No. 9/12 West Chester Set to Open 2025 in Virginia vs Charleston (W.V.) This Weekend

WEST CHESTER, Pa.- When the No. 9/12 West Chester University baseball team takes the field on Saturday afternoon, it will have been 281 days since the Golden Rams saw their season come to a close at Serpico Stadium with a 9-3 setback against Indiana (Pa.) on the second day of the Atlantic Regional Tournament. West Chester will look to start its 2025 season off on the right foot with a four-game weekend series at Patriot Park in Fairfax, Virginia against 2024 NCAA Tournament foe Charleston (W.V.). West Chester will play a doubleheader against the Golden Eagles on both Saturday and Sunday with first pitch on both days set for 12 p.m.

“In general, it’s been a good preseason,” opened head coach Mike LaRosa, who is entering his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater. “We’ve only been able to get out and play real baseball once this year, which presents some challenges, but we know we aren’t alone in this; it’s been a hard winter this year. With that said, I still think we are in pretty good shape heading into the season. We have a good mix of experienced guys and some really talented new players. We are definitely solid, but we know that we still have some questions we won’t be able to figure out until we hit the field and start playing. Luckily, we have a little more time to answer some of those questions this year with Lock Haven moving to the PSAC West, which gives us a little bit of extra non-league play before we open up against ESU.”

Last Time We Saw Them

A year ago, West Chester saw its 2024 campaign come to a close in the NCAA Tournament with a record of 43-9, including a 25-7 mark in league play, which saw the Golden Rams qualify for and eventually win the PSAC Tournament, hoisting a PSAC Championship trophy for the ninth time in program history after an impressive run through the Tournament at Slippery Rock. This Tournament run, which saw the Golden Rams go unbeaten, included an 8-7 victory in 15 innings over Mercyhurst to open the Tournament before back-to-back wins over ESU, including a thrilling 12-11 Championship game victory wrapped up the PSAC Championship. The PSAC Championship, combined with a strong regular season, which included another Bill Giles Championship  (a 9-5 victory in 10 innings over Jefferson at Citizens Bank Park on April 10), led to the Golden Rams once again earning the top seed in the Atlantic Regional Tournament and hosting rights for a three-team Pod at Serpico Field in Mid-May. The Golden Rams hoped to repeat the home magic of 2022 and return to Cary, but the team fell victim to Charleston (W.V.) and eventual National Semifinalist IUP by 7-3 and 9-3 finals to bring the 2024 season to its conclusion on May 17. 

“I think one of the biggest things we can take from last year was our mental approach. Last year, we never felt like we were out of a game, and we had a lot of great late-game comebacks and late-game heroics. I’ve always felt like that is more of a mindset than anything else. It’s important to be able to play inning-to-inning baseball and understand that you’ll win some and lose some, but you just need to take it one inning at a time. That mindset is what got us back into games a lot and kept us going down the stretch. I think this group, especially with our returning leadership, can do a good job of staying with that. We have four new captains in, Drew Simpson, Kyle Lazer, Avery Spencer, and Casey Vaughan, who take over for five captains that graduated, but they’ve done a nice job of picking up where that group left off and leading us early.”

West Chester landed seven on the All-PSAC East squad, including Anthony Boccio (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), who was named PSAC East and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Atlantic Region Player of the Year, becoming the first Golden Ram to receive Player of the Year honors since 2019. Joining Boccio on the All-Conference squad were John DeMucci and Zack Miles, along with returners Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway Regional), Avery Spencer (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove), Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview), and Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./Delaware Military Academy). West Chester also landed multiple All-Region selections from the NCBWA, American Baseball Coaches Association, and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA), including Boccio, Szestowicki, and Costa, who all return in 2025. 

Offensively, West Chester returns three of its top five bats from a year ago, including NCBWA Atlantic Region Player of the Year and consensus First Team All-Region pick Boccio. In his first season with the Golden Rams a year ago, Boccio batted a team-best .400 (62-of-155) with 18 extra-base hits, including 18 doubles, five triples, and three home runs, while driving in 48 runs and scoring 59 more. He authored a 20-game hitting streak and a 20-game on-base streak while also ending the season on an 11-game on-base streak, with 18 multi-hit and 12 multi-RBI games. Named the PSAC East Player of the Year, Boccio carried a batting average north of .500 into the final weekend of March and never saw his average dip below .400 during the 2024 season.

 Szestowicki and Spencer also return to the lineup following seasons that saw them bat .354 and .343, respectively. Spencer ended the season with 47 RBI, which was second-best on the team, while Szestowicki belted five home runs, which was also second-best on the team.

On the mound,  Costa finished the 2024 season with a staff-best record of 8-3 and a 3.41 ERA with 73 strikeouts throughout 71.1 innings of work, including three complete game efforts. For his part, Nick Noga (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove) was 6-1 a year ago with a 3.69 ERA.  Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) led the staff in saves last year, finishing with four, while Kadlecik registered two to tie for second on the staff in this category.

