WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The No. 18 West Chester University baseball team welcomed No. 22 Wilmington (Del.) to Serpico Field on Wednesday evening for the semifinal game of the annual Bill Giles Classic. The Golden Rams found themselves down big on Wednesday and were unable to recover, as WCU surrendered a season-high 18 hits on the night en route to taking the 18-4 loss at home.
West Chester drops to 12-5 following Wednesday's defeat, while Wilmington moves to 16-8 and earns a spot in the championship game of the Bill Giles Classic where it will square off against USciences at Citizen Bank Park in April. WCU's 14-run loss is the worst for the Golden Rams since the 2016 season and the number stands as the second-worst loss in head coach
Jad Prachniak's eight years at the helm.
The visiting Wildcats jumped on the Golden Rams earlier on Wednesday, as WU put 14 runs on the board before West Chester was able to tack one on in the bottom of the seventh following a RBI single by
Brian Verratti (PHILADELPHIA, PA./NEUMANN-GORETTI) that scored
Luke Cantwell (BROOMALL, PA./ MARPLE NEWTOWN) from third.
Down 18-1, West Chester had its biggest inning of the day in the ninth frame, with the Golden Rams putting up three runs in the stanza thanks to a 2-RBI triple from pinch hitter
Michael Krusinski (MEDFORD, NJ/BISHOP EUSTACE PREP) and a RBI double by
Zach Wright (BURLINGTON COUNTRY, NJ/NORTHERN BURLINGTON COUNTY REGIONAL).
Justin Horn (WILLOW GROVE, PA./UPPER DUBLIN) paced the Golden Rams with two hits on the day and he also scored one run in five at bats. Krusinski went 1-for-1 with a team-high two RBI and a run scored, while Wright chipped in one hit and a RBI in the loss.
West Chester went through eight pitchers in Wednesday's outing, with starter
Evan Snyder (CHEYNEY, PA./RUSTIN) getting his first loss of the season after giving up three runs (all earned) on two hits with a season-high four strikeouts in 3.1 inning pitched.
UP NEXT
The Golden Rams return to Serpico Field this Friday (March 29) to host Lock Haven in a doubleheader scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
