KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team split a pair of games against the Saint Michael's Purple Knights on Saturday afternoon, claiming the four-game series in a 9-4 game one victory but falling in a 15-12 series finale at North Campus Field.
The Golden Bears (5-6 overall) were once again showing their promising offense, doing so in both games against the Purple Knights (1-3). While KU managed to hold down its visitors in Saturday's opening game, SMC made sure they weren't returning to Vermont empty-handed, earning a three-point victory on the way out.
Game 1: Kutztown 9, Saint Michael's 4
Redshirt junior southpaw Paul Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) (1-1) led the game one win for Kutztown, striking out five in 5.2 innings of work while battling around eight hits and 27 batters. He tightened up after allowing four runs in the first two innings, as the Golden Bears didn't let another runner pass for the Purple Knights as they responded with nine unanswered runs in the win.
Left fielder Dalton Furst (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a trio of runs to his credit, while fellow outfielder Bo Barthol (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) batted in three runs on 2-of-4 hitting. The Golden Bears were able to plate runs in five of the six innings, including three runs in the second and sixth frame, first to pad their lead in the early goings and then to pad their lead late in the game.
SMC's Matt Safer (0-1) picked up his first loss of the year after allowing five runs (four earned) and five hits in 3.1 innings of work. KU also attacked reliever Ryan Canty, recording six hits and four runs (three earned) in his two innings of action.
Game 2: Saint Michael's 15, Kutztown 12
Similar to Friday's late afternoon matchup, the Kutztown offense lit up the scoreboard with 12 runs. The only difference was that its opposition was motivated to bring something back from the trip, and its 15 runs helped the finale end in their favor. A combined five pitchers got roughed up in the matchup, while 16 different runners crossed the plate at some point in the seven-inning game.
Furst continued his tear from Saturday's opening game, leading the team with three runs batted in while going 4-for-5 at the plate. Jared Ferguson (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) followed Kutztown's left fielder in the lineup, as he was able to get three runs batted in on four at-bats while reaching on a walk and sending a home run over the wall in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Freshman backstop Justin Augustus (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles against Saint Michael's, sending home a runner while crossing the plate on a single from Barthol to tie the game at 11-all in the fourth inning.
Saint Michael's Casey Gunnip (1-0) earned the victory after 3.1 innings of one-run ball to close the game. Freshman Evan Krippel (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) (0-1) took the mound for the fourth time this season, picking up the loss after 3.1 innings that saw him allow the final four runners to score against KU. Starter Abel Saft (Kintnersville, Pa./Moravian Academy) didn't earn a decision after 2.2 innings and three strikeouts, getting pulled after 74 pitches on his day.
Kutztown will look to get back to a .500 win percentage with a game at Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Mar. 11 at 3 p.m. They return home to North Campus Field for a doubleheader against Mercy on Friday, Mar. 14, with start times set for 12 and 2:30 p.m.
