Brian Smith: Kutztown defeats Fairmont State in NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional softball opener
May 12—Kutztown scored three runs in the first and held on in the seventh to defeat Fairmont State 6-2 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional for Division II softball at North Campus Field.
The top-seeded and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion Golden Bears (38-13), who are ranked No. 20 in Division II, will face fifth-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan in a winners bracket game Friday at 10 a.m. The Bobcats (37-16-1) beat Mercyhurst 3-2 Thursday.
For Kutztown Thursday, Brianna Stocklin went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and three runs, Hannah Vuvil was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs, and Jenna Lipowski had RBIs.
In the first, Stocklin and Auvil led off with back-to-back doubles to make it 1-0. Following a single and an error, Lipkowski made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly and Brianna Hughes had an RBI single.
After the eighth-seeded Falcons (22-25) scored in the top of the second, the Golden Bears answered in the bottom half.
Stocklin singled with two outs, stole second and scored on a single by Auvil.
In the fifth, Stocklin tripled and scored on an error and Lipowski had an RBI double.
In the seventh, Fairmont State brought the tying run to the plate with two outs following two hits and two hit batters, but Amber Brugger got a strikeout to end it.
Brugger (10-3) allowed two runs on six hits, three walks and two hit batters. She struck out four.
