Box Score
WEST LAWN, Pa. – Bob Stumpo went 4-for-5, including a three-run home run and a triple, as seventh-ranked West Chester rapped out 14 hits in a 10-1 victory over Shepherd that eliminated the Rams from the 2009 NCAA Atlantic Regional baseball tournament at Owls Field at Ted Palka Park on a warm and partly cloudy Friday afternoon.
West Chester (44-10) moves on to the winners’ bracket semifinal and will take the field again on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. and will battle PSAC rival Mercyhurst in a rematch of the PSAC Championship game last Thursday in Lancaster, Pa.
Senior right-hander Bret Moyer (10-1) tied the school’s single-season record for wins, tossing a two-hitter and striking out nine in eight innings of work. A solo shot by Shepherd’s Tyler Stewart was the only blemish to Moyer’s day.
“Moyer has been on fire all year,” Stumpo commented about his battery mate on Friday. “He was working the zone well today and his changeup was really good. It will be hard to beat us if our starting pitching keeps up like that.”
As for Stumpo’s day at the plate, the junior backstop was in a zone of his own.
“I was looking for the ball up in the zone like (head coach Greg Mamula) preaches, and it just worked for me today. I was seeing the ball really well,” Stumpo said.
Nick Spisak and Blair Dameron each picked up a pair of hits. Spisak laced a two-out single in the second that scored two runs and helped West Chester take a 3-0 lead early.
Spisak also scored his 70th run of the season, becoming the PSAC’s all-time single-season leader in runs scored.
Matt Cotellese was 1-for-4 on the day. His single in the eighth was the 300th of his career. He becomes the first PSAC player to reach 300 career hits.
The Golden Rams take an eight-game winning streak into Saturday’s winners’ bracket semifinal against the Golden Bears. The game can be heard live on Red Zone Media at www.redzonemedia.com.
