KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division opening day pitted not only two of the top teams in the conference, but the nation, as 16th-ranked Kutztown softball hosted No. 12 East Stroudsburg Tuesday afternoon at North Campus Field in KU's home opener. The Warriors played near flawless softball and took both games by scores of 12-1 (5 innings) and 8-3.
 
The Golden Bears (16-5 overall, 0-2 PSAC) had a tough time at the plate and in the field, as they were outhit 26-11 and committed four errors (two each game). The Warriors (18-4, 2-0) lineup made solid contact all day on the four arms that the Maroon and Gold used inside the circle. Their ace, Sarah Davenport (13-0, 0.91 ERA), stymied the KU bats all day as she started both games and pitched 11 of the 12 innings played Tuesday.
 
Emily Henn (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley) and Sarah Harvat (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) both finished with three hits on the day, two coming in the second game for each. Jenna Piatkiewicz (Fogelsville, Pa./Parkland) and Brianna Stocklin (Deptford, N.J./Deptford Township) had two hits and an RBI a piece. Naya Darnowski (Manchester, N.J./Manchester Township) homered in game two and collected two RBIs.
 
Kutztown is switching its games with Mansfield and will now host the Mounties this Friday, March 21, with game one beginning at 1 p.m.
 
East Stroudsburg 12, Kutztown 1 (5 inn.)
 
East Stroudsburg showed its might as the Warriors accounted for 13 hits. Their big inning came in the top of the third as they extended a 1-0 lead after two into a 12-0 advantage, scoring 11 runs on 10 hits and being helped by two KU errors as they batted around and took control of the opener.
 
Henn, Harvat, Piatkiewicz and Stocklin each had a hit for the Golden Bears, who scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Harvat singled up the middle with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored two batters later on a Piatkiewicz RBI knock up the middle.
 
The reigning PSAC East pitcher of the year, Davenport, gave the Maroon and Gold problems all game, allowing just two hits, while striking out seven in six innings of work to improve to 12-0 on the season.
 
East Stroudsburg 8, Kutztown 3
 
Darnowski ripped a home run over the left center field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning to break up a no-hitter and added a sacrifice fly in the fifth, with Stocklin's RBI double as Kutztown tied the game at 3-3 after East Stroudsburg continued its momentum from game one with a three-run top of the first inning. But the Warriors answered with another three-run inning in the top of the sixth inning to go back on top and once again rode the arm of Davenport to the finish line in the sweep.
 
The Warriors were able to get to Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) unlike most teams do, as they finished with 10 hits and six runs against the senior right hander, both season-highs for Gravish, who is now 8-2 inside the circle.
 
Henn and Harvat both had two hits. Darnowski recorded a hit, two RBIs and a run scored. Stocklin ended with a hit and an RBI and Piatkiewicz contributed a hit.

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