Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2
HARROGATE, Tenn. – No. 10 West Chester University rebounded from a 7-6 loss in game one to take the nightcap of its season-opening non-league baseball doubleheader at No. 26 Lincoln Memorial by a 3-2 count on a partly cloudy Saturday afternoon with temperatures in the mid 40s at Hennon Field.
West Chester (1-1) fell behind in game one, 6-1, before staging a comeback. The Golden Rams scored three runs in the sixth and two in the ninth, but left the game-tying run on second base in their final at bats of a 7-6 defeat.
Down by three (7-4) entering the top of the ninth, West Chester rallied for two runs but could not get Matt Cotellese home from second to tie things up. Sam Phillips led off, reaching on a throwing error by LMU’s shortstop, and Kevin McGrath then tripled to left-center, chasing Phillips home. Nick Spisak then hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored McGrath. Cotellese doubled, but Railsplitters’ reliever Josh Strawn retired the next two batters for his first save of the year.
West Chester crawled back into the contest with a three-run sixth. Charlie Kelly led off the frame by reaching on a fielding error by LMU’s shortstop. Joe Wendle would later double him home and move Kyle Orensky, who had singled, to third with nobody out. Bob Stumpo then hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Orensky and moving Wendle to third where Blair Dameron singled him home to make it a 6-4 contest.
That spurt chased Railsplitters’ starter Mitch Kramer and Ray Burchell came on to close out the inning before anymore damage was incurred.
Jason Bowman (0-1) started the opener and lasted four innings, yielding four runs on five hits. Only three of those runs were earned. He didn’t walk anybody and struck out four. Joe Opalka came on in relief and went three innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out one. He got out of trouble in the bottom of the sixth as LMU stranded a runner at third with two outs. Steve Richter made his first college appearance, going the rest of the way. He allowed one crucial run in the bottom of the eighth that proved to be enough for the Railsplitters.
Kramer improved to 1-0 on the season in his second start of the year for LMU (6-3). He lasted 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits and two earned runs. He struck out five. Ray Burchell came on in the sixth and threw 2.1, allowing one hit and striking out three after getting the hosts out of a jam. Strawn pitched the ninth.
Kelly hit a sacrifice fly and Dameron an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning to put West Chester on top for good, 3-1, in the nightcap. McGrath scored on a wild pitch in the first inning to put the visitors up 1-0 before LMU tied it with a single run in the bottom of the third.
Bret Moyer (1-0) yielded just two hits in five innings of his first start to pick up the win. Eric Carmichael came on to pitch the final two innings and record the save. He allowed a leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh and then squashed the Railsplitters’ rally, leaving runners at second and third to end the game.
Jeff Ludlow (0-2) suffered the loss on the mound in game two for Lincoln Memorial. He started and lasted 5.1 innnings, allowing just one earned run on four hits. Burchell came on and threw one-third of an inning before Steve Sarbird finished up for the Railsplitters.
Cotellese was 3-for-5 in the doubleheader and McGrath 2-for-3 in game two after his RBI triple in the top of the ninth of game one.
West Chester and Lincoln Memorial will play one single game Sunday afternoon at Hennon Field in the rubber game of the weekend series.
