WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The West Chester University baseball team is set to begin its 2021 season on Friday as they begin a four-game series against Mansfield University. Due to frequent snowstorms and field availability, the home-and-home series has been moved to the Diamond Nation complex in Flemington, N.J.
Diamond Nation is providing a live video feed of the games this weekend at
http://www.hicastsports.com/. It is a pay-per-view service. However, there is a free trial available. West Chester vs. Mansfield doubleheader will be played on Field One.
West Chester has been selected eighth overall in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region preseason poll and fifth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division preseason poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
The Golden Rams went 7-2 in 2020 prior to the season's cancellation.
West Chester will be led by newly named head coach
Mike LaRosa, the 29th head coach in program history. LaRosa (WCU '05) was a four-time All-PSAC second baseman during his time with West Chester.
"I loved my experience here as a player and as a student," LaRosa said. "My experience here is what got me into college coaching because it had such a positive impact on my life. It's always been a goal of mine to come back here one day and be a part of the program again. To actually have the opportunity now is very surreal."
The Golden Rams have a strong veteran presence returning to the team for the 2021 season. Position players
Justin Horn (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Dublin),
Nick D'Amore (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti),
Zack Wright(Burlington, N.J./No. Burlington County), and
Corey Stouffer (Souderton, Pa./North Penn) are entering their senior seasons. They are joined by senior pitchers
Nick Picariello (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) and
Braeden Fausnaught (Danville, Pa./Danville).
Additionally, fifth-year student-athletes
Drew Jarmuz (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville),
Brian Verratti (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti),
Keith Flaherty (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep), and
Culver Hughes (Exton, Pa./West Chester East) are returning on an additional year of eligibility. Jarmuz is the lone holdover from the squad's 2017 national championship squad, who will be finishing up his master's degree this spring while concluding his college baseball career.
"There's a lot of guys that speak up at practice and are vocal and communicate well with the other players on the team," LaRosa said. "So, while we may only have a few named captains, we have a handful of guys that have assumed a leadership role relatively quick."
Offensively, West Chester has several key pieces returning to the lineup in 2021. Horn, D'Amore, and Jarmuz were all named Atlantic Region Players to Watch by the
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ahead of the season. They are also joined by junior catcher
J.R. Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood), who will retain the role of starting catcher. Also returning is outfielder
Luke Cantwell (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown), who started in all 47 games for West Chester in 2019, before missing the 2020 season due to injury.
New additions
Mike Ferrera (Jamison, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and
Nolan Bolton (Souderton, Pa./Christopher Dock)will also make their presence known in the lineup this season. Ferrera is a power-hitting first baseman, who joins the Golden Rams following two seasons with UNC-Greensboro. Bolton, meanwhile, is a red-shirt freshman out of Liberty, who will likely earn a starting position in the infield.
"We have so much depth," LaRosa explained. "I would comfortably put two different lineups out there and be totally fine with it. We will have guys on the bench this season who could be starters in most places across the PSAC."
Some of that depth is provided by juniors
Hunter Hall (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford Area) and
Matt Daller (Exton, Pa./Malvern Prep [Rhode Island]). They have game experience with the Golden Rams and will be asked to fill many roles. Meanwhile
Dennis Pierce (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown),
Zack Miles (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn [Lehigh])and
Joe Kaleck (Southampton, Pa./Neshaminy) are each coming off red-shirt seasons in 2020. Sophomore
Owen Lawn (North Wales, Pa./LaSalle) saw limited action in 2020, but is back to fight for playing time at first base. Freshman
Justin Stefanowicz (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Hanover Area) is one of three catchers on the roster. Left-hand hitting
Evan Profy (Croydon, Pa./Harry S. Truman) will compete for playing time in the outfield.
Off the mound, Fausnaught and Hughes are the only pitchers to have recorded a start in 2020 to return this season. They will be joined by
Nick Cataldi (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent), a junior pitcher who acted as a reliever during his first two years with West Chester. The starting rotation to start out the year will be rounded out by
Jack Slade (McLean, Va./McLean) a junior transfer out of Harford Community College.
Picariello will lead the charge out of the bullpen this season and will be joined by junior right-hander
Christian Kinsley(Coplay, Pa./Parkland). The bullpen will also be supplemented by first-year pitchers
Joe Sperone (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) and
Joe Martino (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South).
Five of the seven incoming freshmen are pitchers. Left-handers
Andrew Cantwell (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown)and
Ben Mascio (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) are joined by righty
Cody Barberio (Green Lane, Pa./Quakertown), Kinsley, Sperone and Martino. Junior
Evan Snyder (Cheyney, Pa./Rustin) is another returning left-hander, who will try to find his place on the staff.
The Golden Rams' schedule this season consists of four-game, home-and-home doubleheaders against the eight other teams in the PSAC East.
"With no non-conference games to start the season, there isn't going to be a game off," LaRosa commented. "The PSAC is going to be tough, but it's going to make for some great baseball. There are going to be some bumps and challenges we will take early on, but every team will need to work through that"
LaRosa noted that flexibility will be key to the team's success this season. The Golden Rams will play a majority of their home contests at the Maple Zone Sports Complex due to the renovations being made to Serpico Stadium. In addition, contests could be postponed at any time due to complications related to COVID-19.
"We have these COVID-19 protocols in place," LaRosa stated. "Guys are wearing masks and practicing in pods. We have no field. We've had guys transfer out mid-year. We had a lost season in 2020, no fall season. There's all this stuff you can focus on and be negative about, and not one of guy is that way."
The Golden Rams last took the field on March 7, 2020 against Indiana (Pa.). More than a year later, they are set to return to the field this Friday, March 12, against Mansfield. While the team will need to travel to New Jersey to do so,, the feeling that will dominate that day will be excitement.
"We would play in a parking lot right now if that's what it takes," LaRosa noted on the team's desire to play. "They could care less. They just come to practice every day genuinely excited and happy to be there. They're happy to be there and be together having lost last season and the fall. For them, they just want to play ball. And fortunately, the University was able to pull this all together, with so many moving pieces. But just to get to this point where we are giving these student-athletes this opportunity is something special."
