WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The second-seeded West Chester University baseball team (35-15) is ready to begin the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Serpico Stadium. Despite going 0-1 in the PSAC Tournament a week ago with a hard-fought loss to California (Pa.), West Chester earned one of the top two seeds in the Atlantic Regional Tournament, which earned the right to host the opening weekend for the second consecutive year and the third time in the last four seasons. West Chester will open its NCAA Tournament in the second game of the day on Thursday at Serpico Stadium, squaring off against the loser of the East Stroudsburg (34-14)/Fairmont State (27-26) game that is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
Thursday afternoon's game will be the first elimination game of the Tournament for either ESU or Fairmont State, as the tournament aims to send one team home on day one and reduce the pod to two teams for a best-of-three series to be played over the course of Friday and Saturday.
Fan Information
Tickets to the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament will be $10 per day for adults and $5 per day for students (K-12) and senior citizens. No passes or comp lists will be honored. All ticket sales will be on-site and will be
CASH ONLY.
Fans unable to make the trip can follow all the action via
live stats and
video. West Chester University Athletics has also launched a Tournament Central Page, which will feature all the latest scores and statistics from the regional, along with a host of other important fan information. That page can be accessed
here.
The Bracket
As one of the top two seeds in the Atlantic Region, West Chester has earned the right to host a three-team pod on South Campus once again this weekend. Head coach
Mike LaRosa's Golden Rams will welcome third-seeded East Stroudsburg and sixth-seeded Fairmont State to Serpcio Stadium for the opening weekend of the Tournament. West Chester does not yet know who it will face when the Golden Rams get their Tournament underway on Thursday, as the Golden Rams await the loser of the ESU/Fairmont State game.
The other half of the Atlantic Regional Tournament will be played at Millersville beginning on Thursday as the PSAC Champion Marauders host fourth-seeded California (38-13) and fifth-seeded Seton Hill (37-15) this weekend. The winner of that pod and the winner of the Golden Rams pod will meet next weekend in the Super Regionals, which will be a best-of-three series at the home of the highest remaining seed.
A History Lesson
The 2012 and 2017 NCAA Division II Baseball National Champions, the Golden Rams return to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in nine years and the 20
th year overall. West Chester boasts a record of 49-38 (.573) in the NCAA Tournament, following a 0-2 showing a year ago with losses to Charleston (W.V.) and Indiana (Pa.). West Chester will host the Atlantic Regional Tournament for the fourth time since 2019 and the third time in the last four years, having also hosted the opening weekend in 2022 and 2024. The 2025 season marks the first time that West Chester has hosted the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament as the second seed, as the Golden Rams secured the top seed in each of the previous three instances.
LaRosa is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament, as he makes his fourth appearance in five years at the helm of the Golden Rams, boasting a record of 8-8 in NCAA Tournament games. Notably, he achieved a 7-4 record in 2022, when the Golden Rams made their run to the Division II National Finals in Cary, North Carolina.
West Chester is well-acquainted with East Stroudsburg, as the Golden Rams hold a 91-57 lead in the all-time series over ESU, including a split of the season series earlier this year. West Chester dropped the first two games of the set at ESU before bouncing back with a pair of thrilling wins in West Chester to finish the series with a split. West Chester is 2-1 against East Stroudsburg in the NCAA Tournament, with all three of those meetings taking place in West Chester in May 2022 during the Atlantic Super Regional. West Chester dropped the opening game of that Tournament by an 11-10 final before rebounding on Sunday with a pair of 5-3 and 8-6 victories over the Warriors.
In stark contrast to the lengthy history against the Warriors, West Chester has never faced Fairmont State.
Flock Talk
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Offensively, eight of nine Golden Ram starters enter the NCAA Tournament batting north of .300 on the year, with
Ben Bolhouse and Pat Gozdan knocking on the door at .299 and .296, respectively.
Sean Szestowicki leads the team in batting average at .353 with 61 hits, including 11 doubles, two triples, and four home runs, along with 42 runs scored and 39 RBI.
