MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Kutztown softball was in need of a big hit. Sophomore lead off hitter,
Brianna Stocklin (Deptford, N.J./Deptford Township) delivered. Her solo home run in the top of the seventh inning of game two broke a scoreless contest and helped KU earn a split at Millersville Thursday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division doubleheader.
The Golden Bears (26-22 overall, 20-10 PSAC East) stopped a three-game losing streak and held onto the third spot in the East ahead of next week's PSAC Tournament with two games to play.
Stocklin's third home run of the season was a big one as KU avoided not only a sweep Thursday but a season sweep at the hands of the Marauders (25-27, 12-18), who won the previous two games back on April 4. She now ranks in the top-10 in the PSAC in runs scored (40) and hits (58) this season.
Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) started game two inside the circle and threw a complete-game shutout to earn her 16th victory on the season, third-most in the PSAC. She also lowered her ERA to 1.93, fifth in the conference.
Kristin Geesey (Bainbridge, Pa./Elizabethtown) led the offense with four total hits on the day.
Kate Ostaszewski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan),
Sarah Harvey (Swanton, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union),
Brianna Hughes (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) and
Hannah Reimel (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) all had three, with Reimel recording her 100th career hit.
Kutztown has one more opponent to face before the end of the regular season. KU is set to host Shippensburg for senior day this Saturday, April 29, with game one beginning at 1 p.m. Weather may move around the time, date or even location. Stay tuned to kubears.com, for any updates.
Millersville 7, Kutztown 1
Just like in the last meeting between these two teams where they combined for 32 hits in the second game, Kutztown and Millersville both found success at the plate, finishing with a total of 24 hits. The Marauders, however, were able to turn theirs into runs at a higher rate. The Golden Bears used four different pitchers, but could not keep Millersville's scoring down.
Millersville, which took both games at North Campus Field, jumped out to an early lead with a run in the first and three more in the second to go on top 4-0. Kutztown got its lone run on an RBI single by Hughes in the top of the third inning, her 22nd run batted in this season, to cut its deficit to 4-1. But that was the closest the Maroon and Gold would get the rest of the way as the Marauders tacked on two more in the fifth, via two extra-base hits, including a solo home run and a run-scoring double.
Ostaszewski, Harvey, Geesey and Reimel each finished with two hits, with the latter recording her 100th career hit.
Kutztown 1, Millersville 0
Offense was at a premium in the night cap as the teams went scoreless through the first six frames. Gravish and Millersville starter, Alex Schaefer, were dealing, each recording six strikeouts. Schaefer, however, had the lone blemish, a seventh-inning, leadoff home run by Stocklin.
The Marauders had the tying run on first and winning run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, but Gravish induced a fly out to end the game and give KU a much-needed victory.
