No. 15 West Chester Sweeps Doubleheader From No. 11 So. New Hampshire

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – Jared Melone (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) was a combined 7-for-9 with a double and a home run as No. 15 West Chester swept a non-league doubleheader from No. 11 Southern New Hampshire by scores of 5-3 and 11-1 Sunday afternoon at the New England Baseball Complex.
 
West Chester (5-2) got three strong innings in relief from Tim Edwards (1-0) to come from behind and halt Southern New Hampshire's (7-2) seven-game winning streak to open the 2018 campaign. In the night cap, Melone and Franklin Ramirez (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) were each 3-for-4 in support of another solid outing from freshman hurler Zach Rice (Honey Brook, Pa./Twin Valley) (2-0) to sweep the twinbill.
 
The Golden Rams put up a single tally in each of the final three frames of game one to complete the come-from-behind win. Leadoff hitter, Justin Horn (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Dublin), knocked in the runs in the seventh and the eighth while Jon Hansen (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) had the RBI in the ninth that added insurance. Shane Dressler (York Haven, Pa./Red Land) hit a two-run triple in the top of the first to put West Chester on top early, 2-0.
 
Mike Cipolla (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) started game one and lasted six innings, yielding three runs – only one of them earned – on eight hits while striking out three. Edwards went the rest of the way, scattering two hits, walking one and striking out three as well, without surrendering a run.
 
Rice pitched into the seventh as the game two starter. He allowed one run on four hits while walking three and striking out four. Andrew Scarpelli (Lewisberry, Pa./Trinity) got out of the seventh and pitched two innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three. Joe Peluso (Doylestown, Pa./LaSalle) finished up the ninth.
 
Melone hit a 3-run homer in the fourth that put the visitors on top, 6-1, in game two. However, a five-run seventh put the game out of reach. Three errors by the Penmen, along with a wild pitch and two hit batsmen, doomed the home team in that fateful seventh.
 
Horn was a combined 3-for-10 with a pair of RBI in the doubleheader while Hansen went 3-for-7. Nick Ward (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) scored three runs in the twinbill.
 
West Chester heads south at the end of the coming week to begin its annual Spring Break trip in The Sunshine State on Saturday.