UNIONDALE, N.Y.-John Dunion (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum) hit a one-out double in the ninth to score
Jake Welsch (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown West) and sparked a four-run ninth inning as the 10
th-ranked West Chester University baseball team (23-5) once again used late-game heroics to defeat Molloy (15-11) by a 6-2 final.
West Chester led early but found itself tied at 2-2 heading into the ninth inning before scoring four runs on two hits and three errors in the bottom of the ninth to leave New York with a 6-2 victory and its eighth consecutive win.
Following Dunion's RBI double, West Chester got its lead to 4-2 after a fielding error on a sharply hit ground ball off the bat of
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway) before an
Avery Spencer (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) hit by pitch and a
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) stretched the lead to 6-2.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) (2-0) earned his second win of the season after pitching three scoreless innings in relief with two strikeouts on just 31 pitches.
Strawhecker gave West Chester an early lead with an RBI double in the second before Molloy countered with a two-run single in the home fifth to take a slim 2-1 lead over the Golden Rams.
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) tied the game in the sixth with an RBI single to right, which is how the score remained until the big ninth inning.
Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) got the start and pitched the first three innings, allowing just one hit while striking out a pair.
Strawhecker, Dunion, and
Casey Vaughan (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) all recorded two-hit afternoons in the non-league victory.
Sean Mileti was saddled with the loss for Molloy, allowing four runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk while striking out two. JC Kiss got the start and worked the first six innings, allowing just two runs on nine hits while striking out three in the no-decision.
Up Next:
West Chester will return to PSAC East play this weekend against Shippensburg, beginning with a doubleheader at the Raiders on Friday afternoon.
