FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In a matchup of nationally ranked teams, No. 21 Kutztown and No. 25 Nova Southeastern each won a game Sunday afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. NSU won the first game 8-0 in five innings and KU responded with a 3-2 victory in game two.
 
The Golden Bears improve to 15-2 overall on the season and are 4-2 so far on their eight games in five days tour of Florida.
 
Alexa Stevens (Covington Township, Pa./North Pocono) finished with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored to lead the KU lineup, which combined for just seven hits on the day, but had a couple clutch hits in the game two victory, including from Stevens. The Maroon and Gold also rode the right arm of starting pitcher Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) in the nightcap. The senior threw a complete game and struck out nine to improve to 7-1 on the season. Her battery mate, Sarah Harvat (Bangor, Pa./Bangor), had the other RBI on the day for the Golden Bears.
 
Kutztown has a day off before finishing its Florida trip on Tuesday, March 11, for two games at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., beginning at 1 p.m.
 
Nova Southeastern 8, Kutztown 0 (5 inn.)
 
Kutztown amassed just one hit, a third-inning double by Kristin Geesey (Bainbridge, Pa./Elizabethtown). The senior would advance to third base the next batter after a sacrifice bunt by Jenna Piatkiewicz (Fogelsville, Pa./Parkland), but KU could not get her home with two outs to work with.
 
Nova Southeastern had a big bottom of the third inning after a scoreless first two, bringing in five runs. The Sharks scored two more in the fourth and then ended the game early with one in the fifth.
 
Kutztown 3, Nova Southeastern 2
 
Just like in game one, Kutztown found itself trailing, as Nova Southeastern got on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the second inning. But unlike in the first one, KU responded and tied it in the top of the fourth as Harvat drove in Stevens, who led off the frame with a single, for a 1-1 game.
 
In the fifth and deciding inning, the Golden Bears came up clutch, wanting to prevent the Sunday sweep. Piatkiewicz led off with an infield single and then advanced to second after Emily Henn (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley) was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Two batters later, Stevens stepped up and ripped a two-run triple to right field, her second three-bagger this season, to give her team their first lead of the day, 3-1.
 
That was all Gravish needed as she recorded nine outs out of the final 13 batters. She got herself into a little bit of trouble in the bottom of the sixth, but limited the Sharks to just one run after three straight hits to begin the frame.

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