KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University softball team battled back from a disappointing defeat in game one Sunday to even the series and force a deciding game three Monday. But West Chester University used a three-run, fourth inning to take the rubber game and advance to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship series Friday.
 
The Golden Bears (32-13 overall) won game two 10-2 in six innings, but dropped game three 6-3 in the semifinal round, best-of-three series at North Campus Field.
 
Kutztown lost game one Sunday 8-2 and then rain forced game two to be moved to today. KU evened the series and had the tying run at the plate in its final at-bat, but came up just short of playing for its first PSAC championship since 2013. In its last PSAC Tournament in 2019, Kutztown fell one win short of playing for the title.
 
Sarah Harvey (Swanton, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union) led the way for the Maroon and Gold offense, which had 28 hits on the day and outhit West Chester 28-14. The sophomore slugger finished with five hits and two runs batted in. A quintet of Golden Bears all had four hits between the two games including Kate Ostaszewski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan), Hannah Auvil (Baltimore, Md./Sparrows Point), Brianna Hughes (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland), Alyssa Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Cumberland Regional) and Jenna Lipowski (Nanticoke, Pa./Greater Nanticoke Area). Lipowski had a team-high four RBI, while Donato added three.
 
Junior pitcher Amber Brugger (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) started both games inside the circle and went the distance in both. She won her 12th game of the year in game two, but lost game three, allowing just two earned runs as the KU defense committed three errors behind her.
 
Kutztown will now await its fate in next week's NCAA Atlantic Region tournament. KU will be hosting the championships and will most likely be one of the top seeds of the six-team field, which begins on Wednesday, May 19. The selection show is scheduled for Sunday, May 16.
 
Kutztown 10, West Chester 2 (6 inn.)
 
Like what happened to them yesterday in game one, the Golden Bears used the late innings to make their mark on the scoreboard. Kutztown combined to score seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings (three in the fifth and four in the sixth) to break open a 3-2 lead and finish off West Chester in just six innings.
 
KU tied a season-high with 17 hits. Auvil, Donato and Harvey each had three hits and Ostaszewski, Brugger and Hughes all had two hits apiece.
 
Just as she did on Sunday, Lipowski put KU onto the board with an RBI groundout in the first, this time it was in the top-half of the frame as KU was the designated road team. Donato then singled up the middle the next batter to stake their team to a 2-0 lead.
 
The Golden Rams answered in their first at-bats with two runs of their own to tie the score.
 
The big hit came in the top-half of the second when Harvey helped out her pitching companion, Brugger, by driving a shot over the left field fence on the first pitch she saw, proving to be the game-winner.
 
Ostaszewski homered in the fifth and both Donato and Harvey had run-scoring singles in the inning. In the sixth, Auvil and Reimel produced RBI singles in the sixth and both Lipowski and Donato had RBI groundouts to cap the scoring for KU.
 
Brugger threw all six innings, allowing just six hits and one earned run, striking out five for her 12th win on the year.
 
West Chester 6, Kutztown 3
 
West Chester scored first with a run in the top of the first inning, but Kutztown's bats were hot and were riding momentum of the previous win. KU answered with two runs in its half of the first via a run-scoring single by Hughes and an RBI double from Lipowski for a 2-1 KU lead.
 
The Golden Rams (28-14) then also scored twice in the second to take back the lead, one in which they held on for good. They scored five unanswered after the Golden Bears' two first-inning runs.
 
Lipowski homered in the bottom of the fifth, but it was not enough to bring Kutztown back.