No. 17 West Chester Sweeps Kutztown In PSAC East Play

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Sr., Nick Bateman (Aston, Pa./Malvern) went a combined 4-for-7 with six RBI to lead visiting No. 17 West Chester to a sweep over host Kutztown in a PSAC East baseball doubleheader at North Campus Field Friday.
 
West Chester (20-6, 11-3 PSAC East) maintained its one-game lead in the Eastern Division standings with the pair of wins over Kutztown (12-19, 3-11).
 
Bateman's two-run triple in the top of the fifth inning of game one put the Golden Rams on top for good, 5-1. When the Bears tallied two more times in the bottom of the fifth to draw to within two, Bateman again provided the spark for a three-run sixth that pushed the Rams' lead back to five, 8-3.
 
Shane Dressler (York Haven, Pa./Red Land) doubled in a run in the seventh for insurance. But, starter Jon Fisher (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) was well in control, improving to 4-1 on the hill with a complete-game win. Fisher allowed three runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out four and hit a batter.
 
Nick Ward (Unionville, Pa./Unionville), Dressler, Bateman and Drew Jarmuz (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) were all 2-for-4 in game one.
 
In the nightcap, West Chester plated four in the sixth and two in the seventh to open up a comfortable lead late. A RBI single by Joe Sheeran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield), followed by a RBI double from Bateman, got the Golden Rams going in the sixth. Anthony Salomone (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) singled in the other two runs.
 
Sr., right-hander Eric Close (Berwyn, Pa./Haverford) improved to 3-2 on the year with the win in game two. He tossed a complete-game, allowing two runs, one of them earned, on four hits with five strikeouts to just one walk.
 
West Chester returns to Serpico Stadium on Saturday afternoon as these same two teams finish up their PSAC East doubleheader. First pitch on Senior Day is set for 1 p.m. There will be a brief ceremony before game one to honor the baseball team's senior class.