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You can leave your comment or read what other KU fans have to say by clicking 'Comments' at the end of each article.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Saturday Update

The KU basketball teams will wrap up the regular season today at Bloomsburg.

The ladies opened the action with a 60-46 victory against the Huskies. The Golden Bears complete the regular season at 20-7 overall and 10-4 in the PSAC East. West Chester and Millersville will both win on Saturday, which means #3 Kutztown will open the PSAC playoffs at #2 Millersville on Tuesday. #4 Cheyney will be at #1 West Chester.

The men's team also wrapped up the regular season with a victory, smoking the Huskies 105-74. The Golden Bears improve to 24-3 overall and 13-1 in the PSAC East. The top-seeded division champs will take on #4 Mansfield at Keystone Hall on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the PSAC Playoffs. #2 Cheyney will play host to #3 West Chester in the other Eastern division first round game.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Game Scores - Divisional Play

With one game left to play in the regular season, here is each player's average Hollinger Game Score during PSAC East play.

Ladies: (Full Season)
1. McQuade 12.4
2. Wisemiller 10.8
3. Schroeder 7.7
4. Starr 5.3
5. Melvin 4.6
6. Dovey 3.5
7. Dellegrotti 3.2
8. Mertz 1.1
9. Greaves 0.1
10. LeVan -1.4

Men: (Full season)
1. Ben 16.5
2. Dennis 14.3
3. Woodlin 13.5
4. Washington 11.7
5. Bower 5.8
6. Gray 2.5
7. Coffey 0.8
8. White 0.6
9. Wenner 0.3
10. Coombs 0.3
11. Vrabel 0.2
12. Ford-Bey -0.1

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wednesday Update

The basketball teams are in action against Cheyney on Wednesday in what will be both team's regular season home finale.

The ladies opened the action with a convincing 82-65 victory to clinch at worst a top 3 seed in the playoffs. Melissa McQuade tied her career high with 30 points and set a new career high with 19 rebounds. The Golden Bears are now 19-7 overall and 9-5 in the East. Millersville and West Chester both won, so KU still sits third in the East. Cheyney clinched the final playoff spot in the East thanks to a loss by Shippensburg.

The men's team completed the season sweep of the Wolves, taking Wednesday's game by score of 82-76. The win improves the Golden Bears to 23-3 overall and 12-1 in the PSAC East. With the win, Kutztown, which is ranked 24th in Division-II, clinches the Eastern division regular season title.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Saturday Update

The KU basketball teams were in action against Shippensburg at Keystone Hall on Saturday.

The ladies opened the day's action with a 74-68 victory, clinching themselves a spot in the PSAC Playoffs. The Golden Bears improve to 18-7 overall and 8-4 in the PSAC East. West Chester and Millersville won their games and both improve to 9-3 atop the division. Cheyney also won and has a comfortable 2 game lead on the fourth and final playoff spot at 7-5.

The men's team also game away with a win, thrashing the Red Raiders 103-75 to clinch at least a share of the PSAC East title. The victory improves the Golden Bears overall record to 22-3 and their divisional record to 11-1.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Game Scores: Last 3 Games

As I mentioned last week, I'm having trouble getting recaps on here for each and every game due to time constraints. As a consolation prize for you, here is each player's average Game Score for the last three games:

Games included: Mansfield, Millersville, West Chester

Women:
1. Wisemiller 13.9
2. Schroeder 10.3
3. McQuade 8.4
4. Starr 6.2
5. Melvin 3.9
6. Dellegrotti 1.5
7. Dovey 1.5
8. Greaves 1.3
9. Mertz 1.3
10. LeVan -2.4

Men:
1. Ben 16.1
2. Dennis 14.2
3. Woodlin 12.5
4. Washington 10.5
5. Bower 2.5
6. Coombs 2.2
7. Coffey 1.1
8. Vrabel 0.0
8. Ford-Bey 0.0
8. Wenner 0.0
11. Gray -0.4
12. White -0.4

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wednesday Update

The KU basketball teams were in action at home against West Chester on Wednesday evening.

