WEST LAWN, Pa. – After leading 2-0 through eight frames, the No. 19 West Chester University baseball team surrendered three runs in the top of the ninth inning to suffer a 3-2 defeat at the hands of No. 24 Mercyhurst on day two of the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championship at Owls Field in West Lawn, Pa.
The loss drops the top-seeded Golden Rams to 35-16 on the season and Friday's defeat means that West Chester will face host (and No. 2 seed) Millersville University tomorrow (May 19) at 11:00 a.m. in an elimination game. Conversely, the Lakers (34-14) remain undefeated at the 2018 regional and will take on the winner between Charleston (W.Va.) and Seton Hill in tomorrow's nightcap at 7:00 p.m.
Friday's affair at Owls Field pitted two talented juniors against each other on the mound, as West Chester sent out their ace
Jon Fisher (PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA./PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH) to start the game and Mercyhurst countered with Tyler Garbee who entered the game undefeated at 5-0. Although the means in which they accomplished it was vastly different, both junior throwers grabbed control of game early and kept Friday's regional matchup close throughout. Fisher used great pitch selection and ball placement to hold the Lakers scoreless through seven innings, while Garbee's devastating breaking ball fanned 11 WCU batters in just a shade over six innings pitched.
Offensively, neither team was able to score through the first four innings until a RBI single to right by
Nick Ward (KENNETT SQUARE, PA./UNIONVILLE) (scoring
Joey Coyle (
WILMINGTON, DEL./SALESIANUM)) put West Chester in front 1-0 in the fifth frame. The Golden Rams left a runner stranded in the sixth, prior to
Shane Dressler (YORK HAVEN, PA./RED LAND) coming through with a two-out RBI double to center in the bottom of the seventh to push the Golden Rams' advantage to 2-0 which would spell the end for Garbee on the mound.
Mercyhurst threatened in the eighth inning by landing runners on second and third with one out, but WCU's
Andrew Scarpelli (LEWISBERRY,PA/TRINITY) came into relief of Fisher and forced a groundout to first to keep West Chester in front 2-0 entering the bottom of the frame. The Golden Rams went down in order in the bottom of the eighth, so WCU headed into the top of the ninth up two runs and just three outs away from logging its first regional tournament win of the weekend.
Up by two, things fell apart for West Chester in the top of the ninth. After Scarpelli loaded the bases with one out, the junior walked in Dominic Cecere to make the score 2-1 which led to WCU Head Coach
Jad Prachniak calling for senior
Bill Ford (PARKSIDE, PA./MALVERN PREP) out of the bullpen. The following Lakers batter reached and logged a RBI on a fielder's choice to knot the game at 2-2, before shortstop Alex O'Donnell singled in Parker Shannon from third to give Mercyhurst its first lead of the game (3-2) following a three spot in the ninth.
Making his return after missing over a month due to injury,
Justin Horn (WILLOW GROVE, PA./UPPER DUBLIN) led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk and he was followed with a HBP by Ward to give the Golden Rams the winning run on first base with no outs. Following a fly out by
Jared Melone (NORTH WALES, PA./NORTH PENN), Dressler reached first and advanced Horn to third with a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with two outs. With the game hanging in the balance, Mercyhurst's standout closer Adam Jeannette managed to force a groundout by the next WCU batter to seal the 3-2 come-from-behind victory for the Lakers on Friday night.
Melone and Ward both went 2-for-4 on Saturday, with Ward adding one of the Golden Rams' two RBI. Dressler logged a double and a RBI in the loss, while Coyle logged one hit and a run scored against the Lakers.
Fisher got the no decision on Friday but he managed to keep the Lakers scoreless through 7.2 innings and log four strikeouts on the day. Scarpelli (1-2) got saddled with the loss after allowing three runs (all earned) on one hit in 0.2 innings pitched.
For Mercyhurst, Alex O'Donnell and Matt Scheider combined for four hits and a RBI, while Nicholas McRandal (5-1) earned the victory after coming in to relieve Garbee in the sixth and holding the Golden Rams scoreless in 1.1 innings of work.
