KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University softball had a memorable Saturday at North Campus Field. KU honored nine seniors at the start of the day and then went on to take two games from rival West Chester to claim the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division title and top seed in next week's PSAC Tournament in Quakertown.
 
The Golden Bears (33-13 overall, 12-4 PSAC) won the East for the second straight season and did it by taking down the defending conference champion Golden Rams (24-22, 7-9), while also knocking WCU out of postseason contention. KU won the opener 8-1 and then took the nightcap 4-1.
 
Before game one, head coach Judy Lawes and her staff recognized Hannah Auvil (Baltimore, Md./Sparrows Point), Bridget Bailey (Norwood, Pa./Interboro), Amber Brugger (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy), Alyssa Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Cumberland Regional), Jenna Lipowski (Nanticoke, Pa./Greater Nanticoke Area), Jenna Martinez (Oracle, Ariz./Canyon del Oro), Kate Ostaszewski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan), Paola Texidor (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) and Zoe Texidor (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) for their illustrious careers.
 
Ostaszewski, who entered Saturday ranked in the top-10 in the conference in hits, led the KU lineup with four hits, while adding three RBIs. Lipowski had three hits and five RBIs. Auvil, Zoe Texidor (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township), Reimel and Brianna Stocklin (Deptford, N.J./Deptford Township) all recorded two hits, with the latter also scoring three runs.  
 
Bailey started and won both games inside the circle. She now has 19 victories on the year, the most in the PSAC. She gave up just two runs all day and struck out 14 batters.
 
Kutztown then, led by its senior class, went out and took care of business in its regular season finale and most important doubleheader to date.
 
Kutztown will now prepare to win a PSAC title when it travels to Quakertown next week for the PSAC Tournament at Veterans Park, beginning on Wednesday, May 4.
 
Kutztown 8, West Chester 1
 
Kutztown broke open the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. KU batted around in the lineup, sending 11 batters to the plate and bringing six across home to strengthen a one-run lead of 2-1 to 8-1. With one out, Paola Texidor (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) walked. Then, the next seven batters reached base safely, including six hits. Stocklin, Auvil, Ostaszewski and Lipowski all had RBIs in the inning and Zoe Texidor (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) and Reimel had a hit in the inning to help out the rally.
 
That would be plenty of enough run support for Bailey, who struck out 10 Golden Rams and allowed just the one run on five hits.
 
Lipowski had a two-run single in the third inning to erase an early 1-0 deficit for KU. West Chester scored its lone run in the top of the first on back-to-back hits, including an RBI double by Trisha Kopinetz.
 
Kutztown 4, West Chester 1
 
Unlike in game one, Kutztown scored first and led throughout. KU scored twice in the bottom of the first on back-to-back RBI singles by Ostaszewski and Lipowski. Donato then added a third run in the second via an RBI groundout.
 
West Chester got its first run of the game in the top of the third on a run scoring double by Kate Rittenbaugh, but the Golden Bears tacked that back on thanks to Ostaszewski's RBI single in the fifth.
 
Bailey was once again solid, starting in back-to-back games for the first time this season. She allowed just the one run on seven hits and struck out four.

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