Baseball Splits Two Games In Florida

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – West Chester University split its two games Tuesday, defeating PSAC West rival Slippery Rock, 3-1, before dropping a 4-3 decision in 10 innings to host Eckerd College in the evening.
 
West Chester (6-3) picked up a regional win while avenging a loss Saturday to Slippery Rock. Eckerd doubled home the game winner in the 10th inning with two outs.
 
In the opener, West Chester scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. Rob Spekhardt scored on a wild pitch, before Matt Petrizzi hit a sacrifice fly.
 
Joe Gutowski (2-0) pitched eight strong innings, scattering eight hits and surrendering one run. He walked two and struck out seven. Kyle Weary (1) came on and pitched the ninth for his first save of the season. He struck out a batter.
 
Rob Knox hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give West Chester a short-lived 1-0 lead. Slippery Rock tied it in the top of the fifth, before the Golden Rams rallied in the bottom half.
 
In the nightcap, West Chester came from three runs down to force extra innings. However, host Eckerd scored in the bottom of the 10th to pick up the win.
 
Matt Petrizzi was 3-for-5 with a RBI while Mike Raimo was 2-for-5. The Golden Rams tied the game in the ninth on a RBI single by Petrizzi that plated Raimo. West Chester took advantage of an error in the eighth inning to score a pair of runs as well. That capped the visitor's three-run comeback in the eighth and ninth.
 
Petrizzi started the game and lasted five innings. He allowed two earned runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out four. Matt McAllister pitched a pair of scoreless innings in relief, scattering two hits and striking out four. Ryan Swearingen (0-1) suffered the loss, going the rest of the way. He allowed one run on three hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out three.