MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- The 24
th-ranked West Chester University baseball team (35-14, 17-11) is preparing to write the next chapter of its 2025 season as the Golden Rams head to Millersville on Wednesday evening to open the PSAC Tournament vs California (34-11, 19-8) beginning at 4:30 p.m. Entering the PSAC Tournament as the third seed from the PSAC East, West Chester will face the second seed out of the PSAC West in Cal as the Golden Rams play in the 4:30 game on the opening day of the PSAC Tournament for the third time in as many years.
Fan Information
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has launched a Tournament Central page for the Tournament, which is available
here. Tickets are required, and prices are as follows:
Championship Admission Fees (Day Passes Only):
Adult Day Pass (Wed/Thurs): $15
Student K-12 Pass (Wed/Thurs): $7
Adult Day Pass (Fri/Sat): $10
Student K-12 Pass (Fri/Sat): $5
Free admission for students from member institutions with valid ID
No Complimentary Tickets
PSAC Passes Honored
Tickets can only be purchased via
Hudl Tickets. This will be a cashless event. All Sales Final. Purchase your tickets
here.
Fans unable to make the trip to Millersville can follow
live stats and live video
here.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters the PSAC Tournament at 35-14 on the year with a record of 17-11 in league play. 7-2 in neutral site games, West Chester went 6-2 in such games to open the year and added its seventh win in mid-April with a 4-1 victory over Wilmington at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. West Chester earned a split in every league series but one this year (a 3-1 series loss to Millersville) and won the season series over Kutztown, Bloomsburg, and Mansfield, with the lone series sweep being a sweep of Kutztown in late March. The Golden Rams also earned important series splits against East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, and Shepherd, as the team was an excellent 16-3 at home this season. West Chester was unbeaten at home until late April when Millersville swept a doubleheader in Serpico Stadium on the final weekend in April to halt Division II's longest home winning streak.
Sean Szestowicki leads the Golden Rams in batting average at .361 on the year with 61 hits, including 11 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. Szestowicki scored 41 runs and drove in 39 more during his final season as a Golden Ram. Additionally, the veteran middle infielder, who made the switch to second from shortstop for much of the 2025 season, leads the Golden Rams in multi-hit games (18), multi-RBI games (11), and reached based streak (21), while his 10-game hitting streak is second best on the team, trailing only
Jake Welsch's 11-game streak.
Avery Spencer is close behind, batting .333 with 45 hits, including three doubles, along with 29 runs and 27 RBI.
Caleb Strawhecker enters play with the longest active hitting streak on the team as he has gotten a hit in each of the last five games and in doing so raised his average to .324 and his OPS to .990, which is the best on the team. Strawhecker has 33 hits on the season, including eight doubles, one triple, and five home runs, entering the PSAC Tournament with 30 RBI and 29 runs scored. The freshman catcher, who was named PSAC East Freshman of the Year, has also thrown out 10 would-be base stealers, which is tied for third best in the PSAC.
Austin Stalker,
Anthony Boccio, Welsch, and
Casey Vaughan are also all batting north of .300 at .322, .315, .309, and .307 on the year. Stalker leads the team in home runs and RBI with seven and 43, while Vaughan leads the team in runs with 45, with his 11 doubles and four triples, both of which are second best on the team, trailing Welsch (14 doubles) and Boccio (five triples), respectively.
On the mound,
Kyle Lazer and
Julian Costa have led the staff this year at 8-2 and 8-3 with ERAs of 2.94 and 4.63 and opposing batting averages of .233 and .250. Lazer has a staff-best four complete games, including his last two starts, entering the Tournament with 71 strikeouts in 64.1 innings of work. Costa, meanwhile, has three complete games, including his no-hitter in Cary earlier this spring. Costa has 56 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work and has a save to his credit as he has made two appearances out of the bullpen this spring.
Nick Noga is 5-3 on the year with a 6.56 ERA and a .332 opponent's batting average in 46.2 innings of work with 46 strikeouts.
Ryan DeHaven and
Kyle Kearns are 3-1 and 2-2 with ERAs of 4.71 and 4.81 and opponent batting averages of .266 and .263 in 36.1 and 33.2 innings of work to help round out the Golden Ram rotation.
Ben Jones,
Patrick Taney, and
Evan Wineburg (who pitched four strong, scoreless innings in the series finale against Mansfield) have been the first options out of the bullpen this season, making 20, 17, and 13 appearances on the year. Jones is 4-1 with a 7.71 ERA and a .257 opponent's batting average, while Taney and Wineburg are 1-1 with ERAs of 3.03 and 1.89 with opponent batting averages of .200 and .169, respectively. Taney leads the bullpen in strikeouts with 27 and made his first start as a Golden Ram last week against Mansfield, but has also issued a staff-high 25 walks in 22.1 innings of work, increasing his WHIP to 1.66.
