CARY, N.C.- The West Chester University baseball team (3-0) extended its season-opening winning streak to three with a 10-3 win over Pace (0-1) on Friday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
West Chester got out to an early 2-0 lead in the third inning and never looked back, scoring three more in the fifth, another in the seventh, and four in the eighth in the seven-run victory.
Pace threatened early as the Setters loaded the bases and nearly scored the first run of the game via a wild pitch, but
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) recovered in time for an important first out at the plate. Costa worked out of trouble from this point via a strikeout and a fly ball to center to strand a pair in the top of the first.
It took until the third inning for West Chester to score the first run as
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) singled home
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford), who had started the inning with a triple before
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./Delaware Military Academy) plated
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) drove home Gozdan with a sac fly to right to give the Golden Rams a 2-0 lead.
Pace got a run back in the fourth via a pair of costly errors before West Chester scored three in the fifth via a balk, RBI groundout by
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North), and a
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) doubled home a run to give West Chester a 5-1 lead.
Pace got another run back in the seventh on a wild pitch before Smith doubled home another run to restore a 6-2 Golden Ram lead.
Pace cut into the West Chester lead again in the eighth with an RBI triple, which cut the lead in the half (6-3)heading into the home half of the eighth.
West Chester scored four runs in the home half of the eighth as Rozich doubled home a run before Stalker cleared the bases with a two-out triple to right center, which found its way over the outstretched glove of the Pace centerfielder to extend the lead to 10-3.
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) earned his second win of the year with six strong innings, allowing just one unearned run on four hits and a walk, while striking out six to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Nick Noga (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove) pitched two innings in relief, allowing two runs on four hits, while striking out one, before
Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) worked a scoreless ninth to finish off the victory.
Aidan Kempf suffered the opening day loss, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks, while striking out eight to fall to 0-1 on the season.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action tomorrow for a doubleheader against Wilmington beginning at 10 a.m.
