PHILADELPHIA-Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) went 4-for-5 at the plate with three home runs to help lift the No. 19/27 West Chester University baseball team (8-2) to a high-scoring 14-10 win over Saint Joseph's (5-9) at Smithson Field on Wednesday afternoon. West Chester never trailed in the victory, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings, a 10-4 lead in the middle innings, an 11-10 lead heading into the ninth, and eventually a 14-10 win as the Golden Rams earned their first win over a Division I foe since a February 2008 win over Penn by a 2-1 final.
Strawhecker homered in three straight at-bats on Wednesday night, hitting a three-run home run in the fourth, a two-run shot in the sixth, and a solo shot in the eighth, which gave West Chester the final lead that the team would not relinquish. With this effort, the sophomore catcher moves into a five-way tie for the most home runs in a single game with Luke Cantwell (2022), Brian Verrati (2012), Joey Wendle (2012), and Drew Pare (2007). The sophomore also becomes the fourth player in team history to homer in three consecutive at-bats, joining Cantwell (2022), Phil Leggieri (1979), and Lance Clemmons (1968) on this exclusive list. Strawhecker also ties John DeMucci's eight-RBI game in 2022 against Salem for the program's single-game RBI mark.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) (1-0)was one of six Golden Ram pitchers used in the victory and earned his first win of the season after pitching 1.2 innings in relief, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks, while striking out a pair as he finished the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth.
"It's always good to walk away with a win, but I was especially pleased with how we competed especially after having given up a large lead and then battling back late," opened head coach
Mike LaRosa. "I'm really happy for
Caleb Strawhecker, who had a monster day with three home runs and eight RBI. St. Joe's is a quality, Division I opponent so it was great to see our guys just compete and not try to do too much given the circumstances."
In a rare clash against a Division I foe, West Chester jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first two innings, using a two-out RBI double by
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) to take a 1-0 lead before scoring three more in the second courtesy of RBI singles by
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) and Strawhecker.
This early offensive explosion closed the book quickly on Patrick Veintimilla, who lasted only 1.1, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits, while walking one and striking out a pair. Matt Speicher entered in relief with one out in the second inning and escaped quickly with a double play ball, which kept the deficit at four heading into the home half of the second.
Alex Kelsey cut the Golden Ram lead to one in the home half of the second with a two-out bases-clearing double down the left field line before
Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) escaped the inning with a strikeout of Jason Janesko.
SJU got the game tied back up at 4-4 in the third with another two-out RBI double this time off the bat of Jack Saker as the game went to the fourth, all even once again.
DeHaven got the start for West Chester and allowed three runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out one in two innings of work.
Nick Noga (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove) entered in relief in the third and allowed the tying run on a hit and a walk.
Strawhecker wasted little time in restoring the lead for the Golden Rams as the sophomore catcher blasted a three-run home run to left center in the top of the fourth, giving West Chester back a 7-4 advantage with his second home run of the season.
In the sixth, Strawhecker launched his second home run of the day, this time a two-run blast, which stretched the lead to 9-4 before
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) singled home another run to give the Golden Rams a 10-4 lead.
SJU battled back to tie the score at 10-10 with a six-run seventh, scoring six runs on six hits, including a pair of home runs to tie the game at 10-10 heading into the eighth.
West Chester did not allow the game to remain tied for long as Strawhecker hit his third home run in as many at-bats with one out in the seventh to give the Golden Rams an 11-10 lead.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) allowed a pair of Hawks to reach in the eighth via walks, but worked around these runners to keep a one-run lead intact heading into the ninth.
In the ninth, West Chester scored three runs on two hits, including a two-RBI double by
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) and a wild pitch to take a commanding 14-10 lead into the home half of the ninth.
West Chester turned to its bullpen in the ninth, bringing
Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) on to finish the game. Kearns got his first out via a flyout to center and struck out his next two batters to finish off the victory.
Kearns was one of two Golden Ram pitchers, along with
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford), to deliver a scoreless performance on Wednesday afternoon as he struck out three and allowed just one hit and two walks in 2.1 innings of work.
LaRosa also expressed his pleasure with the efforts of Rozich and Kearns in particular, saying, "Landen (Rozich) did a great job out of the pen holding things down, and Kyle (Kearns) was phenomenal in the ninth to finish off the victory."
Justin Sweeney suffered the loss, his first of the season, for St. Joe's on Wednesday night, allowing one run on three hits and a walk in his 0.2 innings of work. Matt Fitzgibbon finished the game on the mound for SJU, allowing three runs on two hits and a walk, while striking out three in the final 1.1
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday in a doubleheader against Gannon, beginning at 1 p.m., to begin a four-game series against the Golden Knights in West Chester.
