WEST CHESTER, PA – A pair of throwing errors proved costly in game one, and a late comeback bid fell short in game two as host West Chester dropped both games of a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader to Millersville at Serpico Stadium Tuesdsay afternoon.
West Chester (26-15, 12-9 PSAC East) wasted a spectacular pitching performance from starter
Joe Sperone (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) in the opener while Millersville (37-7, 18-3) turned over game two to its bullpen early and got a stellar outing from right-handed reliever Colby Gromlich.
The Golden Rams jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game one.
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) led off the second inning with his second home run of the year to dead center field. West Chester tacked on two more with a two-out rally in the fourth.
Corey Stouffer (Souderton, Pa./North Penn) singled and then raced around to third on a failed pick off attempt that sailed down the right-field line.
Zack Miles (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) singled home Stouffer and later scored on a double by
Joe Kaleck (Southampton, Pa./Neshaminy).
To that point, Sperone was cruising right along, facing one batter over the minimum until the sixth inning when the eighth-ranked Marauders finally rallied. Sperone retired the first two batters of the frame, but walked the next two. Thomas Caufield then hit his ninth home run of the season to right field to knot things up at 3-3.
After Keegan Soltis reached on a throwing error,
Dylan Howanitz (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) came on to relieve Sperone (6-3). However, Cole Houser reached on another throwing error, and Justin Taylor singled through the right side plating Houser with what would prove to be the game-winning run.
West Chester responded with a two-out, RBI single from
J.R. Gifford (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) in the bottom of the seventh. But Millersville closer Nate Young closed the door with the tying run on first to pick up his third save of the season.
Sperone's final line was four runs allowed, only three of them earned, on two hits over 5.2 innings. He walked three and struck out two. Millersville's Evan Rishell (3-0) got the win in relief. He allowed one run on three hits in 2.2 innings of work. He walked one and struck out four.
It was Millersville that got out to an early lead in the nightcap. The Marauders scored one in the first and two in the third to take a 3-0 lead. West Chester fought back with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fourth to draw within one.
John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) singled up the midde and moved up to second when
Evan Profy (Croydon, Pa./Harry S. Truman) drew a throw from the outfield to third that was too late.
Luke Cantwell (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) then singled home Profy, and Costa followed with a sacrifice fly that plated DeMucci.
Millersville's Sam Morris led off the fifth with a solo shot, and John Seibert later added a two-run blast that gave the Marauders some breathing room at 6-2. However, West Chester wasn't done either.
The hosts put up a three-spot of its own in the bottom half of the fifth when Kaleck doubled in two, and DeMucci singled in another, with two outs in the inning. Once again, West Chester had closed the gap to one run, 6-5.
Millersville's Bren Taylor hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to give the visitors a two-run cushion. However, West Chester stormed right back with a run of its own in the bottom of the eighth to get back to a one-run game for the third time. That's where Gromlich beared down and struck out the next three batters in the eighth swinging with Cantwell, who had doubled in DeMucci, was stranded at second.
Gromlich (4-0) came back out for the ninth and struck out the side to pick up the win.
West Chester left-hander
Gabe Rappa (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) started game two and suffered the loss. He fell to 2-1 on the year. Four different Golden Rams pitchers walked a total of nine batters in the nightcap. Four of those walks turned into runs.
Millersville captured the season series with the doubleheader sweep on the road. All three games in the series were decided by a single run.
West Chester returns to Serpico Stadium for one last time in 2023 when it hosts Kutztown University on Senior Day this Thursday at 2 p.m. A brief senior celebration will take place after the single, nine-inning game that day when West Chester will pay tribute to its seven graduating seniors.