“Our returning group from last year looks strong. It is certainly great to have such a strong returning group last year, including the Boccio, Szestowicki, Spencer, Costa, Noga types. I also think Casey Vaughan is primed for a really good year. He had a nice second half last year, and now, with a full season in the league, I think he has a better idea what to expect,” explained LaRosa when asked about the strong returning core, which includes multiple All-League and All-Region honorees. 

Preseason Prognostications

West Chester has been on the receiving end of a good deal of respect in the preseason polls early this season as the Golden Rams are the preseason favorite to win the PSAC East while also ranking 12th in the D2Baseball.com preseason poll along with the NCBWA Preseason poll and ninth in the ABCA Preseason Poll.

Flock Talk

On the Mound

“Our staff might not be as big as what people are used to seeing in other years, but I think we are as deep as we’ve been with 15 or so guys, who are all going to need to and all have the ability to contribute right away,” said LaRosa.

LaRosa and the Golden Rams are expecting to see Costa, Noga, Lazer, and Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) serve as the weekend starters for much of the season. Kearns ended last season with a record of 2-0 in 11 appearances, including four starts and a 3.70 ERA over 24.1 innings of work. 

Asked about his starting rotation, LaRosa said, “Lazer moving into a starting role is exciting. He’s really a premier arm, so getting him into the front end of the rotation will be great. I think he can really shorten games for us in those seven-inning league games. Costa and Noga have already looked sharp this season, and I think the experience they’ve gained through the first couple of years and their ability to prepare every week is huge for them. Kearns is someone who got some starts late in the year last year and has impressed us early on this season, so we are excited to see him in a starting role, too. Our rotation is in excellent shape because we have four conference starters with significant experience, which can be hard to come by.”

With Lazer moving into a starting role, the Golden Ram bullpen will look a bit different this year; however, there are a number of names, including Gannon Kadlecik (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour), Ben jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), David Ferguson (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East), Jesse Specter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), and Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) that are familiar to Golden Ram fans and will be expected to contribute out of the ‘pen throughout the season. Additionally, West Chester also has a number of talented newcomers who can make an impact late in games for West Chester, including  transfers Patrick Taney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) and Evan Wineburg (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), along with Danny Carr (Paoli, Pa./Great Valley), Drew Costello (Haddon Heights, N.J./Haddon Heights), and Brody Minder (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee). 

Kadlecik tied for second on the team in saves with two and posted a 3.86 ERA and 1.82 WHIP in 9.1 innings of work over the course of 17 appearances with nine strikeouts. Jones appeared in 10 games as a rookie with two starts and his lone decision was a save. The hard-throwing righty ended the year with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in his 13.2 innings of work. Ferguson started the year in the rotation but moved to the bullpen quickly, making 13 of this 15 appearances out of the pen and ending the year with a 5-0 record and a 5.68 ERA in 31.2 innings of work with 33 strikeouts, which was fourth best among Golden Ram relievers. 

“Having someone like Gannon back as a lefty out of the bullpen is great,” acknowledged LaRosa. “We may not have a ton of defined roles in the bullpen this year, but we are going to have the chance to be very flexible and situational in how we attack opposing lineups, which I think will make us a harder scout. Jones (Ben Jones) is a player who didn’t see a ton of time early last year, but he looked good when he had his chances. I’m envisioning him as a long-man, stopper type out of the ‘pen. Taney is a transfer from Gloucester County Community College, who pitched in some really big spots for them last year and has looked really good early on this year. Ferguson solidified a role out of the bullpen last year and had a lot of success from there, so I think that’ll go a long way for us, too. DeHaven is healthy again and has looked really good, and I’ve been excited by what I’ve seen out of Specter, Wineburg, Carr, Costello, and Minder early this year. This whole group is really talented and deep, so I think that will play well for us as the year goes on, especially as we see lineups for the fourth-plus time.”

Behind the Plate

Behind the plate, West Chester returns Darius Troche (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin), who saw significant time in his first season with the Golden Rams a year ago. In his first season with the Golden Rams, Troche appeared in 35 games with 31 starts and posted a .245 batting average with two home runs, along with four multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games. He authored a five-game hitting streak and ended his season with a nine-game on-base streak. He also posted a .990 fielding percentage behind the dish and caught five runners trying to steal. 

“Troche had a strong year last year, and I’m excited to see him take the next step this year,” said LaRosa. “He is a super mature, high IQ catcher who does a great job managing the staff and is a really good defensive catcher from a blocking/throwing standpoint.”

Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) and Gabe Caso (Califon, N.J./West Morris Central) are two newcomers who will have a chance to contribute right away for LaRosa and the Golden Rams as well with the importance of depth behind the plate in what can become a long season, especially as weather turns warmer late in the season. 

“Caleb is a freshman, who had a really good fall and a nice preseason. His tools set him up to have a lot of success, and I expect him to see a number of innings for us this season. Caso is a Northampton transfer and is a tough, hard-nosed kid who got two years of experience playing up there at a top-notch Junior College program. He definitely has the mindset you want, and I think between the experience and mindset he and Troche have, they’ll be a great help to Caleb as he develops. I think this group has great depth and gives us the ability to play matchups and do situational mixing and matching as we need to throughout the season, especially with Strawhecker being a lefty bat.” 