Avery Spencer is batting .331 with 46 hits, 30 runs, and 27 RBI, while
Caleb Strawhecker is close behind, batting .330 with 35 hits, including eight doubles, one triple, and five home runs. Strawhecker has scored 31 runs and driven in 29 more.
Casey Vaughan leads the team in runs scored with 45, thanks in part to a .440 on-base percentage with 47 hits, including 11 doubles and four triples, along with a team-high 29 walks.
Austin Stalker leads the team in home runs and RBI with seven home runs and 44 RBI as a part of 50 hits (.323 batting average) on the season.
On the mound,
Kyle Lazer and
Julian Costa are first and second on the team in most categories as Lazer is 8-2 on the year with a 2.94 ERA and a .233 opponent's batting average with a team-best 71 strikeouts in 64.1 innings of work. Lazer, a Second Team All-Conference selection, is first on the team in complete games with four and has thrown a complete game in each of his last two outings, including an eight-inning effort at Millersville in late April. Costa is 8-3 on the year with a 4.63 ERA and a .250 opponent's batting average with 56 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work, with three complete games, including his no-hitter in Cary earlier this spring. The trio of
Kyle Kearns,
Ryan DeHaven, and
Nick Noga rounded out the Golden Ram weekend rotation this spring as they enter the Tournament with records of 2-2, 3-1, and 5-4 with ERAs of 4.81, 4.99, and 6.80, respectively.
Suppose teams are unable to crack the Golden Rams, start pitching early. In this case, the task only gets more challenging as the game progresses, as the Golden Rams have tremendous late-game arms in the form of
Evan Wineburg,
Gannon Kadlecik,
Patrick Taney,
Jesse Specter, and
Ben Jones. Wineburg is 1-1 on the year with a 2.225 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 20 innings of work, holding opponents to a .203 batting average in 14 appearances. Kadlecik has been a left specialist for much of his career, but can often handle a full inning in relief for LaRosa when called upon. Kadlecik enters play with a 3.86 ERA and a .208 opponents batting average with 11 strikeouts in seven innings of work over the course of 10 appearances. Taney and Specter are 1-1 and 2-0 on the year with ERAs of 3.04 and 4.o8 and opponent batting averages of .169 and .231. Taney has a bullpen-best 27 strikeouts on the year but has also issued 25 walks in his 22.1 innings of work, while Specter has 13 strikeouts in 17.2 innings of work over the course of 14 appearances. Jones is another strong arm in relief for West Chester as the hard-throwing sophomore enters play with a record of 4-1 with a .252 opponent's batting average and 26 strikeouts in 26.1 innings of work.
We Are Honored
West Chester had four players honored by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference earlier this month on the All-PSAC East listing.
Caleb Strawhecker earned Freshman of the Year honors, while
Sean Szestowicki earned a spot on the First Team All-League squad;
Austin Stalker and
Kyle Lazer earned Second Team honors.
Six or More Please
West Chester is 16-4 when scoring six or more runs and just 9-11 when scoring five or fewer. The Golden Rams are also 30-1 when leading after four and 31-1 when ahead after six, while showing a record of 3-9 when trailing after four and 2-13 when behind through six innings of play. One of the Golden Rams three wins when behind after four innings was a 5-3 win over East Stroudsburg at home in late March, which saw the Golden Rams trail 3-0 heading into the home fifth before exploding for four runs in the fifth to erase the deficit and eventually earn a 4-3 win over the Warriors.
Score Early
West Chester is 17-4 when scoring in the first inning and 24-5 when scoring first. The Golden Rams are just 7-9 when the opponent scores in the first inning and 11-10 when the opponent scores first.
Free Baseball
While the Golden Rams have not rallied from a late deficit on a very consistent basis this year, the team is 4-1 in extra-inning games and is 6-3 when tied in the fifth inning or later this season.
What He Said
Sean Szestowicki leads the team in multi-hit games, multi-RBI games, and reached base streaks. He has 18 multi-hit games, including the lone four-hit game by any Golden Ram along with 11 multi-RBI games and a 21-game on-base streak.
