NUTTER FORT, W.Va. – The Kutztown University baseball team erupted for a six-run first inning on its way to a 14-9 victory in the rubber match at Salem University Sunday to take the series 2-1 in Nutter Fort, West Virginia.
 
The Golden Bears (6-3 overall) have now won four of their last five games overall. They finished with a season-high 19 hits Sunday, the most in a game since they also had 19 hits back on March 19, 2018. The team batting average on the year (.330) ranks second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
 
Aaron Cleveland (Pillow, Pa./Upper Dauphin) had himself a day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three RBI, all career-highs. He also scored a run and was a homerun shy of the cycle.
 
Collin Bishop (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional) continues his tear of the baseball, finishing 3-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. The two-time PSAC East Athlete of the Week in 2020 leads the conference with a .581 average, 1.065 slugging percentage and is tied for third with 22 RBI this season.
 
Jake Augustus (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) also went 3-for-5 and added three runs. Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and Jacoby Pate (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) each were 2-for-4 with two RBI to round out the quintet of KU players with multi-hit games. Mitch Pinder (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown), Zach Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.), Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown), Mike Piscotty (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Hanover Area) and Adin Hoderewski (Coplay, Pa./Whitehall) all had one hit, while Greg Power (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) contributed an RBI.
 
Matt Ziminsky (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) got the start on the mound and threw six strong innings, allowing just two runs and striking out a season-high nine Tigers batters to earn his second win of the year. He has a perfect 2-0 mark this season.
 
Kutztown took complete control of this one from the get-go against the Tigers. KU batted around in the top of the first inning, sending 10 batters to the plate, and recorded five hits, highlighted by a two-run double down the left field line by Pate, and RBI singles by Rossillo and Cleveland to take a 6-0 lead before Salem even came to the plate.
 
After both teams scored a run in the fifth, the Maroon and Gold came up with another big inning in the sixth, bringing 11 batters to the plate, and tacking on five more runs to their lead, taking a 12-1 advantage. Bishop (2), Cleveland, Power and Rossillo all had RBI in that frame.
 
Bishop connected for a two-run homerun in the seventh and Kody Cracknell (Jamison, Pa./Archbishop Wood) pitched his way out of some trouble in the bottom-half to preserve KU's lead. Dalton Geiger (Leesport, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) and Zach Peters (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) finished off the game throwing the eighth and ninth innings respectively.
 
Kutztown returns to action for a non-conference doubleheader at Slippery Rock University on Wednesday, March 11, beginning at 1 p.m.