KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Despite holding Kutztown to a combined five runs, the 14th-ranked East Stroudsburg University softball team dropped both games to the Golden Bears, 2-1, 3-0, on Tuesday afternoon at North Campus Field.

ESU has now fallen in back-to-back doubleheaders (34-12, 16-8 PSAC East) and is tied for first place in the PSAC East with Shippensburg. The Golden Bears improved to 20-18, 12-10 in conference play.

Pitching Notables

• Sarah Davenport (L, 18-5) started game one for the first time this season. In six innings of work, the freshman allowed five hits, one earned run (two total). She struck out 12 batters and held KU to a .208 batting average. The Hillsborough, N.J. native now has 221 strikeouts in 123.1 innings pitched.
• Paige Zigmund (L, 18-5) pitched the complete game in game two, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. She struck out eight batters and did not issue a walk.

Batting Notables

• Kate Donaghue provided ESU's lone run of the day with a pinch-hit solo home run in the 7th inning in game one. Donaghue and teammate Kaitlin Houser – both senior nursing majors – left ESU's campus at 1:00 p.m. after completing an exam and were driven to North Campus Field by ESU Associate Athletic Director for Student Success/SWA Sarah Ross. Donaghue entered the contest after arriving at Kutztown and blasted the solo home run to cut the Warriors' deficit to 2-1.
• Taylor Lipkins (4-7, 2B, BB) led ESU with four hits and a .625 on-base percentage against the Golden Bears. She successfully stole a pair of bases.
• Shannon Edelman (3-6, 2B) added three hits. Jada Smallwood (2-4) connected on a pair of singles.
• The shutout against the Warriors is just the second time ESU has been blanked this season in 46 games after falling 2-0 to Lynn in game two of the first doubleheader of the season.

How It Happened – Game 1

• The pitcher's duel did not see a run until the bottom of the 5th. Morgan Slomkowski led off with a solo home run to make it a 1-0 contest.
• The Golden Bears added a needed insurance run in the bottom of the 6th. After a batter reached base on an error, Davenport fired two strikeouts. A timely RBI single by Hannah Reimel lifted KU to a 2-0 advantage.
• With only three outs to spare, Donaghue – who just arrived at the field – blasted her second home run of the season  to cut the deficit in half. Lipkins came up with a clutch double with two outs but could not cross the plate after a ground out for the final score of 2-1.

How It Happened – Game 2

• It was another pitcher's duel in game two, as Kutztown took a 1-0 lead in the second frame. After a leadoff double, Slomkowski drove her in with one out in the inning.
• Kutztown wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd inning, adding a pair of runs. With runners on first and second, an RBI single by Emily Henn with just one out scored the second run of the game. Zigmund tossed a strikeout for the second out, but back-to-back hit-by-pitches scored the third and final run. She forced a fielder's choice to avoid further damage.
• ESU successfully put runners on base in the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but unfortunately could not capitalize in a rare shutout.

NFCA Poll

• The Warriors moved up a spot to No. 14 in the latest NFCA Coaches Top-20, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced on Tuesday.

Up Next

• ESU will regroup and look to bounce back against West Chester on Friday, April 19 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Creekview Park.