Box Score



Kutztown 6, Mercyhurst 1 (HTML Box Score)
 
Photo Gallery | Video Interview with Shimo and Dockins
 
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Junior Brandon Shimo (Jermyn, PA/Lakeland (Lackawanna)) pitched his best game as a member of the Kutztown University baseball team as his complete game guided it to a 6-1 victory over Mercyhurst University on Wednesday morning in the first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships at Point Stadium.
 
The Golden Bears (32-14) move onto the second round of the double-elimination tournament and will play next on Thursday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of the California (PA)-West Chester game.
 
In nine innings, Shimo allowed just four hits with one strikeout. He threw 90 pitches, retired the final 13 batters of the game, and only allowed multiple batters to reach base in one inning.
 
The nine-inning complete game is the first of the season for Kutztown and second overall as Colin Holmes (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) pitched one in a seven-inning affair last weekend. The last time a Golden Bear threw nine innings was three times during the 2008 season.
 
All nine starters in the lineup reached base for Kutztown. Junior John Dockins (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson (Frederick CC)) went 3-for-4 with a game-high three RBI as he drove in runs on each of his three hits. Sophomore Brandon Martinez (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) had three hits from the leadoff spot as Todd Rubendall (Collegeville, PA/Methacton) and Matt Albaugh (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) also had multi-hit games.
 
Kutztown recorded 12 hits off Mercyhurst starter Ben Rawding, who also pitched a complete game. Kutztown handed Rawding just his fourth loss over the last three seasons.
 
Merychurst led off the game with a single up the middle, but Shimo retired the next three batters and had some great defensive efforts made by Martinez in center field to help KU get through the first inning.
 
Following a leadoff single by Albaugh and a sacrifice by Joe Peters (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown (Delaware Technical CC)), Dockins drove a double over the left fielder's head in the second to give KU a 1-0 lead. Dockins scored on a two-out double in the gap by Rubendall as KU led 2-0 through two.
 
Martinez and Brett Hauck (Kutztown, PA/Kutztown) reached on infield singles in the third and Martinez went on to score off a throwing error by the Mercyhurst third baseman on the Hauck bunt single. Peters drove in Hauck, and Dockins hit a long single off the high wall in left field to give KU a 5-0 lead through three.
 
The teams traded runs in the fifth as Dockins notched his third hit and third RBI of the game in the inning.
 
Shimo retired the Mercyhurst batters in order in the seventh as he sat down seven in row heading into the seventh inning stretch. He notched his first strikeout to start the eighth inning to extend his stretch to 10 consecutive retired batters.
 
The junior came on to pitch the ninth and finished out the game with a 1-2-3 inning and end the game having retired the final 13 batters.
 
Kutztown is now 2-2 against Mercyhurst in postseason play over the last two seasons. Kutztown has not played California (PA) since 2011 when Andrew  Otterberg hit a game-winning two-run homer in the ninth inning in a 4-3 victory. Kutztown dropped three of four games last weekend to West Chester including two extra-inning games, one spanning 14 innings.