Despite a questionable decision to bench 4 starters with a 17 point lead in the late stages of the first half, the ladies team managed to hold on for a 63-60 win, which completes the season sweep of the Golden Rams. KU went almost 10 minutes without hitting a single field goal, a run that started with about 6 minutes left to go in the first half. This allowed WCU to cut the halftime deficit to 11. The Golden Rams carried the momentum into the second half and the teams played on the seesaw until WCU did the inevitable, tying the game with just over 5 minutes to play. The Golden Bears managed to retake the lead, however, and beat the division-leading Golden Rams by 3. The decision to go with the second team against a desperate WCU squad almost cost KU a huge PSAC East game. Fortunately, the players game through late and held on.

KU is now 7-4 in the PSAC East and third in the division. WCU drops to 8-3, but is still tied with 8-3 Millersville, who beat Cheyney (now 6-5). Shippensburg, now 5-6, was upset again on Wednesday, falling to Bloomsburg, who is already eliminated. ESU, now 5-6, beat Mansfield, who is now all but out of the playoff race.

The men's team also came away with a win, beating the Golden Rams 77-67. The Golden Bears improve to 10-1 and still hold the top spot in the PSAC East. With Millersville's upset of Cheyney, KU now has a commanding 2 game division lead with just 3 games left to play. If the Golden Bears win the division title and get past the first round of the PSAC playoffs, they will host the entire PSAC tournament.

Up next is Shippensburg at home on Saturday. After that, there are only 2 more regular season games for each team.

Ladies look to rebound against East-leading Golden Rams

P.S.A.C. East Women’s Basketball
2/18/2009 Keystone Hall

West Chester Golden Rams (16-7, 8-2) @ Kutztown Golden Bears (16-7, 6-4)
Radio: Golden Bear Network - Mike Clay/Jimmie Johnson

The Golden Bears come into the game at 16-7 overall this season, which includes a 6-4 record in the P.S.A.C. East. Despite their impressive overall record, Kutztown has actually lost 2 games in a row and 3 of its last 4. The Golden Bears latest action was a heartbreaking 73-69 loss at Millersville on Saturday.

Despite the loss to Millersville, Kutztown was bailed out by virtue of three other PSAC East upsets on Saturday. West Chester, Cheyney, and Shippensburg were all upended, which has made the PSAC East race the tightest it’s been since the early stages of divisional play with just 4 games left to play.

PSAC East Standings:
1. West Chester 8-2
2. Millersville 7-3
3. Kutztown 6-4
4. Cheyney 6-4
5. Shippensburg 5-5
6. ESU 4-6
7. Mansfield 3-7
8. Bloomsburg 1-9 (Eliminated)

The Golden Rams come into this game with the exact same overall record as Kutztown at 16-7, but the Golden Rams, as mentioned, are two games better in divisional play at 8-2. They are coming off a trip to Bloomsburg on Saturday where they were upset 63-61 by the formerly-winless Huskies.

These teams met for the first time this season back on Jan. 28 at West Chester. Led by 17-plus points from Katie Dovey, Rachel Wisemiller, and Melissa McQuade, the Golden Bears erased a double-digit second half deficit en route to a 67-60 victory.

Probable Starters:
WCU:
Sr - F- #12 – Dana Weems
Jr - F- # 25 – Janelle Garber
Fr – G- # 3 – Allison Hostetter
So - G- # 13 – Megan Stewart
So - G- # 32 – Dominique Adams

West Chester is coached by Deirdre Kane and she is assisted by Kiera Wooden.

Kutztown:
Jr - C- # 33 – Chauntelle Schroeder
So - F- # 23 – Melissa McQuade
Jr – F - # 32 – Katie Dovey
Jr - G- # 11 – Rachel Wisemiller
So - G- # 13 – Meredith Starr

Kutztown is coached by Janet Malouf and the assistant coach is Steve Hahn.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Saturday Update

The KU basketball teams are in action at Millersville today with the PSAC East playoff situation beginning to shape up.

The ladies began the action with a tough 73-69 loss to the Marauders, falling for the third time in four games. The Golden Bears drop to 16-7 overall this season and 6-4 in the PSAC East. Fortunately for KU, Shippensburg was upset by East Stroudsburg, West Chester was upset by Bloomsburg, and Cheyney suffered a surprise loss to Mansfield. This means that the Golden Bears remain tied with Cheyney for the three seed in the East, trailing 2nd place Millersville by just one game. They lead 5th seeded Shippensburg by 1 game.

