FULL REPLAY
CARY, NC – West Chester scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to come from behind and eliminate Southern New Hampshire with a 7-3 victory in the NCAA Division II National Championships Tuesday afternoon at Coleman Field.
West Chester (35-14) trailed 3-2 entering its half of the eighth when Southern New Hampshire (46-12) pitchers hit five batters and threw a wild pitch, allowing five runs to cross the plate on just one hit. That hit was a two-run double from
Zack Miles with the bases loaded, following four of the hit batsmen. When it was all said and done, the Golden Rams led 7-3 heading to the ninth.
The Penmen put runners on second and third with nobody out in the ninth. But, senior lefty
Evan Snyder came in and shut the door for his second save of the season. It was his first appearance since the regular-season finale against Shippensburg on May 8.
"We like to get on the dish and take away the inner edge," West Chester head coach
Mike LaRosa said. "Some of those pitches were on two-strike counts. We wanted to apply some pressure and get into their bullpen. I think we were able to do that."
Southern New Hampshire was making its second straight appearance and third in the last four years in the national finals.
"I've never seen (5 hit batsmen in one inning) in all my years of baseball," SNHU head coach Scott Loiseau said. "I don't really know what happened."
Senior first baseman
Mike Ferrara put the Golden Rams on the board in the sixth with a 424-foot blast to center field for his 10th of the season on his 22nd birthday nonetheless. West Chester then pushed another run across in the seventh to draw within one.
"Mike (Ferrara) was able to get us going with that big swing in the sixth," LaRosa added.
"I told the guys that we can't lose on my birthday," Ferrara said. "My career can't end on my birthday."
Red-shirt freshman reliever
Dylan Howanitz (1-0) picked up his first win of the season, taking the ball from reliever
Gabe Rappa in the eighth. He threw one scoreless inning, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out two. Snyder pitched a perfect ninth striking out two.
Michael LaRocca put the Penmen on the board early with a 400-foot home run over the scoreboard in right field – his second of the season – in the fourth. Southern New Hampshire added two more in the fifth when Sam Henrie tripled, and Nick Schwartz singled him home. Alex Kennedy later hit a sacrifice fly that plated Schwartz with the third run of the game.
That's how things stood until Ferrara stepped to the plate in the sixth and ignited the comeback.
Southern New Hampshire starter Angus McCloskey lasted 6.1 innings. He yielded two runs on eight hits while walking four and striking out four. He hit one batter and was called for a balk.
Griffin Gilbert (3-2) came on in relief in the seventh and was tagged with the loss. He pitched two-thirds of an inning. He walked one and hit two batters while allowing two runs. Trevor Anibal came on in the eighth for SNHU, but he allowed three runs on one hit, plunking three batters himself and throwing a wild pitch. Conner Wagstaff relieved Anibal and pitched the rest of the eighth, walking one batter. He didn't hit anybody.
West Chester advances to Wednesday afternoon's elimination game against the loser of the Angelo State (TX) vs. North Greenville (S.C.) game that was played right after the Golden Rams game.
NOTES: West Chester improves to 10-5 all-time in the Division II national championships and 2-0 against Southern New Hampshire … Sr., DH
Justin Horn broke the school's all-time record for walks with his three free passes on Tuesday … he has now walked 116 times – surpassing Kevin McGrath's mark of 114 from 2007-10 … Sr., 1B
Mike Ferrara was the first of five batters to get hit by a pitch in the eighth … it tied him for the most HBP in a single season with 23 … fellow teammate
Joe Messina (21) also celebrated a birthday on Tuesday, along with the team's bat boy, Tim Hoge (33).
