SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Kutztown softball completed a four-game, season sweep of Shepherd by winning two games in Shepherdstown, W.Va., Tuesday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division doubleheader.
 
The Golden Bears (20-18 overall, 14-8 PSAC East) won the opener 9-1 in six innings and followed that up with a 7-6 victory in eight innings to record the sweep of the Rams (24-20, 7-17).
 
Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) recorded the win in both games inside the circle, starting and throwing a complete game in game one and then coming on in relief in the fourth inning of game two. The sophomore now has 13 wins on the year, fourth-most in the conference. She also has a 2.03 ERA, good for fifth.
 
Brianna Hughes (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) finished 4-for-6 at the plate with five RBIs and two runs scored. Sarah Harvat (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) and Sarah Harvey (Swanton, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union) both had three hits on the day, with the former adding three RBIs and the latter scoring five runs. Alexa Stevens (Covington Township, Pa./North Pocono) had the go-ahead home run, a solo shot, in the top of the eighth of the night cap, to help give KU the sweep.
 
Kutztown finally returns home after 12 straight games on the road when it hosts Bloomsburg in PSAC East action this Friday, April 21. Game one from North Campus Field is set to begin at 2 p.m.
 
Kutztown 9, Shepherd 1 (6 inn.)
 
Hughes led the lineup with three hits, including a two-run home run in the top of the third inning. It was her 24th long ball of her career, which is tied for seventh-most in program history. She also had a season-high four RBIs, the most since her freshman year in 2021.
 
Gravish did not face much trouble in her six innings of work, allowing six hits and just the one run. She struck out four Rams to earn the win.
 
After a scoreless first inning from both teams, Kutztown got on the scoreboard with a three-run top of the second. The first two batters of the inning reached base safely as Harvey was hit by a pitch to leadoff and then Hughes singled to left field. Two batters later, Harvat delivered with a base hit up the middle that brought home Harvey. Stevens then ripped a two-out double to left center two batters later to push KU's lead to 3-0.
 
It was Harvey and Hughes that got the scoring going again for KU with two outs in the following inning as Harvey singled the opposite way down the right field line and then Hughes delivered a home run over the left field wall for a 5-0 advantage.
 
In the fifth, the Golden Bears once again rallied for runs after the first two batters got out, and it was a similar crew that got the job done. Kate Ostaszewski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) recorded a two-out single and then Harvey walked. Hughes followed by learning the bases with a double to center. KU put the game into a run-rule situation with two runs in the top of the sixth as Gravish singled up the middle and Harvat came around to score, and then two batters later, Brianna Stocklin (Deptford, N.J./Deptford Township) had an RBI single that brought around Sophia Collins (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn).
 
Shepherd got its first two batters on base safely in the bottom-half of the frame, but Gravish limited damage as the Rams could just get one home.
 
Kutztown 7, Shepherd 6 (8 inn.)
 
Kutztown was in control of this one early, staking a 6-1 lead into the fourth inning. But Shepherd stormed back with a four-run fourth and then tied the game at 6-6 with a run in the fifth. Stevens, then, stepped up to the plate leading off the eighth and connected on a solo drive to left field for what proved to be the game-winning run. It was her second career home run, first since her first game of the season on March 10.
 
The Maroon and Gold had their first four batters reach base safely to begin the game. Stocklin was hit by a pitch leading off and then after a stolen base, Naya Darnowski (Manchester, N.J./Manchester Township) doubled her home for the opening run. Darnowski later came around to score on a fielder's choice and Harvat's two-out, two-run double pushed KU's lead to 4-0.
 
After a Rams run in the bottom of the second, Kristin Geesey (Bainbridge, Pa./Elizabethtown) singled to left and Ostaszewski came home to give KU a 5-1 edge, and then Gravish hit a sacrifice fly to push the score to 6-1. Shepherd tied the game with four in the fourth and one in the fifth to send the game to extras. Stevens wasted little time and sent her team home on top.
 
Gravish threw 4.1 innings and did not allow an earned run to finish off the victory.

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