MILLERSVILLE, Pa.-The fourth-seeded West Chester University baseball team (32-18) used a big first inning and got a stellar pitching effort from PSAC East Freshman of the Year
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) to open the NCAA Tournament with a 5-1 victory over fourth-seed University of Charleston (W.V.) (43-11).
"We played a really clean game today," opened head coach
Mike LaRosa. "I think we only really made one mistake, getting picked off in the middle innings, but had good pitching and fielding throughout the afternoon along with timely hitting. So, it was a great game.
"We also did a good job of elevating the starter's pitch count early, which I thought was important. Overall, I'm pleased with how we played. I think we did a lot of good things against a really talented Charleston team."
Costa pitched well in his NCAA Tournament debut, matching his career-high for strikeouts with 10, surrendering just one run on eight hits to improve to 6-2 on the year and help West Chester open the NCAAs with a win over the Golden Eagles.
"We are always confident when Costa is on the mound," said LaRosa when discussing the effort from his freshman pitcher. "Costa was dominant throughout the afternoon, had a great fastball, and picked up 10 K's, which made things easier on the defense behind him."
Entering the game an impressive 20-6 when scoring first, West Chester got on the scoreboard early, exploding for three runs in a big top of the first. The Golden Rams jumped out to their early first-inning lead thanks largely to a two-run double by
Corey Stouffer (Souderton, Pa./North Penn), which came after the Golden Rams loaded the bases with just one out. Stouffer's double landed just inside the left-field line and allowed
Joe Kaleck (Southampton, Pa./Neshaminy) and
John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) to scamper home and give WCU an early two-run lead.
J.R. Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) added another run via a sacrifice fly to left, which scored
Luke Cantwell (Broomall
, Pa./Marple Newtown) and gave the Golden Rams a 3-0 lead heading into the home half of the first.
"Jumping out to an early lead is always big," acknowledged LaRosa. "I think an early lead in an important NCAA Tournament game does a great job of relieving pressure for us as a whole."
Costa kept Charleston quiet throughout the early innings, not allowing a run until the third when the Golden Eagles got a solo home run to right field to cut the deficit to 3-1. First baseman Kyle West followed up with a hard-hit single through the right side, but was caught stealing by all-region catcher DeMucci to end the threat.
"I felt like I did a good job of getting ahead and staying ahead," said Costa. "Once I got the first strike in an at-bat, that gave me great confidence. So, I felt pretty comfortable throughout the day."
Charleston put a pair of runners on in the home fourth, but Costa worked out of trouble once again, ending the frame with a strikeout to keep West Chester ahead of the Golden Eagles 3-1 heading into the fifth.
Costa got a quick two outs to start the bottom of the fifth before Charleston loaded the bases. A diving stop by Kaleck helped West Chester escape the inning without any damage, carrying a 3-1 lead into the sixth.
After a scoreless top of the sixth, Charleston started the home half with a double to left, before striking out the next two and escaping the inning with a ground ball to short to keep West Chester ahead by a pair heading into the seventh.
Costa's day was done after this as
David Ferguson (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) entered in relief and worked a scoreless bottom of the seventh, despite Charleston having a pair reach with two outs in the inning.
While Costa was dominant on the mound throughout much of the afternoon, the high-powered Charleston offense did threaten at times, particularly in the middle innings, but the freshman was up to the task throughout the afternoon. When asked about working out of jams throughout the afternoon, Costa said, "Having DeMucci behind the plate is always a nice confidence boost. He is a brick wall back there with a great arm. I could trust my 'D' throughout the afternoon, knowing that they would make the plays I needed them to and execute my pitches," explained Costa.
For Charleston, Cole Peschl (9-3) got the start, and after a rocky-first inning, which saw him surrender three early runs, he settled in nicely and worked seven innings. He scattered five hits and three walks while striking out seven and allowing just the three early runs. Cody Gobhold entered in relief and appeared as if he would work a quick 1,2,3 inning, but West Chester got a pair of runners on before a double by
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway) extended the lead to 5-1 with a two-RBI double of his own.
Charleston worked a scoreless top of the ninth to stay within striking distance heading into the home half of the ninth. The Golden Eagles started the ninth with a walk, before Ferguson worked out of the inning, ending the game with a strikeout, to pick up his team-best sixth save of the year and send West Chester into the winner's bracket.
With this victory, West Chester will have the rest of the day off and return to action again tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. against the winner of the Charleston/Millersville game later this afternoon. Millersville, the top-seed in the Atlantic Region, plays in its first game at 2:30 p.m. while the Golden Eagles will need a victory over the host Marauders to avoid elimination.
