West Chester Comes From Behind To Defeat No. 27 Wilmington, 8-7

Box Score

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – West Chester erased a five-run deficit and then held on in the ninth for an 8-7 victory over 27th-ranked Wilmington (Del.) in a non-league baseball game at Serpico Stadium Tuesday afternoon.
 
West Chester (23-8) has now won 16 of its last 17, including two wins over nationally ranked Wilmington (25-9) in consecutive weeks. The Golden Rams downed the Wildcats, 9-5, in the Bill Giles Classic championship game last Tuesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. West Chester is now 5-2 against ranked opponents in 2015.
 
Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, West Chester's bats finally got going against Wilmington starter, Rob Gore. The Rams put up four runs in the fourth, and then added three more in the fifth off reliever Tyler Newton (2-1) to take the lead for good, 7-5.
 
West Chester's three-spot made a winner out of Joe Kinee (1-1). The sophomore transfer from the University of Maine threw 2.1 innings, yielding one run on one hit while walking two. The right-hander registered his first college win in the process. Four different WCU pitchers held the Wildcats to seven runs on 11 hits to pick up the win.
 
The Rams took advantage of an error with two outs in the fourth to score three unearned runs and spark the comeback. Tyler Coleman opened the scoring in the frame with a RBI double off the wall in right center. That hit plated Robert Knox, who reached on a fielder's choice, with the only earned run in the inning.
 
After Coleman's hit, Andrew Gernert reached on an error, and Luke Mogle drew a walk. Drew Diehl then hit a two-run single up the middle, scoring Coleman and Gernert, followed by a run-scoring single up the middle by Dylan Tice that chased home Mogle.
 
In the fifth, West Chester went back to work with two outs again. Justin Roman singled to lead off the inning, and the next two batters popped out. Coleman singled the opposite way, and Gernert then singled, scoring Roman with the tying run. Gernert scored the go-ahead run on a balk, before Mogle singled home another run following the balk.
 
Another unearned run in the bottom of the sixth for West Chester answered a run from Wilmington in the top half of the inning and gave the hosts an 8-6 advantage. Wilmington leadoff hitter Frank Samluk hit a solo home run with two outs in the ninth off Rams reliever Alec Schwartz (1), who earned his first save of the season, pitching the final two innings.  
 
Eric Close made his fifth start of the season on the mound for West Chester. He lasted three innings, giving up five runs on six hits. Kinee relieved him in the fourth. Mike O'Neill came on with one out in the sixth. He pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, scattering three hits and striking out two. Schwartz finished up for the save.

Roman finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored while Diehl went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Coleman finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI, and Gernert was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a RBI, coming off the bench in the fourth inning to play first base.
 
West Chester travels to Shippensburg for a four-game series this weekend, beginning on Friday. The Rams and Raiders will conclude the series Saturday afternoon at Serpico Stadium. Both doubleheaders each day begin at 1 p.m.