WEST CHESTER, PA – West Chester mounted a furious comeback in the final two innings of game one to steal that contest, before falling in the second game to visiting East Stroudsburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division showdown at Serpico Stadium.
West Chester (20-9, 9-6 PSAC East) scored five runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh for a 7-6 victory in the opener. East Stroudsburg (26-12, 7-8) scored 12 runs on 13 hits in the nightcap to take a 12-3 win home with them.
Held to just one run on four hits through five frames, the Golden Rams finally got the bats going with two outs in the sixth and took advantage of a pair of errors by the Warriors to erase a five-run deficit and knot things at 6-all heading into the seventh.
J.R. Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) got things going with a walk while
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway Regional) singled through the left side to put runners on first and second with two outs.
Keith Flaherty (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) doubled down the left field line that plated Gifford and moved Szestowicki over to third.
John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) pinch hit for
Corey Stouffer (Souderton, Pa./North Penn) and drew a walk to load the bases.
Zack Miles (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) then greeted reliever Scott Shamany with a double to right-center that scored Szestowicki and Flaherty. DeMucci raced home after ESU's shortstop airmailed a relay home over the head of his catcher. Miles ended up at third on the play. But, West Chester still trailed 6-5 with two outs.
Zack Wright (Columbus, N.J./No. Burlington County Regional) hit a grounder in the hole at short and beat out the throw, allowing Miles to score the tying run. That's how the game got to the seventh tied at six.
East Stroudsburg put the first two batters on base in the top half of the seventh, and then moved the leadoff man up to third on a fielder's choice, leaving runners on the corners with one out. That's when the Warriors' hit-and-run attempt backfired, costing them an opportunity to take the lead. The batter hit a flyball to right with the runner in motion. West Chester's
Joe Kaleck (Southampton, Pa./Neshaminy) caught the fly and threw to first to double off the runner, which negated the run scored when the man at third tagged and ran home.
In the bottom of the seventh, Szestowicki and Flaherty were each hit by a pitch putting runners on first and second with two outs. DeMucci walked once again to load the bases. Szestowicki scored the walk-off run on a wild pitch, giving the Golden Rams a wild come-from-behind victory.
Reliever
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) picked up the win to remain perfect at 3-0. Lazer pitched the final two innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits. He struck out one.
Mike Ferrara (Jamison, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and Flaherty each had two hits in the win.
ESU broke open a 3-3 tie in the nightcap with three runs in the seventh and six more in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
West Chester's two Zacks (Miles and Wright) each had a pair of hits. The Golden Rams stole seven bases in the loss.
West Chester heads to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday for the championship game of the Bill Giles Classic. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
