Three-Run Sixth Propels West Chester Past USciences, 3-1

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Joe Sheeran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and RBI to lead West Chester to a 3-1 victory over host University of the Sciences in a non-league baseball contest at Richie Ashburn Field on an overcast, but mild afternoon Sunday.
 
West Chester (9-3) scored all three runs in the top of the sixth inning, erasing a 1-0 deficit, and rode its pitching the rest of the way for the win over USciences (2-8). The win halted a two-game losing streak for the Golden Rams.
 
Back-to-back singles to open the sixth got things rolling for the visitors. After Shane Dressler (York Haven, Pa./Red Land) and Zach Sheranko (Tannersville, Pa./Pocono Mtn East) moved up on a passed ball, Robert Knox (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) chased home Dressler on a ground out to short. Then, Sheeran's second two-bagger of the day brought in Sheranko for the go-ahead run. Following a flyout to left, Bill Ford (Parkside, Pa./Malvern Prep) singled, moving Sheeran to third where Drew Diehl (Unionville, Pa./Unionville) knocked him in with a two-out single of his own.
 
USciences took a 1-0 lead in the third on a single, followed by a double, after the first two batters of the frame had been retired. The Devils eventually loaded the bases with two outs, after a pair of walks. However, reliever Mike Cipolla (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) got out of the jam with a pop to short.
 
Left-handed senior Nick Stallings (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) started the game for West Chester and pitched two scoreless innings, walking three and striking out four. Cipolla (3-0) tossed four innings, getting credit for the win, after exiting with a 3-1 lead after the sixth. He allowed the Devils' lone run on a pair of hits while walking two and striking out two. He also hit a batter. Josh McClain (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) threw the seventh and allowed a pair of hits and struck out one. Mike O'Neill (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) (4) pitched the eighth and ninth, earning his team-leading fourth save of the season. He allowed a pair of hits and struck out three batters.
 
Dressler finished the day at the plate 2-for-4 while Sheranko went 2-for-5. West Chester scored three runs on 12 hits and did not commit an error. USciences scored one run on six hits and committed one error.
 
West Chester hops into PSAC East play this coming weekend by hosting Shippensburg on Friday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. that will be the Golden Rams' 2016 home opener. The four-game weekend set concludes Saturday in Shippensburg for another twinbill with the Red Raiders.