5 and game two 7-5.
Freshman
Jenna Lipowski (Nanticoke, Pa./Greater Nanticoke Area) and junior
Sara Keeny (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) both had four-hit days. Lipowski finished 4-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored. Her three-hit game in the opener tied a season-high, and she also hit her second home run of the season, a solo drive in the fourth inning of the second game. Keeny had a .500 day at the plate, going 4-of-8 with an RBI and three runs scored. She now has 34 hits on the season (seventh in PSAC) and has scored 20 runs (sixth). Keeny also stole three bases on the day, leading the conference with 17.
Tamara Jennings (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy),
Bridget Newman (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford),
Asja Saito (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering) and
Cheyenne Jones (Levittown, Pa./Harry S Truman (Northwest Florida State)) also had multi-hit days for the Maroon and Gold. Jennings was 3-for-7 with a run scored, but could have easily had two or three more hits to her name, but unfortunately had some hard-hit balls lined right to the gloves of Millersville players.
Newman had a 3-for-6 day, including two RBI and two runs scored. She was one-of-three Golden Bears to go yard, connecting on her first homer of the season in the second inning of game one. Freshman
Alyssa Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Cumberland Regional), who continues to produce when called upon, was the third KU member to go deep. Donato's three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, pulled Kutztown to within just two runs (7-5). She now has five RBI in eight games this season.
Saito tallied three hits in the doubleheader and is currently hitting .262, a career-high for the senior. Jones started at shortstop in the opener, and went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the three-hole.
Gabby Tareila (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford),
Angie Carty (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) and
Ava Bottiglia (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) each added a hit for KU.
Kutztown fell behind each game 2-0 before it ever stepped up to the plate, and never led.
Kutztown has a week off before it next plays. KU travels to East Stroudsburg to take on the Warriors (8-16, 2-4) next Friday, April 13, with game one of the doubleheader set to begin at 2:30 p.m.
