NORTH WALES, Pa. -- The Kutztown University baseball team (23-13, 9-6 PSAC East) held off a late comeback bid from Chestnut Hill (14-23, 8-9 CACC) in a 7-6 victory under the lights at Hostelley Field Wednesday evening.
The Golden Bears seem to have a comfortable 7-3 lead after 5 ½ innings before three unanswered Chestnut Hill runs cut the lead to one by the bottom of the eighth. Two clutch strikeouts from Dalton Geiger (Leesport, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) with the tying run on third in that frame maintained the KU lead before Gavin Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) came in to secure the win and his fifth save of the campaign.
The Golden Bears opened the scoring in the top of the first via an RBI from Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley) on a fielder's choice to make it 1-0. Chestnut Hill responded in the bottom of the frame on a two-RBI single from David Antone, making it 2-1.
KU recaptured the lead in the top of the third after a wild pitch and Kerley's second RBI of the game made it 3-2. An error on a Moretski hit an inning later scored two more Golden Bears and extended the lead to 5-2. Eil Meredith doubled in the bottom of the fourth for the Griffins to cut the lead to 5-3. A Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) RBI single in the fifth, followed by a Mitchell Peers (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) RBI double in the sixth gave KU the 7-3 advantage.
Chestnut Hill began to mount its comeback in the bottom of the sixth, started by an RBI single from John Crane. Ahmaad Goldson then started the eighth with a solo shot to make it 7-5. Crane knocked home another RBI to make it 7-6, leaving a runner on third with only one out, before Geiger struck out the next two batters to escape with the lead. It was then Moretski in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory, striking out two batters en route to the save.
Kerley led the KU offense at the dish with his two RBI performance, his sixth multi-RBI game of the campaign. Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) extended his hitting streak to 11 games with two hits, while Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and Proietto also had two hits each. Peers was the other Golden Bear to have a hit in the contest.
On the bump, KU used five pitchers in the win. Trevor Leverington (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) got the start, but Gavin Grande (Newtown Square, Pa./Malvern Prep) was awarded the win, going three innings while allowing three hits and striking out four with one earned run. It was the first win of his college career. Kade Breisblatt earned the loss for Chestnut Hill.
It's the second win this season for KU over the Griffins, following the Golden Bear's 16-11 home-opening win on March 7. The teams have one more matchup against each other back at North Campus Field on May 2.
KU matches up against Shippensburg this weekend in arguably its most important series of the season, as both teams are neck-and-neck in the race for a PSAC Tournament birth. The Golden Bears and Raiders open up the series in Shippensburg on Friday, April 21 at 2 p.m. The teams will then play a doubleheader at North Campus Field the following day. First pitch is slated for noon.
