SLIPPERY ROCK, PA – Freshman left-hander
Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) threw 5.1 innings of two-hit, scoreless ball, and
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./Delaware Military Academy) and
Casey Vaughan (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) each had two hits and two RBI, to lead No. 8 West Chester to a 4-1 win over No. 24 East Stroudsburg in the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament Friday afternoon.
West Chester (42-7) advances to Saturday's championship game while its opponent, East Stroudsburg, will have to beat the Golden Rams twice to take the title.
Kearns (2-0) made just his fourth start of the season Friday, and he saved his best for stepping onto the playoff stage to help the Golden Rams advance. He scattered two hits over 5 1/3 innings while walking three and striking out three. He kept the Warriors' offense in check while ESU's freshman, Peyton Brannock, was doing the same.
"Kyle doesn't get rattled out there," West Chester head coach
Mike LaRosa said. "He is relaxed and just focuses executing his pitches. He has shown over his last two outings that he can be that big-game pitcher that we know he is capable of being. We were hoping to get four (innings) out of him, and he pitched into the sixth without allowing a run."
West Chester finally broke through in the fourth inning with a one-out single up the middle by Simpson off of his high school teammate, Brannock, that plated
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway Regional), who had walked to start the rally.
For his part, Brannock (5-3) was just as spectacular as Kearns until he left after the fifth. Watching two freshmen in the conference battle it out on the mound was certainly a harbinger of things to come between these division rivals for the next three years. Brannock allowed just the one run on four hits while walking three and striking out three as well.
The Golden Rams rode the arms of
Dylan Howanitz (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) and
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) into the eighth inning clinging to that one-run lead until the offense picked things up again with a three-spot to put the game away.
Vaughan hit a two-run double down the left-field line, and Simpson then singled him home to give the Golden Rams a 4-0 lead.
ESU's Chaise Albus ruined the shutout bid in the ninth with a sacrifice fly off
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview). But, that was all the Warriors could muster in their comeback bid. More ninth-inning heroics was not in cards Friday.
"The team is in a great spot right now," LaRosa added. "Everyone is playing with a lot of confidence. They believe in each other, regardless of the situation, and that's a testament to the leadership on this squad. The captains and upperclassmen have set the tone for how we are going to carry ourselves on and off the field, and it's filtered down through the team. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I do like where everyone is at right now."
West Chester will play for its sixth PSAC baseball title overall and first since 2016, on Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park. Game time is set for 10:30 a.m.
NOTES: West Chester advances to the PSAC Championship Game for the 11th time in its history (there was no tournament in 1959, 1962 or 1964) … the Golden Rams are 5-5 in the title game … the Golden Rams won the PSAC title in 1959, 1962, 1964, 1983, 1985, 2009, 2012 and 2016 … West Chester returns to the championship game for the second straight year, marking the fourth time in school history that the Golden Rams have made back-to-back appearances (2008 and 2009; 2012 and 2013; 2016 and 2017) … West Chester heads to the title game 3-0 in the tournament for just the second time in school history (2013) … head coach
Mike LaRosa makes his second appearance in the championship game in just his fourth year at the helm of the Golden Rams … LaRosa is 6-4 in the PSAC Tournament in his four years.
