JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The No. 19 West Chester University baseball team's run in the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship ended on Thursday morning, as the top-seeded Golden Rams fell to Slippery Rock 14-4 in eight innings at Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pa.
West Chester exits the PSAC Tournament with a 31-15 overall record after failing to win at least one game in championship for the first time since the 2015 season.
Coming off a loss against Bloomsburg yesterday, Slippery Rock (30-18) will await the loser of today's Seton Hill/Bloomsburg game, with the winner of that contest securing a spot in the Saturday's championship game.
The Golden Rams' next stop will be the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, but West Chester will not know the location or opponents until selections are announced this Sunday, May 13, at 10:00 p.m. by the NCAA. WCU entered the PSAC Championship ranked as the top seed in the Atlantic according to the most recent NCAA release but it is yet to be seen how this week's two tournament losses will affect its positioning moving forward.
Thursday's elimination game began as a pitchers' duel, with West Chester starter
Jon Fisher (PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA./PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH) and SRU's Matt Gordon each holding their opposition to just one run through five innings.
The Golden Rams used RBI from
Christian Bateman (ASTON, PA/SUN VALLEY),
Kyle Irwin (HATBORO, PA./UPPER MORELAND) and
Zach Sheranko (TANNERSVILLE, PA./POCONO MOUNTAIN EAST) to grab a slim 4-3 advantage in the top of the seventh frame before Slippery Rock's Tyler Walters changed the entire complexion of the game with a single swing. The 2018 PSAC West Athlete of the Year, Walters sent a moon shot over the left field wall on a 0-2 count to clear the bases and put the Rock in front 8-6 through seven.
After West Chester went down in order in the eighth, Slippery Rock exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the stanza to stretch its lead to 14-4, which brought the PSAC Championship 10-run after seven rule into effect.
Both
Shane Dressler (YORK HAVEN, PA./RED LAND) and Sheranko went 2-for-4 with a RBI in the loss, while Irwin chipped in two hits and one RBI after getting the start at second base. 2018 PSAC East Athlete of the Year
Jared Melone (NORTH WALES, PA./NORTH PENN) logged one hit in Thursday's outing to give the junior three hits overall in the tournament - bringing his current hit streak to seven games.
On the mound,
Andrew Scarpelli (LEWISBERRY,PA/TRINITY) got saddled with the loss on Thursday after allowing four runs (all earned) on three hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Starter Fisher went 5.1 innings on Thursday and gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits with three K's for the Golden Rams.
