CARY, NC –
J.R. Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) hit a three-run home run, and
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) picked up his third save of the season, as No. 7/10 West Chester split a non-league doubleheader with Saint Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) at the U.S. Baseball National Training Center Saturday afternoon.
West Chester (8-2) finally got its bats going in the middle innings of the nightcap, scoring four runs in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth, before handing over the game to the bullpen. STAC (3-4) got a gem of a pitching performance from Aaron Dona (2-0) in the opener to cruise to an 8-0 victory.
Gifford hit a three-run homer in the third, his third of the season, to highlight the breakout frame.
Zack Miles (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) had a RBI single before Gifford came to the plate in third.
Evan Profy (Croydon, Pa./Harry S. Truman) hit a RBI single in the fourth, and
Joe Kaleck (Southampton, Pa./Neshaminy) hit a RBI double for the pair of runs that staked West Chester to a 6-2 lead at the time.
John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) had the RBI single in the fifth that upped the Golden Rams' lead to 7-2.
STAC fought back with a pair of runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh, before Costa came on and shut the door.
Profy finished game two 3-for-3 with a RBi and a run scored. Gifford was 2-for-3. Kaleck finished 2-for-4 with the RBI double.
Joe Sperone (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) improved to 2-0 on the hill with the win in the nightcap. He allowed four runs on six hits in 5.2 innings of work. He walked one and struck out five.
Dylan Howanitz (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) pitched a third of an inning and allowed a run. He walked a batter and hit another. Costa struck out a batter in one full inning of work.
In the opener, Dona struck out 15 of the 24 batters he faced and tossed a two-hit shutout at the Golden Rams. He k'd seven in a row at one point and 12 of 14 to keep West Chester off balance at the plate.
Andrew Cantwell (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) suffered the loss on the mound. He allowed four runs on five hits in 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out three.
West Chester finishes its trip to Cary, N.C. on Sunday with one single game against Augustana (S.D.) at 9:30 a.m.
