WEST CHESTER, PA –
J.R. Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) hit a walk off double in the left-center field gap that scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning of game one, and then
Joe Sperone (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) shut down visiting Kutztown in the nightcap as No. 23 West Chester swept a doubleheader by scores of 5-4 and 12-0 at sun-splashed Serpico Stadium Saturday.
West Chester (27-9, 15-6 PSAC East) kept pace with both Millersville and Shippensburg, who each swept doubleheaders of their own, to maintain a three-way tie for first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division standings heading into the final weekend of league play next week. Kutztown fell to 10-34 overall and 4-20 in league play. The Golden Rams clinched a spot in the PSAC postseason tournament as a result of its doubleheader sweep.
With Saturday's sweep, West Chester ran its winning streak to seven straight and 10 of its last 11. They will host Shippensburg (25-20, 15-6), which brings a 10-game winning streak into Serpico Stadium, on Thursday afternoon in the first of a three-game set to close out the regular-season slate.
Trailing 4-1 in the fifth inning of game one, West Chester pushed across two runs to pull within one and then got the equalizer in the sixth to eventually force extra innings. Closer
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) came on in the eighth and struck out the side after allowing a single to Zach Moretski.
Kyle Flaherty (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) led off the bottom of the eighth with a single up the middle on a 1-2 pitch. Gifford stepped to the plate and long fly ball to the warning track in left center. Kutztown's center fielder and left fielder converged on the ball with both diving to try to make a spectacular grab, but neither came up with the ball. Flaherty raced all the way around the bases to score the winning run and give West Chester the 5-4 win.
Lazer improved to 4-0 on the year as a result. Left-handed ace
Braeden Fausnaught (Danville, Pa./Danville) threw 112 pitches over the first seven frames, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out nine without walking a batter.
Zack Wright (Columbus, N.J./No. Burlington County Regional) went 4-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored in the opener. Flaherty was 2-for-3 with a RBI.
Game two was all West Chester.
The Golden Rams scored three in the second and four in the third to jump out in front 7-0 and never looked back. They added one more in the fifth and then another four-spot in the sixth for good measure.
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway Regional) singled to left to start the scoring in the second.
Joe Kaleck (Southampton, Pa./Neshaminy) hit a two-run single later in the frame to make it 3-0.
Flaherty singled in a run in the third, followed by sacrifice flies from
John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie),
Zack Miles (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) and Kaleck. Miles added a solo shot down the left-field line in the fifth that made it 8-0.
Mike Ferrara (Jamison, Pa./Archbishop Wood) doubled in a run in the sixth, and then Szestowicki hit a two-run double later. Miles knocked in his third run of the game with a single to center to close out the scoring.
As we mentioned above, starting pitcher Sperone (6-2) was untouchable. He scattered four hits over six innings, struck out four and did not walk or hit a batter with his 60 pitches.
Evan Snyder (Cheyney, Pa./Rustin) pitched the seventh and struck out one.
Wright tied the school's single-season stolen base record in the nightcap with his conference-leading 36th steal of the season. He was caught stealing for the first time this year in the first game. He consecutively stole 35 bases without being caught. As a team, West Chester stole seven bags on Saturday and has now stolen 135 bases this season, topping the 124 steals from 2010.
Szestowicki and Miles combined to go 5-for-7 with six RBI and five runs scored from the Nos. 8 and 9 holes in the batting order. Flaherty was 2-for-3 with a RBI, and Kaleck had three RBI. The bottom of the order was 8-for-13 with eight RBI and seven runs scored for the Golden Rams.
A total of 42 alumni showed up on Saturday and were honored in-between games. Most of the alums represented West Chester's 2012 and 2017 national championship squads. However, alums from 1975, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2015 were also on hand.
West Chester also honored its 10 graduating seniors on Senior Day before the doubleheader as well. This year's class won 115 games against just 55 losses overall while reaching the PSAC Championship Game in 2018. These seniors also reached the NCAA Tournament twice in their college careers.
West Chester will host Shippensburg on Thursday at 2 p.m. for one 9-inning game. The two sides will play a doubleheader on Saturday at Fairchild Field in Shippensburg on Friday.
