FROM KEITH GROLLER
The Kutztown University softball team's amazing run continued on Sunday with a 7-2 win over Grand Valley State University and now the Golden Bears are in the national championship game at noon Monday against Central Oklahoma.
Liberty High School's Brianna Knipe and Stroudsburg's Morgan Booth are both key members of KU's team. Here's a look at Sunday's recap from Kutztown Sports Information
SALEM, Va. – The Kutztown University softball team earned a 7-2 come-from-behind victory over ninth-ranked Grand Valley State University on Sunday afternoon to advance to the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship game on Monday at the James I. Moyer Complex.
The Golden Bears (37-21) have won 14 games in a row and will be playing in their first national championship game in school history. Kutztown is 3-0 in the NCAA Championships this season and remain undefeated in postseason play at 12-0.
Kutztown will play the 19th-ranked University of Central Oklahoma (50-11) on Monday, May 27 at 12 p.m. Both teams are undefeated in the NCAA Championships as Monday's game will be a winner-take-all single game. Neither team has won a national championship in their program's history.
“Today was a strange game but I'm happy we came out on top,” head coach Judy Lawes said. “We hit the ball hard, played good defense, our pitching threw well, and we are just so excited to be going to the championship game.”
The top two hitters in the Kutztown lineup accounted for four of the team's seven hits in the victory. Leadoff hitter Jackie Hetzler(Turnersville, NJ/Washington Twp.) went 2-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI double in the second inning, as fellow junior Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
In the circle, sophomore Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway/Hofstra) picked up her 21st win of the season and eighth consecutive winning decision. She pitched 5.1 innings as only one of her two allowed runs were earned.
The Golden Bears advance one round further than they did last year. In Kutztown's first trip to the NCAA Championships last season, it went undefeated leading up to the semifinals, but went on to drop two games to the eventual national champions in Valdosta State. This year, however, Kutztown did not stray from taking advantage of their opportunity at a national title.
“When it's your first time here, you don't really know what to expect,” Lawes said. “We knew this year that we wanted to go one step further (than last year) and reach the national championship. Experience at this level can only help you.”
The Golden Bears (37-21) have won 14 games in a row and will be playing in their first national championship game in school history. Kutztown is 3-0 in the NCAA Championships this season and remain undefeated in postseason play at 12-0.
Kutztown will play the 19th-ranked University of Central Oklahoma (50-11) on Monday, May 27 at 12 p.m. Both teams are undefeated in the NCAA Championships as Monday's game will be a winner-take-all single game. Neither team has won a national championship in their program's history.
“Today was a strange game but I'm happy we came out on top,” head coach Judy Lawes said. “We hit the ball hard, played good defense, our pitching threw well, and we are just so excited to be going to the championship game.”
The top two hitters in the Kutztown lineup accounted for four of the team's seven hits in the victory. Leadoff hitter Jackie Hetzler(Turnersville, NJ/Washington Twp.) went 2-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI double in the second inning, as fellow junior Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
In the circle, sophomore Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway/Hofstra) picked up her 21st win of the season and eighth consecutive winning decision. She pitched 5.1 innings as only one of her two allowed runs were earned.
The Golden Bears advance one round further than they did last year. In Kutztown's first trip to the NCAA Championships last season, it went undefeated leading up to the semifinals, but went on to drop two games to the eventual national champions in Valdosta State. This year, however, Kutztown did not stray from taking advantage of their opportunity at a national title.
“When it's your first time here, you don't really know what to expect,” Lawes said. “We knew this year that we wanted to go one step further (than last year) and reach the national championship. Experience at this level can only help you.”
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