FLORENCE, S.C. – For the second time in as many days, the Kutztown softball team defeated Molloy, but lost to host Francis Marion in the Raines Company Softball Classic in Florence, S.C., Sunday afternoon.
 
The Golden Bears (6-2 overall) split four games between the two days on Saturday and Sunday, taking down the Lions and falling to the Patriots each day.
 
Sarah Harvat (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) and Kristin Geesey (Bainbridge, Pa./Elizabethtown) both finished the day with four hits as the KU lineup recorded double figures in hits in both games, tallying 12 in game one and 10 in game two. Naya Darnowski (Manchester, N.J./Manchester Township), Alexa Stevens (Covington Township, Pa./North Pocono) and Emily Henn (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley) all finished with three hits each.
 
Natalee Harvey (Swanton, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union) earned the victory, starting the opener and going all seven innings, allowing four runs and striking out two for her third victory of the season.
 
Kutztown has the rest of the month off and returns to action at the beginning of March, with a double header at Holy Family on Friday, March 1, beginning at 1 p.m.
 
Kutztown 7, Molloy 4
 
A couple of extra base hits propelled Kutztown in front with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Henn tripled to center field to score Brianna Stocklin (Deptford, N.J./Deptford Township) and then Morgan Slomkowski (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) doubled to left center in the next at-bat to stake KU to an early 2-0 lead.
 
Molloy tied the game with two runs in the third inning on a two-run single by the sixth batter of the inning before she was thrown out on the play, ending the frame.
 
Stevens then broke the deadlock with a two-run long ball following a leadoff double by Geesey to take back the lead at 4-2.
 
The Lions cut their deficit in half with a run in the top of the fifth before KU brought home three in the sixth, highlighted by RBI singles from Henn and Geesey and then held on for the win.
 
Francis Marion 9, Kutztown 6
 
Looking for a little revenge after losing to Francis Marion the day before, Kutztown got off on the right foot with two runs in the third inning on a two-run single by Darnowski. But the Patriots answered in a big way with three runs in the bottom-half of the inning and then six in the fourth.
 
Harvat then delivered in the sixth inning with a two-run single and Henn capped the scoring with a two-run home run in the seventh for Kutztown.
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