Brian Smith: Kutztown beats West Virginia Wesleyan in softball to advance to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Super Regional
May 14—Brianna Hughes hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning as Kutztown University beat West Virginia Wesleyan 2-0 Saturday at North Campus Field to advance out of its pod at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional for softball.
Amber Brugger pitched a five-hitter for the top-seeded and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion Golden Bears (40-13).
Kutztown, ranked 20th in the nation, will host Seton Hill in a best-of-three series in the Atlantic Super Regional, which begins Thursday at a time to be announced.
In the top of the six, KU's Kate Ostaszewski led off with a double and was sacrificed to third by Jenna Lipowski.
Hughes, a sophomore right fielder, followed with her homer.
"I've been struggling at the plate lately and I really wanted to step up for my team," Hughes said in a release from KU. "This was a perfect opportunity to step up and I was happy to do it."
The fifth-seeded Bobcats (38-18-1) brought the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, but Brugger got a groundout to end the threat.
She retired West Virginia Wesleyan in order in the seventh.
Brugger (11-3) walked one and struck out one.
Alyssa Donato went 3-for-3 for the Golden Bears.
