LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - After suffering an uncharacteristic sweep yesterday, the No. 6 West Chester University baseball team returned to Watkins Field on Saturday afternoon to close out its four-game Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) series with Lock Haven University.
The Golden Rams dropped Saturday's opener 3-2 to the Bald Eagles to start the day, before the duo of
Nick Ward (Kennett Square, Pa. / Unionville) and
Jon Hansen (Cherry Hill, N.J. / George Mason) combined for three home runs and nine RBI to propel the Golden Rams past Lock Haven in the nightcap, 12-9.
With the split, West Chester moves to 11-6 overall behind a 1-3 mark in PSAC action. West Chester's 1-3 record in this series with Lock Haven (11-4, 3-1 PSAC) marks the first time that the Golden Rams have only taken one game of a four-game series since the squad was only able to grab a single victory from Millersville University back in March of 2016.
Game One – West Chester 2 | Lock Haven 3
- Lock Haven wasted no time putting runs on the board, as the Bald Eagles homered on just the second batter of the game to take the 1-0 advantage early.
- Following a scoreless half inning from Scott McKenna (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford), the Golden Rams knotted the game in the bottom of the second inning after Hansen scored on a LHU error.
- Lock Haven added two more runs over the next handful of innings to take control of the game 3-1 heading into West Chester's final at bat.
- The Golden Rams once again cashed in on an error in the seventh, as Ward came home with the bases loaded following an error by the Bald Eagles' shortstop. With the bases juiced and two outs, West Chester's hope of a comeback were dashed with a strikeout to give Lock Haven the slim 3-2 victory in the opener.
Justin Horn (Willow Grove, Pa. / Upper Dublin),
Jared Melone (North Wales, Pa. / North Penn) and
Christian Bateman (Aston, Pa / Sun Valley) all logged two hits in game one, while Hansen added a double and one run scored in the loss.
McKenna (1-1) got saddled with the loss after giving up two runs (two earned) on eight hits with a season-high seven strikeouts in five innings tossed.
Game Two – West Chester 12 | Lock Haven 9
The nightcap of the twinbill was another close contest early on, until a base-clearing grand slam by Hansen in the fifth busted the game wide open.
- Ward started off game two by notching his third long ball of the weekend, sending a shot over the right field fence in the first to put the Golden Rams on top, 2-0.
- The host Bald Eagles answered back with two runs of their own in the top of the second and scoreboard read 2-2 through two frames.
- Shane Dressler (York Haven, Pa. / Red Land) singled in Melone in the fourth to put WCU up 3-2, before the Golden Rams exploded for seven runs in the fifth thanks to Hansen's four-RBI bomb.
- West Chester was outscored 7-2 over the next 2.5 innings, but Michael Deitz (Avon Grove, Pa. / Avon Grove) would come in for the Golden Rams and close the door on the Bald Eagles in the seventh to give the junior his first save of the season.
Drew Jarmuz (Kennett Square, Pa. / Unionville) led the Golden Rams with three hits in game two, while Ward added two homers and a team-high five RBI and three runs in the win. Hansen chipped in four RBI and a grand slam for the Golden Rams in the night cap and
Joey Coyle (Wilmington, Del. / Salesianum) added a run and a stolen base in the winning effort.
On the mound,
Bill Ford (Parkside, Pa. / Malvern Prep) picked up his first win of the year, after tossing 5.2 innings and surrendering six runs (all earned) on three hits with six strikeouts.
