SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- The No. 14/21 West Chester University baseball team (26-9, 8-6) returned to action on Sunday at Shepherd (18-17, 6-8) in search of a pair of wins to open its series against the Rams. Shepherd swept the doubleheader from the Golden Rams, capturing game one by a 2-1 final before winning the nightcap by an 8-2 final thanks to a big five-run fourth inning.
Game One: Shepherd 2 WCU 1
WP: Allen Miller (4-1) LP:
Kyle Lazer (6-2)
Jake Welsch (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown West) gave West Chester an early 1-0 lead in the second with an RBI single to center before the Rams tied the game in the home second with an RBI groundout.
Tied at 1-1 is how things remained into the home half of the sixth as the high-powered Golden Ram offense was held to just five hits in game one, thanks to an excellent complete-game effort by Allen Miller (4-1).
In the sixth, Shepherd picked up its final hit of the day, a two-out single to left, which scored a run and gave the host a Rams a late 2-1 lead.
West Chester tried to mount a late rally, starting the seventh with a
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) single and eventually getting a runner to second with two outs after a
Shane Adamski (Deptford, N.J./Deptford) stolen base before
Miller got his final out on a fly ball to center off the bat of
Darius Troche (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) to give the Rams the game-one victory.
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) was a tough-luck loser for West Chester on Sunday as he allowed two runs on four walks and seven hits while striking out eight in 5.2 innings of work.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) appeared in relief and got the final out of the sixth.
Game Two: Shepherd 8 WCU 2
WP: Daniel Quintana (5-2) LP:
Julian Costa (7-2)
Shepherd jumped out to an early 3-0 lead heading into the fourth after an RBI single in the first and a stolen base followed by a throwing error in the third.
In the fourth, Shepherd used a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot by Wyatt Miles and a two-run blast by Aidan Greaney, to take a commanding 8-0 lead over the Golden Rams.
Greaney's home run closed the book on
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) (7-2) as he allowed eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out six.
Patrick Taney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) and
Jesse Specter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) appeared in relief as Taney finished the fourth with a strikeout before Specter worked a scoreless fifth and sixth with two strikeouts.
Daniel Quintana (5-2) earned his fifth win of the season with five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out one to quiet the explosive Golden Ram offense for much of the day.
Brenden Lewis worked a 1,2,3 sixth for Shepherd with a strikeout before West Chester began its comeback bid against Oliver Leonard in the seventh.
Casey Vaughan (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) started the inning with a double down the line and moved to third on a passed ball before scoring on a ground out by Troche to cut the deficit to 8-1 with one out. Strawhecker followed this with a pinch-hit single and moved to third on a double by
John Dunion (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum) before scoring on a sac fly by
Mark Elliott (Somers Point, N.J./Mainland) for what would be the final run of the game for the Golden Rams as Leonard got the final out on a ground ball back to the mound.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action at home tomorrow afternoon against Shepherd, beginning at 1 p.m.
