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BUTLER, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team dropped a 4-0 decision to Mercyhurst University on a long night at Pullman Park Friday night due to a lightning delay that lasted over two hours in the third game of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships.
 
Kutztown (34-16) and Mercyhurst (37-14) will meet again on Saturday, May 5 at 1 p.m. for a right to play in the championship game at 4 p.m.  West Chester and Shippensburg open the final day of the conference tournament in an elimination game at 10 a.m.
 
In the bottom of the eighth inning with KU's Cody Montz (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven) (Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Schuylkill Haven) up to bat, lightning struck in the area at approximately 9:07 p.m., and both teams were taken off the field.  The delay lasted just over two hours as play didn't resume until 11:15 p.m.
 
Montz stepped up to the plate after the lengthy delay with his Golden Bear teammates yelling and cheering him on, hoping for a late rally.  Brad Stoudt (Topton, PA/Brandywine Heights) (Topton, Pa./Brandywine Heights) represented KU's first base runner after the delay with a base hit through the right side in the bottom of the ninth.  Unfortunately, the Golden Bears could not capitalize on the opportunity.
 
KU tallied three hits against MU starter Zach Leitten.  Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) and Sean McCormick (West Chester, PA/Henderson) (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) each connected on base hits.  Designated hitter and reliever Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) (Topton, Pa./Brandywine Heights) also tacked on a hit against Leitten.
 
Junior right hander J.R. Seader (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway/ Maryland-Baltimore County) (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) got the start for KU.  Four of his six hits allowed were in the third inning as he threw 5.1 innings on the mound. 
 
Seader opened the game with a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of fly balls and a groundout.  He let up a leadoff hit in the top of the fourth, but forced Andrew Fitzpatrick to line into a double play on a hit-and-run attempt the next at-bat that aided Seader to face the minimum three batters in the inning.    
 
Mercyhurst scored three of its four runs in the top of the third inning.  Shane Latshaw drove in the Lakers' first run with an RBI double off the right field wall.  After KU walked the bases loaded, Zak Blair drove in a pair of runs with a double down the right field line.  KU prevented further damage as right fielder Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) got the ball to second baseman Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) who threw out the runner from first base at home plate to end the inning.
 
Sophomore Colin Holmes (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) relived Seader with one out in the sixth inning.  The southpaw pitched one inning and let up one run in six faced batters.
 
Kyle Stoudt (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights) moved from the designated hitter position to pitcher with one out in the sixth inning and was very effective in his 1.2 innings on the mound.  He let up two hits and struck out one batter to take KU through the eighth inning.
 
Junior Billy Felo (Dauphin, PA/Central Dauphin/Chesapeake College) (Dauphin, Pa/Dauphin) pitched a perfect ninth inning for KU as he helped lower his team-best ERA to 1.06.
 
Leitten threw 7.1 innings for the Lakers and struck out six batters while walking three.  Three Lakers had a multi-hit game as Blair also had a multi-RBI game.  Dan Altavilla closed the game for Mercyhurst with 1.2 innings of one-hit ball.
 
Friday's game was the first time that the two teams met since the opening round of the 2010 PSAC Tournament when KU picked up a 12-5 victory.