KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The Kutztown University baseball team (13-22, 7-11 PSAC East) recorded a joint season-high 16 hits in game one of a doubleheader split against Shepherd (13-18, 8-11 PSAC East) Saturday afternoon in extremely windy conditions at North Campus Field.
In game one, six Golden Bears registered a multi-hit game while Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) threw five hitless innings in a convincing 10-3 victory. The script flipped in game two, as the Rams used a six-run third inning and three home runs to walk away 8-2 winners.
The Golden Bears and Rams are back in action tomorrow, Sunday, April 14 in Shepherdstown, W. Va. to wrap up the four-game series with a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
Game 1: Kutztown 10, Shepherd 3
The Golden Bears scored early and often in game one, taking a 3-0 lead after two frames thanks to a two-RBI double from Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley) and an RBI single from Bo Barthol (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland).
The true difference in the contest came in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Michael Burns (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman), Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge), and Kerley extended the lead to 6-0. Jason Wolff (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) added another run via an RBI double, which was then followed up by another RBI double, this time from Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown), to make it 9-0. KU plated six runs on seven hits in the fourth inning.
Skrocki was dealing on the bump in the first five frames, allowing no hits and only four base runners. Shepherd's first hit of the contest was a two-run home run in the top of the sixth that made it 9-2. A fielder's choice scored another run as the Rams cut the lead to 9-3. Skrocki, who earned the win, allowed two hits and one earned run while striking out four in six innings of work. The Royersford native improves to 3-3 on the year, winning his last two starts after starting the season 1-3.
Following a lead-off double from Wolff, Proietto knocked home his third run of the contest to make it 10-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Abel Saft (Kintnersville, Pa./Moravian Academy) came in to close out the game in the seventh, leaving two runners stranded as KU walked away 10-3 winners.
Game 2: Shepherd 8, Kutztown 2
Brennan Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) got the scoring going for KU in game two, knocking home his first run of the day to make it 1-0 after two. Similar to the Golden Bears in game one, Shepherd used a six-run output in the third inning to blow the game wide open. Greg Borges and Idris Carter both launched homers that made it 6-1 Shepherd entering the bottom of the third.
Kerley continued his spectacular day at the plate in the bottom of the third, rocketing a ball to the deepest part of the ballpark for his team-leading fifth home run of the season to cut the lead to 6-2. The Indian Trail, N.C. native is tied for seventh in the conference in home runs this season.
Aidan Greaney, who went a perfect 4-for-4 in the game, added two more runs via a double and a home run in the fifth and seventh innings to make it an 8-2 final score.
Paul Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) earned the loss for KU, while Tyler Cleveland (Pillow, Pa./Upper Dauphin) saw action in relief. Michael Burnley earned the win for Shepherd.