The men's team managed their 9th straight win with a 77-61 win against the Marauders. With the win, the Golden Bears improve to 20-3 overall and maintain their hold of first place in the PSAC East at 9-1.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Keepin' busy

I recently accepted a job covering major league baseball for www.rbimagazine.com, which means more writing about baseball and less writing about Kutztown University athletics. For now, I will continue to post, but the game-by-game analysis will likely be the first thing to go once basketball season concludes. After that, my plan is to continue with occasional editorials and analysis.

I'd love to continue putting a ton of man hours into this site like I have been for the last year, but the new opportunity I've been presented with is actually a paid job. Since I have absolutely no income to show for this site, I'd be silly not to spend more time writing for some spending money, rather than just for fun.

I hope you will continue to check Kutztown University Vital Sports for updates and be sure to check out my work at www.rbimagazine.com!

In case you're interested, here are links to my first two stories:
1. Alex Rodriguez took steroids 5 years ago. Who cares?
2. Don't overlook a revamped Braves rotation.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Wednesday Update

The KU basketball teams were in action at Mansfield on Wednesday evening.

The ladies were upset by the Mounties in the opener by a score of 59-56 and fall to 16-6 overall and 6-3 in the PSAC East.

The men's team managed an 84-79 victory against the Mounties, improving their overall record to 19-3 and PSAC East record to 8-1.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Don't read much into Barton

I had a hunch that you might be able to predict the baseball team's performance in the upcoming season based on it's success during it's annual season-opening trip to Barton. Here is the research:

Year: Record vs. Barton_Overall Record_PSAC Record

2008 :0-4 31-26 11-9
2007 :4-0 49-7 19-1
2006 :1-3 44-14 15-5
2005 :2-2 39-18 10-8
2004 :3-0 37-16 15-5
2002 :0-3 36-24 NA
2001 :2-2 38-19 17-7
2000 :1-3 26-24 9-15
1999 :1-3 36-18 19-5
1998 :1-1 29-17 11-12

As you can see, there is little correlation, which both proves my hunch wrong and actually does make sense. The Golden Bears play Barton so early in the season that it is basically the time of the year where Coach Blum is still experimenting with the lineup and pitching staff, not to mention there tends to be inclement weather in February, not to mention the players are rusty, etc.

Well, so much for that. In case you had a hunch like me, I did the work for you. Enjoy.

'09 Baseball: An early look

The baseball team has 4 games under it's belt after splitting with Barton this past weekend. Now that all the pre-season speculation is aside and the games are underway, we can take a look at Coach Blum's depth chart to this point.

Batting Order:

1. Corey Buletza - The righty appears, as expected, to be the leadoff man. He started and led off all 4 games.

2. Mike Kacelowicz - Another righty, the veteran has started all 4 games at second

3. Chad Lightcap - PSAC standout and right handed hitting Lightcap has started all 4 games in left

4. Jared Frey - The first lefty, Frey has started all 4 games at first.

5. Shayne Houck - The right handed hitting freshman started all four games at third.

6. Mike Dugan - The sophomore righty has started 2 games at DH and 2 in right field

7. Catcher Spot - Matt Kulbacki (1 start), Dom Fantanarosa (2 starts), and rookie Johann Knee (1 start) appear to be 1-2-3 on the catching depth chart, respectively

8. Jeff Kistle (2 starts in right), Cody Montz (1 start at DH), and Brad Stoudt (1 start at DH) manned the 8 spot over the weekend

9. Brett Wigder (2 starts) and Mark Renda (2 starts) will split the shortstop duty and bat ninth.

Pitching Rotation:

1. Darin Gorski (LHP) - The ace will be drafted into the majors later this year
2. Mike Bucklin (RHP) - The right lasted 3+ in his first '09 start
3. Ryan Cassidy (LHP) - Was very effective in his first start of 2009
4. Kevin Morganti (RHP) - First start after missing 07 and 08 seasons

Bullpen:
Closer - Trent Mertz (RHP) - Already 3 apperances: 1 save, 1 blown save
Setup - Jason Herr (RHP) - 1 appearance
Setup - Jordan Smith (LHP) - 1 appearance
Setup - Adam Maini (RHP) - 1 appearance
Setup - Anthony Fegely (RHP) - 1 appearance
Setup - Matt Patterson (RHP) - 1 appearance

Obviously this only includes active players so far this season. A few guys who will see action are missing, with the most notable being 3B/DH James Quigley, who is suffering from mild back pain. Coach Blum is optimistic that it is not serious.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

