Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Katie Kmiecinski hit three home runs to lead West Chester University to a split of its PSAC East softball doubleheader at North Campus Field in Kutztown on a sunny, but very windy, Sunday afternoon.
West Chester (28-17, 9-7 PSAC East) finishes in third place in the Eastern Division – one game behind Kutztown (36-11, 10-6). Shippensburg won the regular-season crown. The Golden Rams will travel to California (Pa.) for the first double-elimination, round-robin segment of the 2011 PSAC Tournament. They will play either Bloomsburg or Indiana (Pa.) in their first postseason game on Thursday.
Kmiecinski went 4-for-6 with seven RBI in the double-dip, including a pair of two-run homers in game one and another two-run shot in game two. Her two-out, two-run blast in the top of the eighth proved to be the game-winner in the opener. She notched three of West Chester’s five hits in that win. “KK” also hit a RBI single in the sixth that knotted the game at 3-apiece and forced extra innings. She knocked in all five of the Rams’ runs in game one.
After her two-run shot in the fifth inning of game two, Kutztown walked her the next two times to the plate. However, Kutztown’s Heather Hannum hit a walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the hosts salvage the split on the day.
West Chester erased a 4-1 deficit earlier in the game. Kmiecinski’s third two-run homer on the day pulled the Golden Rams to within one in the fourth inning. The Rams then took the lead, 6-5, plating three runs in the fifth. Erin MacNamee hit a RBI double, Abby Block added a RBI single and Jill Murray hit a sacrifice fly.
Kutztown tied it in the sixth on a RBI double to send the game into extra innings.
Kim Murl (13-9) suffered the loss in the nightcap, surrendering the three-run shot in the eighth. She came on in relief with one out in the second and went the rest of the way. She allowed six runs, four of them earned, on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. Utterback started and lasted just 1 2/3 innings, yielding three runs on two hits.
In the opener, Murl again came on in relief of Utterback, this time in the fourth inning, and finished up. She recorded the win, benefitting from Kmiecinski’s blast in the eighth. Murl tossed four scoreless innings in relief, scattering four hits in four innings of work. She walked one and struck out one. Utterback went the first four innings, giving up three runs on five hits. She walked five and struck out five.
West Chester travels to Washington Adventist on Monday for a non-league doubleheader, which will serve as the regular-season finale for the Golden Rams.
