EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team put up a pair of solid games on Sunday afternoon, but the squad was swept by the 22nd-ranked East Stroudsburg Warriors by scores of 1-0 and 6-2 in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division outing at Creekview Park.
 
The Golden Bears (13-30, 6-18 PSAC East) held its own against the nationally ranked Warriors (35-9, 19-5 PSAC East), but it was the home team who controlled the game in the end to sweep the series and remain among the top teams in the PSAC East. KU had a stellar opening performance that was marred by an error to score the deciding run in the first inning, while ESU's offense was able to get timely hits in a four-run victory in the latter game.
 
Game 1: No. 22 East Stroudsburg 1, Kutztown 0
 
Kutztown put forth a great game that limited a strong team from scoring, led by sophomore Kannon Zdimal (Morgantown, Pa./Twin Valley) (L, 3-6), who allowed an unearned run and a pair of hits while striking out six over 70 pitches in arguably his best outings of the season.
 
Unfortunately for the Golden Bears' starter, the lone run of the game was scored via a first inning error around the mound, seeing a steal of second and a runner come home with no outs.
 
The Warriors' Ethan Woods (W, 5-1) pitched an equally dominant performance, throwing a one-hitter over 6.1 innings while striking out four to hold down the one-run advantage. The Golden Bears batters were able to take three free bases via walk, but East Stroudsburg was able to come away with a shutout win, as Caden Parker (SV, 8) threw the last two outs to seal the deal.
 
Game 2: No. 22 East Stroudsburg 6, Kutztown 2
 
Both teams saw a spike in offense, with the Golden Bears striking first with a pair of runs in the first and the Warriors responding with runs in each of the next five innings to sweep the season series. Despite allowing seven hits to Kutztown, more timely hits from the offense of ESU pushed the team to 35 wins on the season.
 
Kutztown's second inning featured a pair of RBI singles from designated hitter Preston Warne (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and center fielder Bo Barthol (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland), while Zack Wertman (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) came around to score in a 2-for-3 day for the sophomore first baseman. After that spurt, East Stroudsburg shut down the opposing offense while turning up its attack to jump ahead for good.
 
Reliever Eddie Frye (Lorton, Va./South County) (L, 3-3) stepped in for starter Paul Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) and took the brunt of the beating for Kutztown, allowing four runs on four hits while striking out three and walking three over three innings. East Stroudsburg's Cole Dymek (W, 4-0) also earned his decision after stepping in for starter Jake Albert, striking out three and allowing a lone hit across 43 pitches.
 
The Golden Bears will take North Campus Field one last time this season when they welcome Shippensburg to town on Friday, May 2, where they will celebrate the team's five seniors before the scheduled first pitch at 1 p.m. Read Full Article