West Chester Opens Season With 15-6 Win Over Shepherd

Box Score

DINWIDDIE, Va. – Nick Bateman (Aston, Pa./Malvern Prep) went 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI to lead West Chester to a 15-6 victory over Shepherd at the Division II Baseball Challenge in Dinwiddie, Va., Friday afternoon.
 
West Chester (1-0) scored 15 runs on 14 hits and took advantage of five Shepherd (1-6) miscues, pulling away in the late innings. The Golden Rams scored two in the sixth, three in the seventh and two more in the eighth to break open what was an 8-6 ballgame.
 
Bateman and Joe Sheeran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) hit back-to-back home runs during a five-run third inning. Bateman's HR was a two-run shot. Zach Sheranko (Tannersville, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) followed with a two-run double later in the frame to close out that portion of the scoring.
 
The middle of West Chester's lineup (3-4-5 hitters) went a combined 8-for-16 with eight RBI and seven runs scored. Cleanup hitter Shane Dressler (York Haven, Pa./Red Land) reached base safely five of his six times to the plate. He finished 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and runs scored.
 
Eric Close (Berwyn, Pa./Haverford) started on the mound, lasting 4.2 innings and scattering seven hits while allowing five runs. Joe Kinee (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) came on and threw 3.1 innings to pick up the win. He surrendered just one unearned run on four hits and struck out two without walking anybody. Dalton Reed (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) pitched a scoreless ninth without allowing a hit.
 
Eight of West Chester's starting nine registered a hit in the contest. Sheranko, Dressler, Bateman and Sheeran all knocked in multiple runs. Jared Melone (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) finished 2-for-6 with three runs scored and one RBI in his WCU debut.
 
West Chester continues its stay in Virginia with a doubleheader against PSAC West foe Slippery Rock. First pitch for game one is 9 a.m.