2/7: KU 93, East Stroudsburg 70

The Golden Bears avenged their only divisional loss of the season by smoking East Stroudsburg 93-70 on Saturday afternoon.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. Woodlin 26.9 - The Ben/Dennis/Washington trio has stolen the show for most of the 2008-09 season, but it was Woodlin who went crazy on Saturday, scoring 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while grabbing 10 rebounds and distributing 7 assists.
2. Ben 19.0 - Scored a ton as usual, hitting 9-of-16 shots for 25 points, 2 assists, and 3 rebounds
3. Dennis 13.8 - 6-of-15 shooting for 18 points, but did most of his damage in other areas: 6 assists, 9 boards, and 4 steals
4. Bower 9.2 - Another solid effort for Bower, who seems to be improving as his senior season winds down: 3-of-5 for 9 points and 6 rebounds
5. Washington 2.8 - Not his best effort, but did what he had to do underneath, scoring 8 points and hauling in 4 boards
6. Gray 2.0 - Just 1-of-5 from the field for 5 points to go with 2 boards and 3 assists
7. Coffey 1.2 - Missed both of his shots, but hit a pair of free throws and grabbed 2 boards
8. Coombs 0.0 - Played just 2 minutes
9. Wenner 0.0 - Only a minute of action in this one
10. Ford-Bey 0.0 - Nothing here in 2 minutes of work
11. White -1.5 - Missed shot, 2 boards, a foul, and a turnover in 10 minutes

Inactives:
Vrabel

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

Saturday, February 7, 2009

2/7: KU 67, East Stroudsburg 59

Rachel Wisemiller was the standout for Kutztown on Saturday, pacing the Golden Bears with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. Wisemiller 14.8 - Led the team with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, which included 3-of-4 from long range. Also added 9 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals in what was a solid all-around effort.
2. Schroeder 9.0 - Struggled to defend Yandrisevits, but had a good offensive day, scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go with 7 rebounds
3. Dovey 5.9 - Played a team-high 32 minutes and and answered the call with 13 points and 6 rebounds
4. Starr 5.0 - Only 1-of-6 in the shooting department, but had 6 rebounds and 6 assists
5. LeVan 3.0 - Was solid in 8 minutes of action, hauling in 4 rebounds and scoring once
6. Greaves 2.6 - 1-of-3 for 4 points and a rebound in 5 minutes
7. Mertz 2.0 - 3 boards and a block in just 5 minutes of action
8. Melvin 1.2 - Only shot twice in 21 minutes of work, but scored 4 points and snagged 5 rebounds
9. McQuade 0.2 - A rare poor shooting day from McQuade, who was 0-for-8 from the field and turned the ball over 7 times. She did manage a plus day with 6 free throws, 4 boards, 3 assists, 4 steals, and a block.
10. Dellegrotti -0.7 - Struggled in 16 minutes, turning it over 3 times, missing her only shot, and scoring just 2 points

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

Saturday Update

The KU basketball teams were in action at home against East Stroudsburg on Saturday.

The ladies came away with a 67-59 victory, improving to 6-2 in the PSAC East and 16-5 overall.

The men's team dominated the Warriors en route to a 93-70 win. The Golden Bears improve to a division-leading 7-1 record and to 18-3 overall.

Next up is a trip to Mansfield on Wednesday.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Back to the diamond

Both the softball and baseball teams will kick off of their season on Saturday.

The softball team will be in Aiken, S.C. to take part in the South Carolina-Aiken Tournament, while the baseball team will hit the road to take on Barton College in doubleheader action on both Saturday and Sunday.

When possible, I'll do analysis on the teams, but due to time constraints, I will not be doing recaps of each game at this point in the season. For all scores and recaps visit www.kubears.com.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

2/4: KU 75, Cheyney 73

Stephen Dennis paved the way to Wednesday's 75-73 victory at Cheyney with 28 points and 8 rebounds.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. Dennis 19.5 - Scored 13 of his team-leading 28 points from the charity stripe and added 8 rebounds.
2. Ben 14.1 - 6-of-14 in this one for 17 points, 4 boards, 2 dimes, 2 steals
3. Bower 9.5 - Had another nice game, hitting 5-of-7 shots for 13 points and added 4 boards
4. Woodlin 8.8 - Just 2-of-8 for 10 points and added 3 boards and 4 assists
5. Washington 4.0 - Shot only twice (making both) in 38 minutes of work and had just 4 boards. Also had 4 assists and 2 steals.
6. Coffey -0.7 - Missed a shot in 2 minutes of action
7. Coombs -0.9 - Missed shot, 2 missed free throws, 2 boards, foul, in 7 minutes
8. Gray -1.2 - 1-of-3 for 2 points, 3 fouls, turnover, assist in 10 minutes

