KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Kutztown's PSAC East doubleheader against East Stroudsburg, Friday, ran the gamut of emotions. The Golden Bears were no-hit in an 11-0 game one loss, but rebounded to earn a split when Gavin Moretski's (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) 10th-inning single gave the hosts an 8-7 walk-off win in the nightcap at North Campus Field.

It took multiple rallies by the Bears (15-13, 9-13 PSAC East) in game two to grasp a hard-earned --and necessary-- victory. They trailed 4-3 in the sixth, before Andy Blum (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) tied it with a single, only to surrender three more runs to the Warriors in the top of the seventh.

Kutztown refused to lay down, however. Senior Collin Bishop (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional) pulled a two-run double down the left field line and scored on a wild pitch to know the game at seven. After two scoreless frames, the Bears put two aboard with two down in the 10th. Gavin Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) came through with a single inside the bag at first that brought Brandon Heere (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) around with the game-winning run.

The opener belonged to the Warriors (12-10, 10-7 PSAC) and pitcher Chase Nowak. Nowak faced six over the minimum and struck out 11 in the first no-hitter against the Bears since April 11, 2016. He got plenty of support, with ESU blasting three homers in the victory.

GAME 1
East Stroudsburg 11, Kutztown 0

East Stroudsburg jumped out to an early lead in game one and never looked back. Lead-off man Brainy Rojas reached on a hit by pitch and later scored on Brock Kauffman's single to right, giving Nowak the only run he'd need.
 
The Warriors got rolling again on Tommy Dunleavy's two-run homer in the third and scored at least one run from that inning forward.

Joey Paolini and Logan Stirr added round-trippers for ESU, while Dunleavy and Tim Haverstick provided two-run singles.

Dunleavy was a thorn in KU's side throughout the game, finishing 3-for-5 with a game-high four RBIs. Kuaffman also had three hits. Haverstick, Paolini and Ricky Bromirski each tallied two hits and ESU racked up 15 as a team.
 
Nowak threw 115 pitches on his way to the no-no. He issued five walks and Zach Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) reached on an error in the fourth to account for Kutztown's only base traffic.

Trevor Leverington (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) started on the bump for the Bears and struck out five over 3.1 innings. He allowed four runs in falling to 1-2 on the season.

GAME 2
Kutztown 8, East Stroudsburg 7 (10)

East Stroudsburg once again took an early lead, scoring twice in its first at-bats, but this time Kutztown had an answer.

Ethan Martini (Feasterville-Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) led off the bottom of the inning with a single and scored on another by Collin Bishop (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional). Three batters later Mitchell Peers (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) stroked a two-run double to deep center field for the Maroon and Gold's first lead of the day.
 
The scoring barrage would settle down. KU's Matt Ziminsky (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) and ESU's Brent Francisco traded three straight scoreless innings, but the Warriors tied it on an RBI-single from Kauffman in the fifth and went in front, 4-3, on a wild pitch in the sixth.
 
The Golden Bears quickly battled back to knot things at four. Bishop walked on four straight pitches from Justin Guidos and Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) singled to put runners on the corners with one down. Blum punched an 0-1 pitch into right for a single that plated Bishop.
 
Momentum shifted squarely to the Warriors when Carson Freeman hit a go-ahead double and Stirr followed with a two-run home run for a 7-4 lead in the top of the seventh. After the way game one went, it would have been easy for the wind to leave the Bears' sails.
 
Instead, they dug in and got a huge two-run double from senior leader Bishop to pull within 7-6. With Zach Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) up, CJ Gonzales uncorked a wild pitch and Bishop raced home to tie the game again.
 
Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown), who relieved Ziminsky in the sixth, got stronger the longer he went. He retired the side in order in the eighth and kept ESU scoreless in the ninth and tenth, setting the stage for Gavin Moretski's (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) heroics.
 
In a 1-2 hole, the sophomore connected for a single that scored Heere with the winning run and the team raced out of the dugout to mob the second baseman/pitcher who has quickly become a staple in coach Eric Folmar's lineup.

Martini led all KU players with three hits (3-for-5) and scored twice, while Bishop drove in three and scored three times.

Ziminsky struck out eight and gave up four runs in 5.2 innings, ultimately taking a no-decision. Five walks quickly ran his pitch count to 107. Proietto picked up his first win of the season with six strikeouts over the final 4.1 innings.

ON DECK
Kutztown concludes the series with ESU Saturday in Stroudsburg. Game one is set for a noon first pitch.