Box Score DINWIDDIE, Va. - Nick Bateman hit a pair of three-run home runs, but it was not enough as No. 25 East Stroudsburg came from behind to defeat West Chester, 18-10, in the championship game of the Division II Baseball Challenge Monday afternoon.
West Chester (3-1) allowed 14 combined runs in the fifth and sixth innings that proved to be too much to come back from against East Stroudsburg (8-0).
Drew Diehl also homered for the Golden Rams and finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Bateman hit his first three-run shot in the top of the first inning as the Rams jumped out to a 4-0 lead for starter Andrew Gernert. His second three-run blast extended West Chester's lead to 7-3. However, WCU's bullpen could not hold that lead after Gernert exited following 4.1 innings of work on the mound.
Bill Ford, Anthony Salomone and Justin Roman each collected a pair of hits for the Golden Rams, who scored 10 runs on 11 hits and committed two errors. East Stroudsburg was equal to the task, scoring 18 runs on 20 hits and committing three errors.
West Chester ended action at the Division II Challenge with three wins against just one loss. The Golden Rams season-opening weekend was a successful start to the 2016 campaign. West Chester will continue its season in Florida on Saturday, beginning a five-game stretch in the Sunshine State while the student-athletes are on spring break.