Inactives:
Wenner
White
Ford-Bey
Vrabel

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

2/4: KU 76, Cheyney 83

It's been another injury-plagued season for senior Lara Dellegrotti, but she led the way for KU with 15 points in Wednesday's loss at Cheyney.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. McQuade 14.6 - 4-of-8 on the day for 14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks
2. Schroeder 11.3 - An impressive 7-of-9 from the field for 14 points. Also had 6 boards, but was in foul trouble again with 4.
3. Dellegrotti 7.0 - 3 of her 4 of her baskets were from long range, leaving her with a team-high 15 points.
4. Wisemiller 5.8 - 9 of her 12 shots were from long range and she converted on 4 of them, which added up to a 12 point evening to go with 4 boards and 2 dimes
5. Mertz 4.2 - Hit her only shot and had 3 points in the game to go with 4 boards and a block in 10 minutes
6. Starr 4.2 - 2-of-6 for 7 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers
7. Dovey 2.5 - 2-of-6 for 6 points and 2 boards in just 9 minutes
8. Melvin 2.3 - 5 points, 3 assists, 3 turnovers in 18 minutes
9. Greaves 0.3 - Foul and an assist in 3 minutes
10. LeVan -0.7 - Only a missed three in 2 minutes

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Wednesday Update

The KU basketball teams were in action at Cheyney on Wednesday evening.

The ladies opened up the action with a 83-76 loss the Wolves and fall to 5-2 in the PSAC East. Cheyney improves to 5-2 in the division with the win.

The men's team, which was tied with Cheyney atop the PSAC East heading into the game, came away with a 75-73 victory. The win moves KU into sole possession of first place in the PSAC East at 6-1.

Up next is a meeting with East Stroudsburg at home on Saturday.

Full recaps Thursday.

Monday, February 2, 2009

1/31: KU 88, Bloomsburg 63

Ryan Washington added another double-double to his resume on Saturday with a 16 points, 11 rebound effort against the Huskies.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. Ben 28.3 - 10-of-16 on the day for 31 points, 6 boards, and 5 steals. Man is he on a roll.
2. Washington 17.5 - 16 point, 11 rebound effort for the sophomore
3. Dennis 16.1 - Scored 20 points on 19 shots. Also had 9 rebounds and 4 dimes
4. Bower 3.9 - 6 points, 4 rebounds in 20 minutes before fouling out
5. Coffey 2.7 - Missed shot, rebound, assist, 2 steals in 11 minutes
6. Gray 2.4 - 4 points, including a three pointer, and 3 steals highlighted his 15 minutes
7. Wenner 2.4 - Bucket and an assist in 3 minutes
8. Woodlin 1.0 - 2-of-8 from the field for 5 points, 4 rebounds
9. White 0.0 - 2-for-2 for 4 points, but fouled out and had 2 turnovers in 11 minutes
10. Ford-Bey 0.0 - Nothing doing in 2 minutes
11. Vrabel -0.9 - Had a chance to finally score a point, but missed 2 free throws
12. Coombs -1.8 - The struggles continue: 2 fouls, 2 turnovers in 8 minutes

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

1/31: KU 66, Bloomsburg 56

Vivian Melvin scored 11 points and hauled in 8 rebounds in Saturday's 66-56 win over Bloomsburg.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. McQuade 16.6 - A monster 18 point, 15 rebound, 4 steal evening for the sophomore
2. Melvin 9.5 - 11 points, 8 boards
3. Wisemiller 7.3 - Only 8 points, but had 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 dimes
4. Schroeder 6.9 - Did a nice job on Kegerreis, but was whistled for 4 fouls. Still had 11 points, 2 steals, 3 rebounds in 22 minutes
5. Dellegrotti 4.6 - First game back from concussion: 0-for-5, but hit 6 free throws and had 4 boards
6. Starr 3.4 - 8 points, 3 boards, 2 dimes
7. Mertz 1.4 - 4 points and 3 fouls in 10 minutes
8. Dovey -0.2 - 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
9. Greaves -0.8 - 2 missed shots, rebound, foul, block in 9 minutes

Inactives:
LeVan

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score