BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The Kutztown University baseball team (9-17, 3-7 PSAC East) scored six runs with two outs left in the final frame to walk away 8-7 winners in game two of a doubleheader split against Bloomsburg (7-16, 4-10 PSAC East) Friday afternoon in Bloomsburg.
Both games ended with the same 8-7 scoreline and followed similar trends. In game one, KU was able to tie the game with a three-run seventh inning, but Bloomsburg was able to walk away victorious thanks to a walk-off home run. In game two, KU entered the final inning down 7-2, but scored six unanswered runs to secure itself an 8-7 comeback victory.
The Golden Bears and Huskies will wrap up their weekend series tomorrow, Saturday, March 30 at North Campus Field. Due to possible weather, first pitch in game one has been moved up to noon.
Game 1: Bloomsburg 8, Kutztown 7
The Golden Bears rallied from three runs down to tie things in the top of the seventh, but Josh Wilson hit a walk-off home run to give Bloomsburg the 8-7 win.
Bo Barthol (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate. Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) had two hits and two RBI, while Michael Burns (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) had a hit and two RBI. Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) and Brennan Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) both recorded multi-hit games, with Rozich also knocking home a run. Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) had KU's other RBI.
Brady Ebbert opened the scoring for Bloomsburg in the bottom of the first with a two-run home run to make it 2-0. Proietto responded with a two-run shot of his own in the next half-inning to tie up the game. Three batters later, Burns doubled to score Rozich and make it 3-2. Jacob Reifer tied the game back up for the Huskies in the bottom of the second with a double.
Burns added his second RBI of the day in the top of the fourth via a sac fly to make it 4-3. From that point, Bloomsburg plated four unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings to open up a 7-4 lead entering the final frame.
KU immediately loaded the bases with no outs to kickstart the comeback in the top of the seventh. A wild pitch scored Martini to make it 7-5, followed by a Rossillo sac fly to cut the lead to 7-6. With KU down to its final out, Rozich roped a ball to score Jason Wolff (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) and tie the game at seven. The Golden Bears quickly got the first two Huskies out in the bottom of the seventh, but Wilson homered to right field on a 2-2 count to give Bloomsburg the win.
Daniel Koppisch earned the win for Bloomsburg, while Cody Barberio (Green Lane, Pa./Quakertown) took the loss. Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) got the start for KU and went 4.1 innings before being replaced by Tyler Cleveland (Pillow, Pa./Upper Dauphin).
Game 2: Kutztown 8, Bloomsburg 7
KU returned the favor in game two, rallying from five runs down in the seventh inning to defeat the Huskies by the same 8-7 score.
Rozich led the way with two hits and two RBI, while Cole Regn (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) and Wolff had a pair of RBI. Martini and Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley) ended up with an RBI each.
The Huskies started fast in game two, with Wyatt Metzger hitting a two-run homer to make things 2-0 after one. KU responded in the next half inning via a two-RBI double from Rozich to tie the game at two. An RBI double by Brady Ebbert gave Bloomsburg back the lead after two frames.
It was all Bloomsburg offensively until the final inning, with the Huskies plating two runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 7-2 lead. With two outs in the seventh, Martini started the rally with an RBI single to make it 7-3. Back-to-back fielding errors from Bloomsburg resulted in another two runs as the lead was suddenly 7-6. Regn capped off the inning with a two-RBI single that gave KU the 8-7 lead. The Golden Bears plated six runs on two hits and two errors.
In the bottom of the inning, the Huskies were able to get a runner into scoring position, but Michael Lennon (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) retired the final two Huskies to preserve the massive 8-7 win.
Kannon Zdimal (Morgantown, Pa./Twin Valley) was credited with his first collegiate win, while Lennnon got the save. Daniel Koppisch took the loss for Bloomsburg.
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