Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Jordan Lehman pitched a complete game in game two, and Matt Baer hit his second home run in as many days, as visiting West Chester University kept host Kutztown at bay in the league standings with a split of its PSAC East baseball doubleheader at North Campus Field Saturday.
West Chester (29-8, 13-7 PSAC East) maintained its two-game lead on second-place Kutztown (28-14, 11-9), who is tied with Bloomsburg (23-16, 11-9) for that spot in the Eastern Division standings. Kutztown took game one, 7-6, while West Chester captured the second game, 5-3. The Golden Rams conclude their league slate next weekend with four games against the Huskies.
The Rams plated three runs in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Baer’s sixth home run of the season highlighted the frame. Josh Heyne followed that blast off starter Colin Holmes (1-2) with a double. He would later score on a single from Reid Pulford.
Kutztown got one back in its half of the second and added another in the fourth. However, Lehman (3-2) shut down the Golden Bears from there. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked one and struck out five.
Chris Pula doubled home Joe Wendle in the third to re-establish West Chester’s two-run lead. The visitors then tacked on an insurance tally in the seventh to give Lehman some breathing room.
Baer and Justin Lamborn each finished 2-for-3 in the nightcap. Wendle went 2-for-4.
In the opener, West Chester erased a five-run deficit with a pair of tallies in the fifth and the three more in the top of the seventh. However, Kutztown scored the winning run with two outs in its last at bats to come away with a 7-6 decision.
Kutztown plated two in the bottom of the first and four more in the fourth to jump out to a 6-1 advantage. The Bears touched up Rams starter Dave Stieg for six runs on eight hits in five innings of work.
Pula’s two-run double in the fifth cut WCU’s deficit in half. His second double of the game in the seventh knocked in the first of West Chester’s game-tying three tallies. Lamborn followed with a groundout RBI, and Jordan Wlodarczyk then doubled home Pula for the game-tying run.
Lefty Conor Kerins struck out Kutztown slugger Shayne Houck to lead off the bottom of the seventh. He then walked Matt Albaugh and surrendered a single to Brad Stoudt. West Chester head coach then went to submarining righty, Kyle Weary (L, 2-1), who gave up a single to right to Corey Buletza. However, Rams right fielder Jack Provine gunned down Ricky Gorrell at the plate for the second out to preserve the tie game momentarily.
Sean McCormick then hit a pinch-hit single to center that scored Stoudt with the winning run.
Baer went 3-for-4 with a RBI in the opener. Pula was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Mike Raimo and Wendle each picked up a pair of hits in game one as well.
