PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- For the fourth time in as many years, the No. 14/19 West Chester University baseball team (26-7) leaves Citizens Bank Park as Bill Giles Invitational Champions after defeating Wilmington by a 4-1 final on Wednesday afternoon.
West Chester fell behind early but scored two runs in the third and two more in the fourth to erase the deficit and held Wilmington to just one hit from the third inning on to capture the three-run victory.
Hits were at a premium for both sides on Wednesday afternoon as Wilmington held the Golden Rams to just five with
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) leading the way with a 2-for-3 effort with two RBI and a run scored thanks to a two-run home run in the third inning.
Wilmington got out to an early lead in the second, capitalizing on a Golden Ram throwing error to score the game's first run.
In the home half of the third, Stalker tied the game and gave West Chester the lead with one swing as he blasted a two-run home run over the right field fence to give the 14
th-ranked Golden Rams a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth, West Chester doubled its lead on a
John Dunion (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum) sac fly before a
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway) double gave West Chester a 4-1 lead heading into the fifth.
Szestowicki's double plated the game's final run for either side as Wilmington managed just one hit from the fifth inning on, and West Chester had a similar end to the game with limited baserunners for both sides.
West Chester puts its pitching depth on full display on Wednesday afternoon as the Golden Rams turned to
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie), Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), Nick Noga (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove) (4-2), Patrick Taney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), Gannon Kadlecik (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour), Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), and Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) to earn the victory.
Noga earned his fourth win of the year with three excellent innings of work, which saw him strike out five batters on just 43 pitches, while Costa pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the victory.
West Chester allowed just three hits and one unearned run in the win, while combining to strikeout 13 as Lazer, Taney, and Jones all struck out a pair, while Kadlecik and DeHaven struck out one each.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Friday afternoon at Shepherd in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
