LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Spearheaded by a seven RBI day from sophomore catcher
Michael Burns (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman), the Kutztown University baseball team (11-19, 5-9 PSAC East) found its groove at the dish, taking both games of a doubleheader against Lock Haven (6-24, 3-15 PSAC East) Saturday afternoon in Lock Haven.
KU went down quickly in game one but convincingly bounced back for a 9-7 win. In game two, the Golden Bear offense exploded for 10 runs across the fourth and fifth innings to walk away 12-7 winners. I
t's the first doubleheader sweep for KU in conference play this season and the fourth and fifth straight victory against the Bald Eagles. Along with Burns' career day at the dish, senior Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) also surpassed 150 career hits and 100 career RBI on Saturday.Â
KU and Lock Haven wrap up the weekend series tomorrow, Sunday, April 7 at North Campus Field. First pitch in game one is slated for 1 p.m.Â
Game 1: Kutztown 9, Lock Haven 7
Five Golden Bears ended with a multi-hit game as KU climbed out of an early hole to take game one 9-7.
Burns, Bo Barthol (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland). Martini, Brennan Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford), and Cole Regn (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) were the Golden Bears to register two hits. In his return to the lineup, Burns tied a career-best three RBI (at the time) in the win. Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) earned his second win of the season on the bump, while Michael Lennon (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) earned his second save. Matt Lingenfelter took the loss for the Bald Eagles.
KU got on the board first via a wild pitch that scored Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley), but Lock Haven plated four runs on three hits in the bottom of the first to jump out to a 3-1 lead. Lock Haven's advantage did not last long, as KU responded with a four-run second frame to take the 5-3 lead. The Bald Eagles quickly tied the game at 5-5 after two innings.
With two outs in the top of the third, Rozich and Barthol had back-to-back RBI hits to make it 7-5, followed by an error that made it 8-5 KU. The Golden Bears tacked on another run in the top of the sixth to make it 9-5. Lock Haven made the game closer with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but Lennon put the Bald Eagles down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the win.Â
Game 2: Kutztown 12, Lock Haven 7
The offensive momentum kept rolling into game two, as KU plated a combined 10 runs across the fourth and fifth innings to take game two 12-7.
Burns continued his spectacular afternoon, notching another four RBI (the most in his college career), three hits, and two runs. Martini also chipped in three RBI, while Barthol had two. Kannon Zdimal (Morgantown, Pa./Twin Valley) earned his second win of the season in relief of starter Paul Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic). Jared Colledge took the loss for Lock Haven.Â
Similar to game one, Lock Haven started fast, plating three runs in the first inning via a three-run homer and another in the bottom of the second to open up a 4-0 lead. KU slashed the lead in half thanks to a two-RBI single from Burns in the top of the third. Then in the top of the fourth, RBI from Rossillo, Barthol, Burns, and Rozich scored four more runs to give KU the 6-4 advantage.
The Golden Bears' offensive explosion came in the top of the fifth. Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) started things with an RBI double, followed by back-to-back RBI singles from Barthol and Burns to make it 9-6. A Martini two-RBI double and an error added three more as KU opened up a significant 12-6 advantage. Lock Haven added one more in the bottom of the fifth, but it was enough as KU walked away 12-7 winners.
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