ASTON, PA. - The West Chester University baseball team defeated Shippensburg Friday afternoon in a doubleheader at Maple Zone Sports Complex. The Golden Rams improve to 17-9 overall and 17-9 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division.
GAME ONE
- The Raiders started out on top in game one with a home run to right center by Juju Cason.
- Shippensburg's Justin Darden singled to second base to help the Raiders score on a throwing error.
- Before the ending of the top of the first, Morgan Wyatt singled to the right side and put the Raiders ahead 4-0.
- The Golden Rams got on the board scoring on a walk in the bottom of the first.
- In the bottom of the second, senior Brian Veratti (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) singled to center field to grab an RBI. Graduate student Zach Wright (Burlington, NJ. /Northern Burlington County Regional/ LaSalle) singled to left field to bring in another run for WCU. Senior Nick D'Amore (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) singled and was able to advance runner on a throwing error to score for the Purple & Gold. Junior Mike Ferrara (Jamison, NJ./Archbishop Wood/UNC-Greensboro) rounded out the inning with a sacrifice fly out to center field and end the second in the lead 5-4.
- Ferrara hit two run homer in the bottom of the fourth to extend the Golden Rams' lead to 7-4.
- In the bottom of the fifth, junior JR Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) doubled to left field for another WCU run.
- The Raiders answered in the top of the fifth with four runs scored on a walk and double to right center field.
- Senior Keith Flaherty (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to win the game 11-8.
GAME TWO
- Ferrara opened game two with a home run to right field and three RBIs for the Golden Rams
- In the bottom of the second, the Golden Rams scored on three singles from Ferrara, D'Amore, and junior Luke Cantwell (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) to extend the lead 7-0.
- Shippensburg scored on a home run by Andres Garcia and ground out to second base from Tony Vavaroutsos in the top of the third.
- Justin Horn singled in the bottom of the fourth to bring a runner home for WCU. Freshman Zack Miles (Hatfield, Pa./ North Penn/ Lehigh) hit a double to grab two RBIs. Cantwell and Ferrara brought home two more runs for the Golden Rams before completing the inning and make the score 12-2.
- In the bottom of the fifth, Ferrara's sacrifice fly to left field and Cantwell's single to the left side rounded out the scoring for game two, WCU wins 14-2.
PITCHING
- Freshman Joe Sperone (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) started game one for West Chester with six strikeouts. Senior Nick Picariello (Phildelaphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) pitched the last inning for the Golden Rams and improved to 1-1 on the season.
- Freshman Andrew Cantwell (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) pitched seven innings and four strikeouts for the Golden Rams, improving to 3-0 on the season after. game two
The Golden Rams are back on the field on Wednesday, May 5 against East Stroudsburg in their last regular season game. The doubleheader games are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
