WEST CHESTER, PA – A pair of quality starts on the mound led host West Chester to a much-needed conference sweep over visiting Mansfield on a windy Tuesday afternoon at Serpico Stadium. The Golden Rams claimed the opener by a 7-1 score and took the measure of the Mountaineers in the nightcap 5-2.
West Chester (16-6, 6-3 PSAC East) has now won four straight as it embarks on a stretch that will see the Rams play 11 of their next 12 games at Serpico. Mansfield (5-14, 0-8 PSAC East) is still in search of its first conference victory mired in a nine-game slump.
David Ferguson (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) improved to 3-1 on the bump going the distance in the opener. He allowed one run on four hits while walking two and striking out seven. The Mounties plated their lone run in the top of the second when Jeffrey Coakley singled and stole second. Marcus Nales later singled him home from there to give the guests a short-lived 1-0 lead.
West Chester responded with three in the bottom half to take the lead for good.
John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) led off with a walk and
David Alleva (Cherry Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace) followed with a single.
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway Regional) reached on a bunt single to load the bases with nobody out. From there, Mansfield starter Ryan King (2-2) threw three wild pitches over the course of the next five at bats allowing all three base runners to score.
The Golden Rams added three more in the fifth with a pair of run-scoring singles and another tally that crossed on an error. For the game, Mansfield committed four errors, threw three wild pitches and had one balk called.
Alleva finished game one 3-for-3 with a run scored and RBI. Szestowicki was 2-for-3 with one of each as well.
Luke Cantwell (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) and
J.R. Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) each had a pair of hits. Cantwell drove in a run.
In the nightcap, West Chester scored three runs in the first two innings and that's how things stood until the seventh and eighth. Golden Rams' left-hander
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) made his first start of the season and scattered six hits over six frames without allowing a run. He walked one and struck out four.
Evan Profy (Croydon, Pa./Harry S. Truman) scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first to put the hosts on top early. He then singled in the second run of the game one inning later doubling the Golden Rams' lead. Cantwell followed with a RBI single two batters later.
Corey Stouffer (Souderton, Pa./North Penn) hit a two-run homer in the seventh to increase West Chester's lead to five. Mansfield answered back in the eighth with a pair of runs off the Rams' bullpen. However,
Dylan Howanitz (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) came on and earned his first save of the season by getting the home team out of the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth.
Alleva collected another hit in the nightcap. He finished the doubleheader 4-for-8.
Zack Miles (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) went 3-for-4, and Gifford picked up two more hits as well.
West Chester's busy week continues tomorrow with a non-league matchup against Wilmington University at Serpico. First pitch is at 3 p.m.
