[Kutztown Spring Roundup] 2004-05 No. 35 May 23, 2005

[Josh Leiboff]

Kutztown University Spring Sports Roundup 
2004-05 No. 35   May 23, 2005

KU Student Bookstore 
Athlete of the Week 

Jeff Craig - Baseball
(so. Wilkes-Barre/Bishop Hoban) 

         Jeff Craig, of the baseball team, is this week's KU Student Bookstore Athlete of the Week.  Craig was 4-for-13 (.308) in Kutztown's three games at the North Atlantic Regional last week.  His sole RBI in the three games was the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Golden Bears' 5-4 win over Slippery Rock.  With a hit in each of KU's three games, he ended the year with a nine-game hitting streak. 

Golden Bear Weekly Honor Roll for 5/23
Name, Sport (Last week's stats)
Mike McCardell, Baseball (.333, RBI)
Clay Kuklick, Baseball (.300, 2 RBI)

Baseball (39-18, 10-8 PSAC East)

Last Week's Action

       THU 5/19-SAT 5/21 - at NCAA North Atlantic Regional (at West Virginia State)

       THU 5/19 - West Chester 9, KU 1 - Kutztown fell to the loser's bracket of the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional with a 9-1 loss to West Chester Thursday afternoon at West Virginia State's Cal Bailey Field.  Kutztown scored its lone run on a solo home run by Clay Kuklick (sr. North Wales/North Penn) in the third inning.  Mike McCardell (so. West Chester/Henderson) was 3-of-4 with a double.  Kyle Sadlowski (jr. Reading/Central Catholic) (9-4) took the loss for KU, going 6.1 innings with five strikeouts.  WCU jumped ahead in the first on a two-out, RBI single.  WCU answered Kuklick's third-inning home run with a run in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good.  The Rams broke it open with a two-out, three-run rally in the sixth.   

FRI 5/20 - KU 5, Slippery Rock 4 - Jeff Craig's (so. Wilkes-Barre/Bishop Hoban) two-out single over the left fielder's head drove in Gary Stricker (jr. Croydon/Conwell-Egan Catholic) for the winning run as Kutztown survived a thrilling 5-4 decision over Slippery Rock in game three of the North Atlantic Regional   The win was KU's school record 39th of the season.  Craig was 2-for-5.  Kyle Costello (jr. Plains/Coughlin) was 2-for-3 with a home run.  Josh Fink (jr. Hatfield/North Penn) was 1-for-4 with a homer, two runs and two RBI.  KU was inches away from being eliminated from the tournament moments before Craig's heroics.  Tony Riegel (sr. Exeter/Exeter) reached first on a one-out throwing error by the SRU third baseman.  KU's next batter, Fink, barely beat out a potential game-ending double play to keep the Bears' hopes alive.  After Stricker was hit by a pitch to move Fink into scoring position, Kuklick laced the first pitch he saw to left field to score Fink and tie it at 4-4.  Craig lined a shot to left field that seemed playable, but the left fielder misjudged it.  The ball sailed over his head, and Stricker came around from second to score the game winner.  The rally capped an emotional, see-saw contest.  Kutztown took a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run home run by Fink, his third of the season.  SRU knotted the score in the third.  The Rock then went up in the fourth on a solo home run.  The score remained that way until the bottom of the eighth, when Costello blasted his team-leading eighth dinger deep to left center.  SRU answered in the top of the ninth.  The Rock took advantage of a costly leadoff error in the ninth to score the go-ahead run.  Matt Keller (jr. Fleetwood/Fleetwood) relieved KU starter Matt Maradeo (jr. Nesquehoning/Panther Valley) in the ninth, and was the winning pitcher.  He improved to 11-1.  His 11 victories are tied for second-most in a single season at KU.

SAT 5/21 - West Chester 13, KU 2 - Kutztown's season came to a close with a 13-2 loss to West Chester in game five of the North Atlantic Regional.  The Golden Rams belted four home runs in the game, including a grand slam in a seven-run ninth inning to put the game on ice.  Kutztown managed just six hits.  The teams traded unearned runs over the first three innings. Kutztown's Fink scored on a WCU error in the third to tie it at 1-1.  The Rams took the lead for good in the fourth and extended its lead in the fifth.  KU scored its final run in the sixth.  Kuklick doubled to lead off the inning.  Craig followed with a double just past the center fielder, with Kuklick advancing to third.  McCardell drove Kuklick in on a groundout to second, but Craig was stranded at third.  Keller (11-2) took the loss, going seven innings.  Kutztown's season comes to a close with a school record 39 wins.  Seniors Riegel, Kuklick, Phil Cavalcante (sr. Norristown/Kennedy Kenrick), Scott Senna (sr. North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield), Paul Koropchak (sr. Pottsville/North Schuylkill) and  Marshall Mirarchi (sr. Springfield/Springfield) played in their final game.  The seniors recorded 137 wins over their four seasons, a school record for a four-year period.  Kuklick ends his career ranked third at KU in games played (188), fourth in at-bats (562), fourth in runs (124), fifth in hits (176) and the school record holder in times hit by pitch (43).  Koropchak ends his four years ranked fifth in RBI (102).

Upcoming Events

Season Complete 

Outdoor Track & Field

Last Week's Action

Idle

Upcoming Events

THU 5/26-SAT 5/28 - at NCAA Championships (at Abilene, TX)

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Josh Leiboff
Kutztown University Sports Information
Phone: (610) 683-4182
Fax: (610) 683-4676
Email: leiboff at kutztown.edu
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