Box Scores
Game 1 - L 9-1
Game 2 - L 5-3

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EAST STROUDSBURG - Kutztown scored three runs in the first inning and Matt Swarmer went 6.0 innings on the mound, leading the Golden Bears to a 5-3 win in the nightcap and a spot in next week's PSAC Tournament with two wins over East Stroudsburg University in PSAC East baseball on Saturday at Mitterling Field.

ESU (28-17, 14-14) needed one win on the final day of the regular season to advance to the PSAC Tournament and defend its 2013 PSAC championship, but Kutztown (26-19, 14-14) came away with a 9-1 win in the opener and then held on for the 5-3 victory in game two.

Kutztown won three of four games this weekend to earn the tiebreaker and move on to the PSAC Tournament, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday in Butler.

ESU battled back from the early 3-0 deficit, getting within 4-3 with two runs in the fifth, and put the tying run on base in the seventh but the comeback fell short.

Sophomore Brandon Holup, the PSAC leader in ERA entering the weekend (1.43), went 5.1 innings on the mound for the Warriors. Senior Keenan Stare got the final five outs.

Swarmer, Kutztown's closer for most of the season, had a strong start for the Golden Bears. Brandon Shimo, who threw the first 5.2 innings in a 4-3 win in the opening game of the series on Friday, pitched the ninth for the save.

In game one, Colin Holmes limited the Warriors to one run in the seventh inning and Kutztown scored in each of the first three innings to break it open.

ESU recognized 10 seniors prior to the doubleheader, a group that led the Warriors to last year's PSAC championship, the program's first since 1971.

Senior OF Chris Knott finishes his career with seven school records - doubles (46), triples (16), home runs (19), extra-base hits (81), total bases (344), RBI (146) and games played (189) - after going 3-for-8 with a double in the final two games of his career.

Knott hit .399 (61-for-153) with a .484 on-base percentage and PSAC-best .667 slugging percentage as a senior, also leading the league in extra-base hits (25) and total bases (102) during the regular season. He had 44 RBI and 46 runs, building on last year's first team All-Region season.

Senior catcher Nico Delerme added one of the top offensive seasons in program history, batting .437 (55-for-126) with a .557 on-base percentage and .635 slugging percentage. Delerme ranks fourth at ESU in single-season batting average and second in on-base percentage. He reached base in all 45 games this season with 55 hits and 37 walks, reaching in 93 of 167 plate appearances.

Holup, the PSAC leader in ERA entering the day, went 5-2 with a 2.19 ERA in 49.1 innings. Redshirt sophomore Matt Festa, who threw 6.0 innings in a 10-0 shutout at Kutztown on Friday, threw a team-high 59.1 innings, going 5-1 with a 3.64 ERA in 11 games (nine starts). Holup and Festa were both NCBWA Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week selections.

ESU was No. 8 in the first set of NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings last week but is not expected to contend for a third trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.

The Warriors' 28 wins represent their fifth season with 25+ wins in the last six years under seventh-year head coach John Kochmansky, who has a 192-145 career record including three PSAC Tournament trips two NCAA Tournament appearances (2011, 2013) and the 2013 PSAC championship.