Jake Welsch boasts the longest hitting streak on the team, at 11 games, while Szestowicki's 10-game hitting streak is second-best on the squad.
Caleb Strawhecker enters the NCAA Tournament with the longest active hitting streak and on-base streak at six games.
Doing a Job
West Chester enters the NCAA Tournament batting .332 with runners on base compared to just .283 with the bases empty. The Golden Rams are also batting .311 with bases loaded and .329 with a runner in scoring position. With a runner on third and less than two outs, West Chester has driven in 100 runs in 149 opportunities (.671), while also successfully advancing runners 54.1% (500-of-925) of the time. West Chester is also batting north of .400 (.405) when leading off an inning, recording 142 hits in 351 at-bats.
Working Out
West Chester's pitching staff holds teams to a .285 batting average with runners on base, and the opponent batting average drops to .267 with two outs in the inning. The Golden Rams have also turned 30 double plays this season, while getting doubled up just 23 times.
Scouting East Stroudsburg
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Jack Rothenhausler is the unquestioned leader of the Warrior offense heading into the NCAA Tournament. The senior infielder leads the PSAC in RBIs (61) and doubles (18) and has rewritten the ESU record books in nearly every major offensive category. He enters the postseason with a .320 batting average, .450 on-base percentage, and .646 slugging percentage. Dennis Pierce, a transfer from Valdosta State, quickly established himself as one of the most dangerous hitters in the nation. His 15 home runs set new ESU single-season record and rank second in the PSAC. With a .733 slugging percentage, a .369 average, and a .483 on-base percentage, Pierce adds middle-of-the-order firepower that is difficult to match.
ESU enters play hitting .294 as a team, with a robust .464 slugging percentage and an impressive 122 stolen bases on the team.
Ryan Dewees is the top arm for ESU, entering the Tournament at 7-3 on the year with a 4.85 ERA and a .293 opponent's batting average with one complete game shutout in 13 starts. He has also struck out 40 and allowed just 13 extra-base hits in his 55.2 innings of work. Ethan Woods (5-2) has proven himself as a front-line starter, compiling a 2.06 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 43.2 innings. Opposing hitters are managing just a .180 batting average against him.
Caden Parker, the First Team All-PSAC reliever, has been nearly untouchable. With a 0.95 ERA, nine saves, and a .185 opponent batting average, he has been a shutdown arm out of the bullpen for the Warriors.
Scouting Fairmont State
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STATS
Offensively, Quintin Reep and Ryan Goff lead the team with batting averages of .348 and .337, respectively, and have recorded 55 and 63 hits. Reep has 15 doubles, one triple, and six home runs for a team-best 44 RBI, while Goff has a team-high 18 doubles, one triple, and five home runs for 42 RBI of his own. Quintin Smith leads the team in hits with 63 and is batting .325 heading into the NCAA Tournament, while Tyler Haskins leads the squad in runs scored with 40. Haskins is batting .250 on the year but is tied for the team lead in home runs with six, along with seven doubles and one triple, and has driven in 30 runs.
On the mound, Micah Canterbury will likely get the ball for Fairmont State tomorrow, entering the game at 5-3 on the year with a 5.56 ERA and a .263 opponent's batting average, along with 38 strikeouts in 55.0 innings of work. Tyler Wilkinson is 4-5 on the year with a 5.10 ERA and a .264 opponent's batting average, boasting four complete games and 46 strikeouts in 65.1 innings of work. Mac Schnur has been an option as a closer throughout the season, picking up three saves in 16 appearances with a 5.45 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 33 innings of work. Unfortunately, Schnur also enters with a record of 2-4 and an opponent's batting average of .310, allowing 24 runs (20 earned) on 39 hits and 19 walks this season.
With a Win
With a win on Thursday afternoon, West Chester will begin a best-of-three series against the winner of Thursday morning's game on Friday. Should West Chester fall on Thursday, the Golden Rams will still play on Friday. However, this will be an elimination game for the Golden Rams against the winning team from Thursday.
