ASTON, Pa. – Sophomore
Justin Horn (WILLOW GROVE, PA./UPPER DUBLIN) notched a walk-off single in the opener and sophomore
Zach Rice (HONEY BROOK, PA./TWIN VALLEY) fanned a career-high 12 batters in the nightcap, as the No. 21 West Chester University baseball team opened the 2019 season with a sweep of the College of Saint Rose on Friday afternoon.
With the wins, the Golden Rams improve to 2-0 to start the season, and Friday's sweep allowed West Chester to get its revenge on the Golden Knights who beat then-No. 2 WCU 4-1 in the opening game of last year's Division II Spring Baseball Tournament in Virginia.
Game One: West Chester - 6 | Saint Rose – 5 (10 innings)
- Following two scoreless innings to start the afternoon, Saint Rose put its first points of the season up in the third, as Jack McDonald scored on a WCU error to put the visiting Golden Knights in front 1-0 through 2.5 innings.
- Down 1-0, DH Hunter Reeser (MOHNTON, PA./GOVERNOR MIFFLIN) notched his first RBI in a Purple & Gold uniform – scoring Joey Coyle (WILMINGTON, DEL./SALESIANUM) from third – to square the game at 1-1 through three frames.
- Saint Rose retook the lead in the top of the sixth following a RBI single by Jon Montesanti, and then stretched the advantage to 3-1 in the seventh with a triple by Tyler Osborne.
- Junior Corey Webb (EASTON, PA./EASTON) and freshman Luke Cantwell (BROOMALL, PA./ MARPLE NEWTOWN) both walked in the bottom of the seventh, and Webb was brought home with a RBI single to right from Horn. With two outs and his team down by a run, senior Joe Zirolli (KENNETT, PA./KENNETT SQUARE) sent a shot out to left to score pinch-runner Kyle Feaster (TROOPER, PA./METHACTION) and knot the game at 3-3 and force extra innings at the Maplezone Sports Institute.
- Following a scoreless eighth, both squads hung two runs on the board in the ninth to force another extra frame.
- Senior pitcher Tyler Forbes (ATHENS, PA./ATHENS AREA) recorded two strikeouts to keep the Golden Knights off the board in the visitors half of the 10th and the score remained 5-5 entering the bottom of the stanza.
- Webb led off the inning with a seven-pitch walk, before Feaster and Coyle recorded back-to-back singles to load the bases. Facing a 1-2 count, Horn connected on a fastball and sent it out to right center to score Webb from third and give the Golden Rams the 6-5 victory to start the day.
Horn tied for the team lead four hits in game one and added two RBI in his six plate appearances. Coyle went 4-for-5 at the dish to start the afternoon, while Zirolli collected a team-high three RBI in his West Chester debut.
On the mound, Forbes (1-0) got the win in game one after giving up two runs on one hit in 2.0 innings. Senior
Jon Fisher (PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA./PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH) had a great outing in his first appearance of the year, as the righty struck out eight while allowing just one earned run in 6.0 innings.
Game Two: West Chester - 3 | Saint Rose – 0
- Horn and Zirolli each notched a single to start game two and Horn would later be brought in on a groundout by Reeser to put the Golden Rams in front 1-0 through the first inning of action.
- Making his sophomore debut, Rice struck out two in the bottom of the first and added another in the second to keep Saint Rose scoreless entering the third.
- Facing a 2-0 count, Coyle cranked an off-speed pitch over the center field wall to extend the WCU advantage to 2-0. Following a single by Zirolli, senior Jared Melone (NORTH WALES, PA./NORTH PENN) tallied a single to score Horn from third and put WCU in front 3-0.
- With a 3-0 cushion on his side, Rice went on to strike out nine batters over the final 3.5 innings – including the final three he faced – to secure the West Chester sweep on Friday evening.
Zirolli and Coyle combined for four of West Chester's six hits in game two, with Coyle recording his first long ball of the season.
Rice only allowed three hits in his complete game victory, while his 12 strikeouts were not only a career best, but the most by a WCU pitcher in over a decade.
SCHEDULE CHANGE
The Golden Rams were originally scheduled to return to Aston on Monday (February 25) to square off against Jefferson, but inclement weather in the forecast has altered that plan. West Chester will now play the Rams this Sunday (February 24) at the Maplezone Sports Institute in a single game set for a 6:00 p.m. start.
