WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University baseball team (2-0) is set for its next weekend of action in North Carolina as the Golden Rams make their annual and what they hope will be their first of two trips to the USA Baseball National Training Center in Cary, North Carolina. West Chester will play four games in three days, facing Pace (0-0) on Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. before a doubleheader against Wilmington (3-1) on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m., and concluding its weekend with Dominican (0-0) on Sunday.
Weekend Schedule at USA Baseball National Training Center (Cary, N.C.)
Friday, February 27 vs Pace 12 P.M.
Saturday, February 28 vs Wilmington 10 A.M./12:30 P.M.
Sunday, March 1 vs Dominican (N.Y.) 9 A.M.
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Last Time Out
West Chester opened its 2026 season with a sweep of Indiana (Pa.) on Friday at Harford County Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. West Chester took game one by an 8-3 final after a three-run first inning broke open a 1-1 tie before rallying to capture game two by a 5-4 final.
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) earned his first win of the season in game one, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out four in five innings of work before
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) entered and got the final six outs in relief. West Chester got nine hits in its first game of the season, led by two hits each from
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove), Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./Delaware Military Academy), and newcomer
Christian Michak.
In the nightcap, Strawhecker gave West Chester an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the first inning, and Simpson stretched the lead to 3-0 with a two-RBI single down the left field line heading into the fourth inning. Indiana (Pa.) answered back in the fourth with four runs before West Chester could record an out.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) , who made his college debut in the field at shortstop in game one, entered in relief for his first pitching appearance with the bases loaded and struck out the side to end the threat.
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) erased the deficit as quickly as it came in the fifth with a line drive single up the middle, which scored a pair and gave West Chester a 5-4 lead.
Patrick Taney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) struck out the side in the sixth before
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) entered for the seventh and struck out one, the seventh IUP batter in a row to go down on strikes, to earn the save.
Flock Talk
West Chester heads for North Carolina, batting .340 on the year with five players batting north of .300, led by Smith and Strawhecker batting .667 and .625, respectively. Smith is admittedly a small sample size as the utility player is 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and two RBI after starting game one and entering game two as a pinch hitter last Friday.
Costa and Rozich earned the first wins of the season on Friday in Maryland, while Raho,
James Bottger (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Wilkes-Barre), Rozich, Taney, and Jones are the five Golden Rams with at least one scoreless inning under their belts as the team heads to North Carolina.
We Are Honored
Strawhecker earned PSAC East Athlete of the Week honors this week after an outstanding opening day, which saw him go 5-for-8 (.625) with a double and a home run in a doubleheader sweep of Indiana (Pa.) at Harford County Community College in Bel Air, Maryland, last Friday. The reigning PSAC East Rookie of the Year scored three runs and drove in three more, finishing opening day with a 1.750 OPS.
Southern Swing
West Chester heads South once again this weekend to make what it hopes will be its first of two trips to Cary, North Carolina, before returning to Pennsylvania to take on Chestnut Hill on Tuesday.
Scouting the Weekend
Pace
Pace, the defending NE10 Champions, will open their 2026 season this weekend in Cary with their first game of the season coming against West Chester as they look to build off their historic 2025 campaign, which concluded in the East Regional at Wilmington last May.
Wilmington
Wilmington is the lone team joining West Chester in Cary this weekend that has already played games this spring, as the Wildcats went 3-1 in Myrtle Beach last weekend against Franklin Pierce (W, 13-2/W, 4-2), D'Youville (L, 5-4 in 10 innings), and Southern Connecticut State (W, 12-3). The Wildcats will open their time in Cary this weekend, facing Pitt-Johnstown on Friday before playing West Chester in a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.
Offensively, Wilmington is off to a hot start, batting .292 as a team with 34 runs scored through four games, led by the duo of Cam Trego and Brandon Grygo, who picked up five hits each on opening weekend. Garrett Quinn has the best batting average on the team at .444 with four hits in nine at-bats and three runs scored to open the season.
On the mound, Brody Gebhart enjoyed the best opening day of anyone on the staff last week, pitching five shutout innings with nine strikeouts in his collegiate debut. Chase Fleming also had a strong start to the season, allowing one run on two hits and four walks, while striking out seven in four innings of work.
Dominican
Dominican is in the same position as Pace, entering the weekend with more questions than answers, as the team will play its first games of the 2026 season this weekend in Cary, beginning with a 4 p.m. battle against Point Park on Friday afternoon.
Up Next
West Chester is scheduled to host Chestnut Hill at a location to be determined on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. before heading back into Maryland on March 6,7, and 8 to take on Clarion, Frostburg State, and Georgian Court ahead of a clash with Division I foe Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, March 11.
