MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Kutztown's lineup combined to score 13 runs and mash 21 hits in a sweep of Millersville on the road Friday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division action.
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The Golden Bears (18-12 overall, 9-3 PSAC East) finished with two home runs, three doubles and a triple on the day. They won game one 8-7 in eight innings, having to rally in the top of the seventh inning, trailing by two runs. The Maroon and Gold took game two 5-2.
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Samantha Paetow (Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg) had a monster day at the plate, combining for a season-high five hits, scoring two runs and adding an RBI. Both
Morgan Kocher (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) and
Jamie Madara (Levittown, Pa./Academy of the New Church) finished with three hits with Kocher contributed two RBIs and one run scored, and Madara adding three runs and two RBIs, including a two-run home run in the first game, her first long ball of her career.
Emily Henn (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley),
Caitlin Ashley (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford),
Alexa Stevens (Jefferson Township, Pa./North Pocono) and
Morgan Slomkowski (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) all had two hits and both
Parker Kraus (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and
Ashley Schulz (Oreland, Pa./Springfield) tallied a hit, RBI and run scored.
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Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) earned her 12th victory of the season in relief in game one, tied for the lead in the PSAC. She came on in the fifth inning and threw the final four frames. She collected lucky No. 13 in the nightcap, starting and going four strong, striking out six batters.
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Kutztown is back in action for a doubleheader at home tomorrow when it welcomes Shippensburg to North Campus Field. Game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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Kutztown 8, Millersville 7 (8 inn.)
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Kutztown was down to its final out with the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh, trailing by two runs. Paetow kept her team alive with a single that put runners at first and second. Ashley came on as a pinch hitter and ripped a run-scoring double to deep center field that cut the deficit in half at 7-6. Then, with some help from Millersville, KU tied the game on a wild pitch in the next at-bat as pinch-runner
Jenna Piatkiewicz (Fogelsville, Pa./Parkland) raced home to tie score and send it into extra innings.
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In the eighth, Madara led off with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Kraus, and then ran over to third on a long fly ball to center by Henn. Once again, the Golden Bear base runners were aided by the Marauders as Madara touched home on a passed ball for the deciding run.
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Gravish came on in the fifth and threw the final four innings, allowing three hits and three runs, striking out six.
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It was the fourth straight one-run game and third extra inning game in the span of the last four.
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Kutztown fell behind 2-0 on a two-run home run from Lexi Pickett in the bottom of the first inning. Kocher helped her team get a run back on an RBI single in the top of the third. KU then had a big fourth inning as Paetow tied the score with a run-scoring single and then Madara (two-run) and Kraus (solo) hit back-to-back home runs to give the Maroon and Gold their first lead of the game at 5-2.
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Ville got one back with a solo home run in the bottom-half of the fourth and then took back the lead with grand slam in the fifth to go back on top 7-5. Kutztown then rallied in the seventh and won it in the eighth.
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Paetow and Madara both finished with three hits and combined for three RBIs and four runs scored.
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Kutztown 5, Millersville 2
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Just as she did in the opener, Kocher got Kutztown on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning via an RBI single and Slomkowski followed suit with her own run-scoring single to put KU up 2-0. The Golden Bears had another two-run inning in the fourth thanks to two RBI doubles by Schulz and Henn to go on top 4-0.
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Millersville broke the shutout with an RBI double of its own from Carly Vaughan in the bottom of the fourth to pull to within 4-1.
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Ashley singled the opposite way to bring home run No. 5 for the Maroon and Gold in the fifth and then the Marauders tacked on a solo HR in the bottom-half to conclude the scoring.
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Abbey Wagner (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) threw the final three innings in relief and gave up just two hits, striking out three, while allowing zero runs.
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