WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Looking to bounce back from a road sweep at Shepherd (18-19, 6-10) and salvage a split of the season series against the Rams, No. 14/21 West Chester (28-9, 10-6) was back in action against the Rams on a nearly perfect April afternoon on South Campus. West Chester came back to win game one by an 8-3 final, scoring six runs in the last two innings before posting a 6-5 walk-off victory in eight innings in the nightcap.
Game One: WCU 8 Shepherd 3
WP:
Ben Jones (3-0) LP: Michael Burnley (1-4)
West Chester got out to an early 2-0 lead in the second thanks to a sac fly by
Ben Bolhouse (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett) followed by an RBI single by
Mark Elliott (Somers Point, N.J./Mainland Regional) to give the Golden Rams the early lead.
Shepherd cut the lead in half in the top of the third and, after a solo home run in the fourth, took a slim 3-2 lead over the Golden Rams heading into the home fourth.
This home run led to the end of
Nick Noga's (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove) outing as he allowed three runs on four hits while striking out six.
Patrick Taney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) got the last out of the fourth and the first two outs of the fifth before
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) entered in relief and finished the game on the mound with 2.1 shutout innnigs with four strikeouts to earn his third win of the season.
West Chester tied the game in the fourth with another sac fly from Bolhouse before
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway) gave West Chester a 4-3 lead in the fifth.
In the sixth, West Chester tacked on four important insurance runs courtesy of a two-RBI double by
Jake Welsch (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown West) and a two-run home run by Szestowicki, which went right over the left field foul pole as the Golden Rams stretched their lead to 8-3.
Michael Burnley (1-4) took the loss for Shepherd, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits while striking out one. Trevor Sharp pitched the sixth and allowed four runs on three hits and two walks, including Szestowicki's second home run of the season.
Game Two WCU 6 Shepherd 5 (8 Innings)
WP:
Evan Wineburg (1-1) LP: Brenden Lewis (1-1)
Shepherd took an early lead with a solo home run in the second inning and a daring steal of home in the third before West Chester erased the deficit with a three-run third.
Casey Vaughan (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) doubled home a pair of runs with a double that dropped in down the left field line. The Golden Rams took the lead when
Gabe Caso (Califon, N.J./West Morris Central) lifted a fly ball to straightaway center field, which scored
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North).
West Chester stretched its lead to 4-2 in the fourth with an RBI groundout off the bat of
Anthony Boccio (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), which scored
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood).
Shepherd countered with a three-run sixth inning, thanks to an RBI sac bunt and a two-RBI single past a diving Vaughan to take a 5-4 lead.
Appearing as if Shepherd might hand the 14
th-ranked Golden Rams their first home loss of the season, Vaughan came through with another RBI double, lacing it into the gap in right center, which allowed Stalker to race around the bases and score from first, tying the game at 5-5.
Shepherd escaped the seventh without any further damage, and after a 1,2,3 eighth inning by
Evan Wineburg (1-1 (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), the West Chester offense returned to work in the eighth.
Caso started the inning with a single up the middle before moving to second with a well-executed sac bunt by Elliott. Gozdan laced a single into right that the right fielder could not field cleanly, which helped Caso find his way home for the game-winning run as the Golden Rams escaped with a vital doubleheader sweep and series split.
Wineburg was one of seven pitchers used by West Chester in the nightcap and one of two to throw a scoreless inning as
Jesse Specter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) also pitched a scoreless inning, working out of a seventh-inning jam with two huge strikeouts to keep the Golden Rams within striking distance heading into the home seventh.
Brenden Lewis (1-1) suffered the loss for Shepherd after entering in the eighth and allowing one run on two hits after Aidan Vanvickle watched a potential win slip away in the seventh after a dominant 3.1 innings of work, allowing just one run on one hit (Vaughan's double) while walking one and striking out five.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action at home on Friday against Bloomsburg, beginning at 1 pm.