Tournament Format
The PSAC Tournament begins with an elimination day on Wednesday, as four games will be played at Millersville at 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 8 p.m., with the loser of those four games being eliminated. All game times are approximate based on the length of the game (s) prior.
Once the field is cut to four teams at the conclusion of play on Wednesday, the double-elimination tournament will begin on Thursday. The winner of the first two games on Friday (ESU/IUP and Seton Hill/SHIP) will face off at 10 a.m., while the winners of games three and four (WCU/Cal and Millersville/Slippery Rock) will play at 1:30 p.m. The winner of both of those games will advance to Friday morning, while the losers will be forced to play again at 5 p.m. on Thursday night to remain alive in the Tournament.
Tournament History
Following its sixth PSAC Championship last May, West Chester makes its 21
st PSAC Tournament appearance this week, entering the weekend with a record of 36-26 all-time. The Golden Rams were a perfect 4-0 in the PSAC Tournament a year ago en route to their second consecutive PSAC Championship game appearance and first PSAC Crown since 2016. The Golden Rams have appeared in the PSAC Championship game 14 times in their history, but have never done so three years in a row. Under head coach
Mike LaRosa, West Chester is 7-4 in the PSAC Tournament with two PSAC Championship game appearances and one PSAC Championship, along with two opening game setbacks to Bloomsburg and Mercyhurst by 5-2 finals in 2021 and 2022.
Rank and File
West Chester climbed back into the top-25 of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll on Tuesday afternoon, rising to 24
th after going 3-1 against Mansfield to conclude the regular season. West Chester was also ranked second in the second of three Atlantic Regional rankings released by the Division II baseball committee last Wednesday afternoon. A third and final set of rankings is due to be released tomorrow ahead of the NCAA Division II Baseball Selection Show on NCAA.com on Sunday. The Atlantic Regional will be a six-team Tournament, and the opening weekend (May 15-18) will be hosted by the top two seeds in the Regional, before Super Regionals at the home of the highest seed the following week.
It's an Honor
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its baseball All-Conference teams and major award winners on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the start of the PSAC Championships on Wednesday.
Caleb Strawhecker earned PSAC East Freshman of the Year honors, becoming the first Golden Ram to win this award since 2023 and just the fourth player to do so, while
Sean Szestowicki,
Kyle Lazer, and
Austin Stalker earned All-League certificates.
Series History
Since 2003, West Chester is 7-2 vs California (Pa.) 2003, including a mark of 4-2 in PSAC Tournament games. West Chester dropped its first PSAC Tournament meeting to Cal in May 2003 in Boyertown, Pennsylvania,, but has won each of the last two meetings, toppling the Vulcans 5-0 in the Tournament in May 2013 and 6-5 in the opening round in May 2019, before the Tournament was called due to rain. West Chester has won each of the last three meetings, which includes these two victories and a 7-2 win over the Marauders in the Atlantic Regional Tournament in West Lawn in May 2010.
Scouting Cal
California (Pa.), the second seed out of the PSAC West, enters play on Wednesday afternoon with a record of 34-11 overall and 19-8 in league action. The Vulcans enter the Tournament after splitting three of their last four series of the season, with the lone sweep being a four-game sweep of the 2024 Atlantic Regional Champion, Indiana (Pa.) in Mid April. Against PSAC East competition, Cal is 2-0 this year, sweeping a doubleheader from Mansfield in West Virginia earlier this season, taking the opener by a 6-5 final in eight innings before winning the nightcap 4-0.
Santino Marra leads the team in batting average at .400 on the year with 56 hits, including 13 doubles and four runs for 34 RBI and 34 runs scored, while Ryan Callahan leads the team in doubles (18), home runs (eight), RBI (46), and runs (43) with a .387 batting average, which is second best on the team. PSAC West Player of the Year, Payton Conte, is close behind batting .372 on the season with 54 hits, including 11 doubles and six home runs, along with 44 RBI and 42 runs scored. Conte has also swiped six bases on eight attempts. Similar to West Chester, Cal boasts a deep lineup as seven of nine starters bat north of .300 entering the PSAC Tournament.
On the mound, Michael Valente is a perfect 10-0 with a 2.31 ERA and a .253 opponent's batting average with 52 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work. Nathan Holmes is 4-3 with a 5.60 ERA and a .304 opponent's batting average in 54.2 innings of work. Jake Kramer has been a lockdown closer for Cal throughout the season, picking up a league-best 10 saves, while also posting a record of 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA and a .223 opponent's batting average in 32.2 innings of work over the course of 19 appearances. Kramer has struck out 31, which is third best on the team and first among relief pitchers, while allowing just eight runs on 27 hits and five walks this season.
With a Win
West Chester would advance out of the first knockout round of the PSAC Tournament for the third consecutive year and would face the winner of the Millersville/Slippery Rock matchup on Thursday, May 8, at 1:30 p.m.