Around the Infield

The Golden Ram infield is an experienced and deep group once again, with the return of Szestowicki, Spencer, and Vaughan headlining the group. In his first season at WCU, Vaughan appeared in 39 games with 30 starts and registered a .292 batting average with 31 hits, including 12 for extra bases. He registered seven multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 effort at Shepherd, which saw him score two and drive in three with two doubles and a home run as WCU set the single-season winning streak record. This game was also one of his seven multi-RBI games on the year. He also posted a .909 fielding percentage at the hot corner for LaRosa’s Golden Rams.

“We are fortunate to have three elite shortstops in Spencer, Vaughan, and Szestowicki, who can fill one of the multiple positions around the infield as we need,” explained LaRosa. “There’ll be days where we see Szestowicki play second base and Vaughan will move to short with Avery at third and Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) at first and other days where it is more like what we saw last year with Vaughan and Szestowicki on the left side and Spencer at first with a rookie in Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) over at second.” 

Stalker joins West Chester after starting at Radford for two years and will be both a corner outfield and first base option for West Chester, which LaRosa expressed excitement about, pointing out, “Stalker is a D1 transfer who got significant time at the level and has faced power-five arms so I think his bat will play really nicely, especially from the left side.”

Gozdan joins WCU as a true freshman from Archbishop Wood. Asked about the rookie infielder, LaRosa said, “He had a great fall and has really exceeded our expectations with how fast he has developed. He takes coaching so well and is someone who I don’t know that he needs to be an everyday player right away, but he will definitely get some opportunities this season.”

In the Outfield

The outfield will be on area where fans will see the most changes this season as the Golden Rams replace a number of multiple-year starters in their outfield in 2025. West Chester does return NCBWA Atlantic Region Player of the Year, Boccio, who will miss time early in the season but is expected to be available by conference play. West Chester also returns John Dunion (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum), Shane Adamski (Deptford, N.J./Deptford), and Mark Elliott (Somers Point, N.J./Mainland Regional), who have all seen some action to start their careers but are primed for larger roles in 2025.

In addition to this returning group, West Chester will also look to newcomers Stalker, Andrew Dankanich (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann Goretti), Jake Welsch (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown West), Ben Bolhouse (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett), and Joey Cicini (Davie, Fl./American Heritage) who can be expected to contribute for West Chester in 2025. 

“Dunion, Adamski, and Elliott are guys who were depth guys in previous years and, in Adamski’s case, are returning from injury who we are excited to see in larger roles this season. Jake (Welsch) and Ben (Bolhouse) are two more transfers who, like Stalker, I think can immediately impact us. Welsch is a grad transfer from Dension, a top-tier D3 program, so he’s played in many big games, including Regionals and Super Regionals. He has good bat-to-ball skills and is a good runner. Bolhouse was a redshirt at Stony Brook last year and is a player we will want in the lineup. He is a big lefty bat with power that we might fit in either in the outfield or as a DH-type player as the year progresses. Dankanich is a true freshman and is a plus, plus runner with Evan Profy-type speed. I expect him to be a great defensive replacement, pinch runner who can help get things going with his speed throughout this year. Long-term, he is a center fielder for us but is behind some older guys like Welsch, who will probably fill that role early. Much like everywhere else, we have great depth this year, which will let us play matchups and maybe platoon some positions so we can be very versatile as the year goes on,” said LaRosa. 

The New Crew

When asked about his newcomers, LaRosa said, “The new guys we added are a really talented group. We have some freshmen, such as Pat Gozdan and Caleb Strawhecker, who have really impressed us early and, I think, are ready to contribute right away and maybe be four-year starter-type players along with several talented transfers who bring great experience and competitiveness.”

The Slate

West Chester will open its 2025 season this weekend with a visit to Fairfax, Virginia to take on 2024 NCAA Tournament foe Charleston (W.V.) on Saturday and Sunday in a pair of doubleheaders beginning at noon. Following this trip, West Chester will venture further south next weekend, making its first and hopefully not final visit to Cary, North Carolina, of the 2025 season, February 28 through March 2, to take on St. Thomas Aquinas in a doubleheader on Friday, Wheeling on Saturday, and Pace on Sunday, March 2. 

West Chester will return north and head to New York on March 7 and 8 to take on Pace and Mercy before playing its home opener vs Wilmington on March 12 at 3 p.m. The Golden Rams game vs Wilmington will begin a seven-game homestand for West Chester, which will include a four-game weekend set with Queens College (N.Y.), a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Molloy, and a Friday afternoon clash with East Stroudsburg on March 21 to open East play. 

West Chester will host a first-round Bill Giles Classic game on March 24 against Jefferson before hosting Kutztown for the first two games of a weekend set on Friday, March 28. The Golden Rams will conclude their 2025 regular season with a series against Millersville to end April on the 25th and 26th (hosting the Marauders on the 25th) before facing Mansfield on May 1 and as the Golden Rams host the Mounties on Friday the 2nd for the regular-season finale.