MOUNT OLIVE, N.C.-- The Kutztown University baseball team (1-1) kicked off the 2024 season with a hard-fought doubleheader split against Mount Olive (4-2) down in North Carolina on Saturday. 

The Golden Bears dropped game one 12-6, before bouncing back with a 9-7 win in game two. Mount Olive is receiving votes in the latest NCBWA National Poll.

KU wraps up the series on Sunday with a single nine-inning game against the Trojans. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. 

Game 1
The Golden Bears were up 6-1 after four thanks to a five-run fourth inning but Mount Olive's bats came alive, outscoring KU 11-0 over the final four innings to take game one 12-6.

Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) recorded a multi-hit game for the Golden Bears, going 2-3 at the dish while drawing two walks. Freshman Bo Barthol (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) made his collegiate debut, recording his first career hit and RBI. Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley), Jason Wolff (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough), and Brennan Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) had the other RBI for KU. 

Kerley got the scoring going in the top of the first, singling to center field to score Martini and make it 1-0. The Trojans responded in the bottom half of the inning, plating a run via a passed ball to tie things up.

KU's offensive explosion in the fourth inning started after the first four batters of the inning were hit by a pitch, which plated one run to make it 2-1. Back-to-back fielder's choices, followed by a wild pitch, extended the Golden Bears' lead to 5-1. Bathol then stepped up to the plate and knocked home his first career RBI on his first career hit to make it 6-1. KU scored five runs on one hit and one error.

From that point forward, Mount Olive found their groove at the plate. Back-to-back RBI singles made things 6-4 in the fifth. The Trojans tacked on another three runs in the next inning to take that 7-6 lead. Two more came across in the seventh via a two-run home run, followed by three in the eighth thanks to four hits. The deficit was too much to overcome as KU fell 12-6 in game one. 

Zach Male (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) got the start on the bump for KU, going 4.2 innings while allowing five hits, two earned runs, and four strikeouts. Tyler Cleveland (Pillow, Pa./Upper Dauphin) and Trevor Leverington (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) saw action in relief for the Maroon & Gold. 

Game 2
Similar to the first game, KU produced a five-run inning to take a lead then lost the lead. Unlike the first game, the Golden Bears were able to battle back, take the lead, and defeat Mount Olive 9-7.

Martini and Kerley both registered multi-hit games with two RBI and a home run each. Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) bounced back from a rough first game and registered two RBI. Jason Wolff (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) and Michael Burns (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) had the two other RBI for KU.

The Golden Bears started the scoring with yet another five-run output, this time in the third inning. With two outs already recorded, Barthol made it 1-0 after scoring on an error. Rossillo followed that up with a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0. 

Then it was the North Carolina native Kerley who stepped up to the plate and roped a ball over the right-center field fence for KU's first homer of the year to make it 5-0. Mount Olive responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the frame to make it 5-1. 

After a scoreless top of the fourth, the Trojans got themselves back into the game. Three consecutive RBI singles quickly tied things up at 5-5. One inning later, it was Martini's turn to send a ball over the fence for a solo shot to make it 6-5. Mount Olive responded yet again an inning later with a two-RBI single to make it 7-6. 

The Golden Bears continued the trend as the game was turning into a thrilling back-and-forth affair. Martini showed up in the clutch again, knocking home Cole Regn (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) via a single to tie things at 7-7 entering the seventh and final inning.

In the top of the seventh, Kerley got things started with a double to right field. Then with two outs, Wolff doubled, which scored Kerley to give KU the lead. Burns followed that up with an RBI of his own, singling to center field to score Wolf and make it 9-7.

The Trojans started the bottom of the inning strong with a single and an error which put two runners on with no outs. In his return to action after missing 2023 with an injury, Abel Saft (Kintnersville, Pa./Moravian Academy) forced Mount Olive into a massive double play for the first two outs, then struck out Dylan Jeffries swinging to secure the win.

Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) got his first start of the season, allowing seven hits and five earned runs while striking out six. Saft allowed two hits and two earned runs, while striking out two in relief.