May 12, 2009

KU looking for fifth regional title in nine years, hosts Atlantic Regionals

WEST LAWN, Pa. — The Golden Bears are back, and this time, they’re in their own backyard.

The Kutztown University baseball team will return to action in Game 2 of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regionals at Owls Field at Ted Palka Park in West Lawn, Pa.

The Golden Bears (33-15) were knocked out of the rain-shortened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs in the semifinals by Mercyhurst and they’ll look to bounce back with their fifth regional title since 2001.

As the No. 2 seed, the Golden Bears will open with a night game against No. 5 West Virginia State (31-13).

KU’s game will be the third of three games Thursday — even though it is listed as Game 2.

No. 1-seeded West Chester (42-10), ranked No. 2 in the nation, will square off against No. 6 Concord (27-13) in Game 1 at noon, and No. 3-seeded Shepherd (33-16) will go against No. 4 Mercyhurst (35-15) in Game 3 at 3:30 p.m.

Darin Gorski

Darin Gorski (jr. Mount Joy/Donegal) leads the Golden Bears pitching staff with an 8-1 record and 91 strikeouts.

He struck out 15 in KU’s 8-5 win over Slippery Rock in the PSAC tournament.

Gorski, who has a career-best 1.91 ERA, ranks No. 1 on KU’s all-time list with a career ERA of 2.28 over 191 innings. With a 20-5 record, Gorski was listed as the No. 4 Major League prospect in a preseason poll published by Baseball America.

Adam Maini (jr. Macungie/Emmaus) has served as the No. 2 pitcher in the KU rotation. He has a PSAC-best ERA of 1.60. The Lackawanna College transfer is 6-2 in seven starts and 11 appearances. He’s had three complete games, two shutouts and one save in 50 2/3 innings of work.

He has 44 strikeouts with KU after finishing as the all-time strikeout leader at Lackawanna College.

Mike Bucklin (jr. Shillington/Governor Mifflin), Jason Herr (so. Harrisburg/C.D. East), Trent Mertz (so. Kutztown/Kutztown) and Jordan Smith (so. New Milford/Blue Ridge) have been strong in the bullpen for the Golden Bears, helping KU’s pitching staff post the second-best ERA in the PSAC (4.29).

Bucklin has six saves and Herr has three as KU has a league-best 12 saves.

Offensively, the Golden Bears average 6.5 runs per game. They have scored 92 more runs than they have allowed.

Newcomer Shayne Houck (fr. Barto/Boyertown) has been the offensive leader for the Golden Bears, batting .401 — ninth in the PSAC — with a team-best 50 runs scored, 61 hits and seven homers. He also is second in doubles (12) and in RBIs (34).

Mike Kacelowicz

Mike Kacelowicz (jr. Orwigsburg/Blue Mountain) is having his best season offensively, batting .355 with 14 doubles, a triple, three homers, 28 RBIs and 38 runs scored. The third-year starting second basemen also has stolen a team-high 14 bases. He has 37 in his career, which is one away from tying for fifth place on KU’s all-time record list.

James Quigley (so. Bensalem/Bensalem) has split time at third base and designated hitter, batting .351 with eight doubles, four homers and 32 RBIs.

Matt Kulbacki (jr. Hershey/Hershey) and Michael Dugan (so. Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) round out the .300 hitters for KU. Kulbacki is batting .330 with eight doubles, three homers and 20 RBIs, while Dugan (.313) has five doubles, two homers, 23 RBIs and 24 runs scored.

Notes: KU has won regional titles in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2007. The Golden Bears were the runner-up in 2006. … KU has recorded at least 30 wins in each of the last six seasons, with a record high of 49 in 2007. KU has never had a losing season under seven-year head coach Chris Blum. Overall, KU has not had a losing season since 1993.

Scouting the Yellow Jackets:
West Virginia State is a power-hitting team, boasting 72 home runs on the season. Bo Darby leads the team with 20 home runs and Eric Workman and Chad Chambers each have 11.

The Yellow Jackets average 8.6 runs per game

Darby leads the team in RBIs with 62. He also has 17 doubles, a triple and 49 runs scored, while batting .398.

Chambers is batting .344 with 14 doubles, 36 RBIs and 48 runs scored.

Workman leads the Yellow Jackets with a .471 batting average. He has 23 doubles, two triples, 45 RBIs and a team-high 61 runs scored.

Workman also is the team’s top starting pitching, posting a 2.70 ERA and a 6-1 record in seven starts. He has struck out a team-best 49.

Shane Long is second in strikeouts with 43. He is 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA in five starts and 43 2/3 innings of work.

Jacob Knight is the team’s closer with a 2.14 ERA in 18 appearances and 21 innings. He has six saves and 23 strikeouts.