BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The No. 21 West Chester University baseball team secured one victory in Sunday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) doubleheader against Bloomsburg, as the Golden Rams fell 5-4 to start the day before two 2-run home runs by
Shane Dressler (
YORK HAVEN, PA./RED LAND) and
Joey Coyle (WILMINGTON,/DEL. SALESIANUM) propelled WCU over the Huskies 10-7 in the nightcap.
The Golden Rams improve to 27-13 following Sunday's split and West Chester remains tied atop the PSAC East standings with Bloomsburg as both teams now boast a 16-8 mark in league games heading into the final weekend of divisional play.
Game One: West Chester – 4 | Bloomsburg – 5
- Both teams combined for just two hits through the first 3.5 innings of play, before the BU's Ben Newbert sent a three-run shot over the center field wall to put the home team in front 3-0 through the first three innings of action.
- With one out in the fourth, Drew Jarmuz (KENNETT SQUARE, PA./UNIONVILLE) doubled to right and then took third base following a wild pitch. After the Golden Rams loaded the bases with two walks, Jarmuz was brought in with a HPB by Jon Hansen (CHERRY HILL, N.J./GEORGE MASON) to tack on WCU's first run of the afternoon.
- The Huskies added two more runs in the fourth – stretching the lead to 5-1 – before a two-RBI double from Corey Webb (EASTON, PA./EASTON) in the fifth and a run off a fielder's choice in the sixth brought the visitors within one (5-4) entering the seventh.
- Following a groundout, Jarmuz reached first on an error and then headed to second thanks to a single to left by Webb. With two runners on, West Chester's hopes of a comeback were dashed when the Huskies turned a 6-4-3 double play to close out the game.
Webb and
Nick Ward (
KENNETT SQUARE, PA./UNIONVILLE) accounted
for four (two each) of the Golden Rams' six hits in game one, with Webb adding two RBI in the losing effort.
On the mound,
Mike Cipolla (NEWARK, DE/CHARTER SCHOOL OF WILMINGTON) went six innings and gave up five runs (four earned) on five hits with six strikeouts to drop to 5-2 overall this year.
Game Two: West Chester – 10 | Bloomsburg – 7
- The home team looked like they were going to run away with game two, as the Huskies raced out to a sizable 7-1 advantage after the first two innings.
- Trailing by six in the third, West Chester used back-to-back-to-back-to-back doubles from Ward, Jared Melone (NORTH WALES, PA./NORTH PENN), Dressler, and Zach Sheranko (TANNERSVILLE, PA./POCONO MOUNTAIN EAST) to start the inning – cutting the BU advantage to 7-3 with no outs.
- The Golden Rams added one more run in the third following a sacrifice fly from Webb and the scoreboard read 7-4 in favor of the home team through three.
- With reliever Bill Ford (PARKSIDE, PA./MALVERN PREP) holding the Huskies scoreless over the next four frames, the Golden Rams closed out the game two with homers from Sheranko in the fifth (solo), Dressler in the sixth (2 RBI), and Coyle (2 RBI) in the seventh to earn the 10-7 come-from-behind victory.
WCU's 10 runs in game two marked the 14th time this season that the Golden Rams have scored double-figure runs and the second time this weekend that West Chester has tallied 10 runs against Bloomsburg.
Jarmuz went 4-for-4 with two runs scored in nightcap, while Melone, Dressler, and Sheranko each logged two hits in the win. Dressler's led the team with three RBI and four WCU players logged two runs against the Huskies to end the night.
West Chester tied a season high with three home runs in game two and the total marked the fourth time this year that the Golden Rams have logged three long balls in the same contest.
Coming in to relieve starter
Scott McKenna (HAVERTOWN, PA. HAVERFORD) in the second, Ford (4-1) got the win after allowing no runs on just three hits in 5.1 innings pitched.
