KUTZTOWN, Pa. --The Kutztown University baseball team (9-4) swept non-conference opponents Lincoln (Pa.) (1-10-1) in a doubleheader in cold conditions at North Campus Field Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Bears took game one 11-1, before holding off the Lions in a tight 3-2 affair in game two. The doubleheader was a rescheduled matchup from Saturday due to the weather.
KU has the week off before opening PSAC play against Millersville on the road on Friday, March 17. That game will start at 2 p.m. The Golden Bears return home on Saturday, March 18 for a doubleheader against the Marauders. First pitch is slated for noon.
Game 1: Kutztown 11, Lincoln 1
The Golden Bears exploded for a combined nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings in what ended up being an 11-1 route for KU in game one of the doubleheader. Lincoln's lone run came in the top of the seventh.
Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) led the way offensively, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and his third home run of the season. Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) was the other Golden Bear with a multi-hit game, as he went 2-for-2 with a team-leading three RBI. Michael Burns (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) had two RBI while Brennan Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford), Joey Pettinelli (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown), and Mitchell Peers (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) had one each. Peers was also walked three times in the game.
On the bump, Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) got the start and earned his third win of the season. The senior from Norristown, Pa. went four innings, allowing only three hits and striking out six. Zach Male (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) entered in relief and allowed no hits in three innings. Gabriel Sanchez took the loss for Lincoln.
Peers and Burns got the scoring going in the bottom of the first with RBI to make it 2-0. KU's offensive power showed in the fourth, which started off with Martini's two-run home run. A sac fly from Rossillo, an RBI single from Rozich, and a passed ball from Lincoln helped the Golden Bear's lead grow to 7-0 after four.
KU tacked on four more runs via Rossillo, Burns, and Pettinelli in the bottom of the fifth to pull away even more and make it 11-0. The Lions plated a run in the seventh but could muster nothing more as the Golden Bears took game one 11-1.
Game 2: Kutztown 3, Lincoln 2
Game two of the day was the opposite story, as the pitchers went toe-to-toe in a 3-2 win for KU. Both teams combined for only five hits in the game.
Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) got the start for KU and allowed only one hit in four innings, striking out five. Equally impressive was David Estevez of Lincoln, who went 4.1 innings while also only allowing one hit before exiting with an injury. Skrocki earned the win, while Estevez took the loss. Trevor Leverington (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) pitched two innings in relief before Dalton Geiger (Leesport, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) came into the game in the seventh and earned the save.
At the plate, Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley), Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown), and Colin Kelly (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) got the Golden Bear's three hits. Proietto and Jason Wolff (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) had KU's RBI. Similar to the first game, Mitchell Peers (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) showed great discipline at the plate, getting walked two times.
KU's first runs of the game came before the Golden Bears even had a hit. An error by the Lincoln shortstop allowed Petinelli to score and make it 1-0 KU in the bottom of the third.
Kelly registered KU's first hit of the game in the fifth inning, which was followed up by KU's second run of the day. A Petinelli sac bunt allowed Kelly to advance to second, which was followed up by him stealing third. A passed ball then allowed Kelly to score and make it 2-0 KU. A Proietto RBI single in the bottom of the sixth gave KU what looked to be a comfortable 3-0 lead heading into the last inning.
The Lions made it interesting. A wild pitch and an RBI from Bailey Corley cut the Golden Bear's lead to one run with one out remaining. Lincoln had a runner-in-scoring position with the chance to tie, but Geiger slammed the door shut, striking out the last Lion to secure the 3-2 victory for KU.
