JOHNSTOWN, Pa. –
Joe Zirolli (KENNETT, PA./KENNETT SQUARE),
Kyle Feaster (TROOPER, PA./METHACTION), and
Michael Krusinski (MEDFORD, NJ/BISHOP EUSTACE PREP) all went yard and
Jared Melone (NORTH WALES, PA./NORTH PENN) fell just a homer short of the cycle, as the West Chester University baseball team handled top-seeded Gannon University 11-1 in the second round of the 2019 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship on Friday.
Friday's victory pushes the Golden Rams to 31-13 overall and the win marks the ninth in a row for the Purple & Gold. West Chester advances to the semifinals where they will play Bloomsburg, who remains the only other unbeaten team in the tournament following a 7-1 victory over Millersville, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Gannon, the top team in the West, falls to the loser's bracket and will have to battle two-time defending champion Seton Hill at 3:30 p.m. today with the unsuccessful team in that contest being eliminated from the tournament.
The Golden Knights got on the board first on Friday, as Jared Beach notched a RBI single in the first, which led to Justin Hamm scoring on a fielding error to put Gannon in front, 1-0.
Feaster led off the bottom of the first with a single and Melone followed with a walk to give WCU two runners on with out. Zirolli then hit into a fielder's choice to score Feaster from third to square the game at 1-1 through one inning of action.
Following a scoreless second, West Chester starter
Zach Rice (HONEY BROOK, PA./TWIN VALLEY) fanned two in the top of the third to set up the Golden Rams for one of their biggest innings of the day.
Zach Wright (BURLINGTON COUNTRY, NJ/NORTHERN BURLINGTON COUNTY REGIONAL) and
Justin Horn (WILLOW GROVE, PA./UPPER DUBLIN) both laced singles to start the inning, before Melone won the battle in 10-pitch at bat with a double down the left field to score Wright from third. Up 2-1, Zirolli stepped to the plate and smacked his team-leading 15th home run of the season to clear the bases and put the Golden Rams ahead, 5-1.
In the top of the seventh, Rice put one man on but quickly recovered to get his sixth and seventh strikeout of the day to keep the Golden Knights off the board. West Chester put the game away in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to an early home run by Feaster and a RBI triple by Melone. Up eight with just one out, a long shot to right by Krusinki would end the game early as the two-run bomb put the 10-run rule into effect.
Melone went 3-for-3 with two RBI, a single, a double, and a triple. Heading into tomorrow's semifinals, Melone has gone 6-for-6 with six RBI and three doubles in two tournament games. Feaster, Horn, and Krusinki all notched two hits in the win, while Zirolli tied a season-high with five RBI.
Rice's seven K's were the most for the sophomore in his last 10 appearances, and the win moves the righty to 6-2 on the year after claiming his team-leading fourth complete-game victory of the season.
For Gannon, Dominic Mori went 2-for-3 and Jared Beach logged one hit and the lone RBI for the Golden Knights in the loss. On the mound, starter Cory Hegedus (3-5) got the loss after allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits in 3.0 innings of work.
