SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Kutztown University baseball dropped its PSAC East series finale at Shepherd by a 7-1 score Sunday afternoon. The Rams jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first and never looked back.
Gino Serechia led off the bottom of the first with a solo blast to left for the Rams. Shepherd went on to score two more runs, finishing the inning with a 3-0 lead and tallying three hits.
Shepherd (10-12-1, 5-6-1 PSAC East) struck for two more runs in the third inning, extending their lead to five. KU starter
Gavin Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) retired the leadoff batter, but the next two reached safely via a walk and hit by pitch. Both baserunners came in to score on James Schwartz's double to left.
The Rams made it 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth, providing plenty of support for their four-man pitching crew, who combined to hold the Bears scoreless into the seventh.
Kutztown's (8-19, 3-9 PSAC East) only run came when it tied together three consecutive singles from
Joey Pettinelli (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown),
Mike Kelly (Schwenksville, Pa./Pope John Paul II), and
Gavin Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) in the top of the seventh. Moretski's knock to right plated Pettinelli, but the Rams worked their way out of the jam, turning a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
The Rams tallied another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth as left fielder Tommy Gibson reached on a walk and eventually scored on a single to center by catcher Zach Doss.
The Golden Bears finished with one run on nine hits, coming from six different players, but were held without an extra base hit.
Mike Kelly (Schwenksville, Pa./Pope John Paul II) and
Mitchell Peers (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) were the only two with a multi-hit day. Kelly amassed three singles, while Peers had a pair.
Gavin Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) took the loss on the mound for KU, falling to 2-6 on the season. He allowed five runs on six hits while striking out eight across four innings. Daniel Keane followed starter Austin Krebs (3 IP, 0 ER) with three innings of one-run ball to pick up the win. Aaron Snyder and Nate Hodgkinson combined to fire three scoreless innings of relief for the hosts behind Keane.
Kutztown travels to Mansfield to resume conference play, Friday, April 8, at 2 p.m.
