EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- In his final career game in the Maroon & Gold,
Zach Male (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) tossed a complete game as the Kutztown University baseball team (17-33, 10-22 PSAC East) won game one of a doubleheader against No. 25 East Stroudsburg (38-10, 26-6 PSAC East) to wrap up the 2024 season Friday afternoon at Creekview Park.
Male went the distance in game one, allowing only one earned run in eight innings of work as the Golden Bears took game one 4-3 in extras. The win marked the third time this season KU bested a ranked opponent, with the other victories coming against No. 15 West Chester and No. 6 Millersville. The Golden Bears dropped the second game of the doubleheader 9-1.
KU finishes the season seventh in the PSAC East with a 17-33 overall record. With a large number of players graduating, the Golden Bears will look to work themselves back into the playoff picture in 2025.
Game 1: Kutztown 4, East Stroudsburg 3
Game one was a low-scoring affair, but Male's performance on the bump and an eighth-inning RBI single from Cole Regn (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) led KU to a 4-3 victory.
The Golden Bears started the scoring in the top of the first, with an Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) single that scored Michael Burns (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) to make it 1-0. Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley) singled the next at-bat to score Martini, who got to third via an error, to give KU the 2-0 advantage. Male had his best stuff on the bump, only allowing two Warriors into scoring position through the first five frames.
ESU finally solved Male in the bottom of the sixth, scoring from a Parker Frey double to make it 2-1. A Burns RBI single in the top of the seventh gave KU some insurance, but the Warriors put two runners across the plate in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at three. ESU had the winning run just 90 feet away with two outs, but Male got Jack Rothenhausler to fly out and send the game to extras.
Kerley started the eighth by getting hit with a pitch and worked his way to third with an error and a single from Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood). It was then Regn, who singled to the pitcher to score Kerley and give KU the 4-3 lead. Male got the first two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Chaise Albus tripled to put the tying run on third. Despite the threat, Male struck out Will Zampella looking to secure the win.
Male earned his third win of the season, only allowing one earned run with four strikeouts on only 95 total pitches. Caden Parker took the loss for ESU.
Burns led the way at the dish, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Martini and Regn had two hits and an RBI each. Kerley had KU's other hit and RBI.
Game 2: East Stroudsburg 9, Kutztown 1
The Warriors started the scoring in game two and scored seven runs across the fourth and fifth innings to walk away 9-1 winners.
Martini led KU with two hits and an RBI, which came via a single in the top of the third. Bo Barthol (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland), Regn, and Joey Pettinelli (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) had KU's other hits. Michael Lennon (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) took the loss for KU, while Kannon Zdimal (Morgantown, Pa./Twin Valley) and AJ Torres (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood) saw action in relief. Peyton Brannock earned the win for ESU.
