DINWIDDIE, Va. - Coming off a sweep of Indiana University of Pennsylvania yesterday, the No. 2 West Chester University baseball team returned to Shephard Field on Sunday morning to battle No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas College on the final day of the Division II Baseball Challenge.
Despite holding a 5-1 advantage after four innings of play, the Golden Rams were dinged for 11-unanswered runs over the next five innings to take the 12-5 loss on Sunday in this battle of national powerhouses.
The defeat brings West Chester's record to start the season to 2-2, while the Spartans remain unbeaten (4-0) following the seven-run victory on Sunday.
St. Thomas Aquinas wasted no time getting on the board in Sunday's outing, as the Spartans' very first batter of the day went yard to put the squad up 1-0 quickly. The score remained 1-0 in favor of St. Thomas Aquinas until the bottom of the second inning when the Golden Rams loaded the bases with just one out.
Justin Horn (Willow Grove, Pa. / Upper Dublin) came to the plate and belted a single to score
Zach Sheranko (Tannersville, Pa. / Pocono Mountain East) from third to knot the score at 1-1, before
Corey Webb (Easton, Pa. / Easton) stepped in with a single to score
Jon Hansen (Cherry Hill, N.J. / George Mason) and put WCU on top 2-1 with just one out on the board. Following a strikeout,
Nick Ward (Kennett Square, Pa. / Unionville) delivered with a single of his own to bring in both Horn and
Christian Bateman (Aston, Pa / Sun Valley) and put the Golden Rams on top 4-1 heading into the third inning.
With the score still stuck at 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Ward smashed a double with one out to score Horn from second to give the senior his third RBI of the game and stretch the WCU advantage to 5-1 through four.
The Spartans then put up two runs in the fifth to trim the deficit to 5-3, before a huge four-run sixth inning gave St. Thomas Aquinas its first lead of the afternoon at 7-5 with three innings remaining. The Spartans never looked back after that and closed the game out by outscoring West Chester 5-0 over the next three frames to claim the 12-5 victory inside the Dinwiddie Sports Complex.
Ward went 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Golden Rams on Sunday, while Horn and Webb both accounted for one RBI in the losing effort.
On the mount,
Joe Peluso (Doylestown, Pa. / LaSalle) (0-1) was saddled with loss after giving up four runs on four hits in relief of starting pitcher
Michael Deitz (Avon Grove, Pa. / Avon Grove).
On the other side of the diamond, St. Thomas Aquinas' Joseph Pena had a huge day for the Spartans on Sunday; finishing the game seven RBI on four hits with one homer in the win.
