LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Morgan Slomkowski (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) continued her power surge with a three home run day and Kutztown took game one, setting a new season-high for consecutive wins with four, but had a late lead slip in extra innings of game two, splitting the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division doubleheader Monday afternoon at Lock Haven.
 
The Golden Bears (15-11 overall, 6-2 PSAC East) broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth of the opener with three runs to win, but had three different leads evaporate in the nightcap, including one-run leads in both the seventh and eighth innings, as the Bald Eagles (12-12, 4-6) rallied to tie the score at 3-3 in the sixth, then 4-4 in the seventh, before scoring twice in the bottom of the eighth inning to walk off their field winners.
 
Slomkowski was 3-for-5 on the day with six RBIs and three runs scored. Her three HRs give her eight on the season, tied for the lead atop the PSAC. Emily Henn (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley) combined for four hits, including a double, and scored two runs. She's now tied for the lead in the conference in hits on the season with 38. Alexa Stevens (Jefferson Township, Pa./North Pocono), Jenna Piatkiewicz (Fogelsville, Pa./Parkland) and Samantha Paetow (Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg) all had two hits and Caitlin Ashley (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) and Morgan Kocher (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) both finished with one hit.
 
Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) earned the victory in relief in game one, throwing three innings of shutout ball, but also came on in relief in the third inning of game two and ended up taking the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits. She earned her 10th victory of the season, second-most in the PSAC.
 
Kutztown returns home for the first time in 11 days and will play its third doubleheader in the same amount of days as it hosts West Chester tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31, with game one beginning at 1 p.m.
 
Kutztown 4, Lock Haven 1
 
Kutztown took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Slomkowski that scored Henn after both Henn and Stevens got on via singles and moved over to second and third with one out following a wild pitch.
 
But Lock Haven tied the score via a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning and the teams remained deadlock at 1-1 until the all-important top of the sixth inning.
 
The Golden Bears brought seven batters to the plate and put up a three-run inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by Slomkowski following a leadoff walk out of Stevens. It was the team-leading sixth long ball this season for the senior third baseman and second in as many days. Madara also came up clutch and added another insurance run thanks to a two-out, RBI double to the left center field wall that brought home pinch runner Leanna Schenk (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) and the 4-1 lead.
 
Gravish finished off the final three innings of action and did not allow a run, while giving up just two hits to earn the victory.
 
Lock Haven 6, Kutztown 5 (8 inn.)
 
Early on it looked as if Kutztown was going to leave Lock Haven with back-to-back wins and an East sweep for the second straight day as it took a 3-0 lead by the end of the top of the third inning. Stevens recorded an RBI double in the top of the first that brought home Henn and then Slomkowski hit her first of two HRs, over the right center field fence to give KU the 3-0 advantage.
 
But Lock Haven began to chip away at its deficit, beginning with a run in the bottom-half of the third and then two more in the bottom of the sixth to tie up the score heading to the seventh. In that top of the seventh, Slomkowski wasted little time as she swung at the first pitch and connected on a one-out, solo home run, this time to left center, and the Golden Bears were back on top 4-3.
 
The host Bald Eagles though, would just not go down easily, and they once again tied the game when they were facing their final out, a two-out double by Hailey Irwin with a runner on second base, a leadoff single.
 
In the eighth, it was the speed of Piatkiewicz, who got on base with a one-out single the other way to right. The senior then raced home two batters later on a two-out, RBI double by Kocher for the 5-4 KU edge. But in the bottom-half of the frame, LHU worked a leadoff walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt, a triple and then a single, and the team was able to rush the field as victors.