By Pat Zazzarino

On Sunday, April 13, the Golden Bears fell to Bloomsburg in a PSAC doubleheader. Both games were close, with Bloomsburg winning the first game 7-6 and the second 11-7. Bloomsburg is now 4-0 against Kutztown this season.

With these victories, Bloomsburg (21-13, 13-5 PSAC East) has joined Millersville in a tie for first place, while Kutztown stumbled to sixth place.

During the first game, KU opened up with sophomore Brady McNab nailing an RBI single to left field, allowing junior Brandon Martinez and junior Brandon Hickey to score in the first inning.

Bloomsburg would counter with seven more runs during the following three innings, maintaining a 7-2 lead heading into the sixth, where KU would do its best to mount a comeback.

Junior Joe Peters hit an RBI single for junior Brandon Cholish to score. Also, Martinez also nailed a double out to left center, getting two more runs. Finishing the inning, senior Kyle Stoudt hit a sacrifice grounder for Peters to plate the Maroon and Gold’s sixth run.

Despite a successful sixth inning, KU was still down 7-6. With two outs and a man on in the seventh, KU was defeated by a diving catch by BU’s Brady West to seal the game.

On the mound for KU, senior Brandon Shimo obtained his first loss of the season. He gave up nine hits and seven runs in over three innings. Sophomore Ryan Clow pitched 1.1 innings with three strikeouts.

The next game played similarly to the first. In the top of the sixth, Martinez successfully managed to steal two bases, placing him on third. Senior Carson Baker drilled a double, giving Martinez his chance to cut BU’s lead to 11-7. In the finale of the game, the Maroon and Gold went down 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game in heartbreaking style.

Despite the losses, the Golden Bears hit better in this doubleheader than they did in recent games. Martinez was just as impressive as ever, leading the offense with three doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Kutztown will head to Millersville University this Tuesday, April 15 to play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.