Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Kyle Orensky hit his seventh home run of the season as 18th-ranked West Chester topped visiting Widener in a non-league baseball contest at Serpico Stadium under ominous clouds Thursday afternoon.
West Chester (23-8) scored two runs in the sixth and benefitted from Orensky’s two-out blast in the eighth to overcome an excellent pitching performance from Widener lefty Joe Sessa. The Pride (11-9-1) was able to get one of the Rams’ runs back in the eighth, but could not break through on closer Eric Carmichael.
Carmichael came on in the eighth inning with a runner on first and one out after Widener had already scored its run. The lefty got out of the frame, throwing two pitches and getting to flyouts to end the threat. He pitched the ninth, picking up his fifth save of the season.
Reliever Jordan Lehman (1-0) came on in the sixth and threw 1.2 innings of relief to record the win. He gave up one run on three hits, walked a batter and struck out a man.
West Chester opened up a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the sixth when Matt Cotellese and Blair Dameron led off the inning with back-to-back singles that put runners on first and third with nobody out. Orensky hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Cotellese, and Joe Wendle then grounded out, moving Dameron to second. Charlie Kelly then followed with a triple to right-center that plated Dameron.
Sean Saverio doubled to left-center with one out in Widener’s half of the eighth, and Colin McHale brought him home with a run-scoring single.
Sessa (1-3) suffered the loss, despite an outstanding performance. He lasted seven innings and surrendered two runs on seven hits, struck out four and hit two batters.
Cotellese finished 3-for-4 with a run scored, and Kelly was 2-for-3 with the RBI triple. Orensky was 1-for-2 with two RBI.
