WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The No. 19/27 West Chester University baseball team (9-2) is preparing for its home opening series against Gannon (5-6) this weekend in West Chester, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. First pitch on both Saturday and Sunday is set for 1 p.m.
West Chester vs Gannon (Four-game series)
Series Details: Saturday & Sunday, March 14-15 I 1 & 3:30 P.M.
Location: Serpico Stadium (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 3-1
Coverage Links: Live Stats I
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WCU Links: NEWS I
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Gannon Links: NEWS I
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Last Time Out
West Chester ventured out on the road on Wednesday for its first midweek game of the season against a Division I foe in Saint Joseph's. Testing itself against a Division I opponent in the regular season for the first time since 2019, West Chester never trailed on Wednesday and led by as many as six (10-4) in the middle innings in a 14-10 victory over Saint Joseph's.
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) was a big part of this victory at the plate as the sophomore, who was the PSAC East Rookie of the Year last spring, was 4-for-5 at the plate with three home runs (three-run, two-run, and solo) in three consecutive at-bats for eight RBI and five runs scored. Four of the top five batters in the Golden Ram lineup recorded multi-hit days on Wednesday as
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) was 2-for-5 with four runs scored an RBI, while
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) was 3-for-6 with three RBI and
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of walks.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) earned the win in relief, his first of the season, after allowing two runs on three hits and three walks, while striking out a pair in 1.2 innings of work.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) and
Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) were the two Golden Ram arms of six pitchers used to deliver scoreless innings for the Golden Rams on Wednesday. Rozich pitched 2.1, allowing just one hit and two walks, while striking out three, before Kearns finished the game off with a 1,2,3 ninth inning, including a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Flock Talk
Strawhecker is first on the team in most major categories following his explosive performance on Wednesday, as the sophomore is batting .438 (14-for-32) with two doubles and four home runs for 14 RBI and 18 runs scored. The sophomore has a 1.475 OPS on the year with an .875 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage.
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) is also batting north of .400 on the season at .429 (9-for-21) with three doubles and a triple with nine runs scored and five RBI, along with a 1.267 OPS. Stalker remains first on the team in doubles with five, along with two triples, and is batting .359 (14-for-39) with 13 RBI (second on the team) and nine runs scored.
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) remains the top starting arm for West Chester this spring as the veteran lefty is a perfect 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a .129 opponents batting average with a staff-best 18 strikeouts in 18.0 innings of work, including his no-hitter last weekend in Maryland.
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) and
Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) also earned wins last weekend in Maryland, improving to 1-0 and 1-1 on the year with 0.69 and 4.97 ERAs after dominant performances against Frostburg State. Raho followed up Costa's no-hitter with a complete-game, two-hit shutout in the nightcap, dropping his ERA to .69 and his batting average against to .156 with 13 strikeouts against its seven hits in 13 innings of work. Rogers delivered six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits, while striking out seven in the series finale on Sunday, which brought his ERA back under five and increased his strikeout total to 12 in 12.2 innings of work. Rozich was tremendous out of the pen on Wednesday and has emerged as one of the top bullpen arms for West Chester early this season, as the rookie is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA and a .267 batting average in 7.1 innings of work over the course of four appearances. In his first spring of collegiate baseball, Rozich has also struck out 12 and allowed just eight hits and three walks, including one hit and two walks against three strikeouts in 2.1 innings of work against Saint Joseph's on Wednesday.
It's An Honor
Costa tossed his second career no-hitter over the weekend against Frostburg State, allowing just three walks, while striking out eight in a seven-inning victory over the Bobcats. Costa, the PSAC East and NCBWA Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week, became the first Golden Ram to throw two career no-hitters with this effort, as he was one of two (Nicholas Frank in 1947), being the lone other to throw a no-hitter wearing the Purple and Gold.
Maybe Don't Pitch to Him
Strawhecker had a day for the ages on Wednesday at Saint Joseph's, hitting three home runs in three straight at-bats and finishing the game with eight RBI. Strawhecker tied the program record for home runs in a single game, home runs in consecutive at-bats, and RBI with this effort. His eight RBI is also the third most in a single game by any Division II player this season, while his three home runs are the second most by any Division II player this season.
Giant Slayed
West Chester defeated Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night for its first win over a Division I foe since a February 2008 victory over Penn (2-1). Wednesday was also the Golden Rams' first game against a Division I foe under head coach
Mike LaRosa and the team's first since a 5-4 loss at Delaware in March 2019.
Final Prep
This weekend series against Gannon is the Golden Rams final weekend series before league play begins on March 20-21 against Mansfield. West Chester will have another non-league game next week at Wilmington beginning at 3 p.m.
Rank and File
West Chester has broken back into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National polls this week, appearing at 27
th in the ABCA poll and 19
th in the NCBWA Poll.
Home Sweet Home
Since the beginning of the 2022 season, which was the last time West Chester appeared in the Division II National Finals in Cary, North Carolina, West Chester is 60-21 at home (.741) and is 3-1 in home openers, with the lone loss coming against Shippensburg in 2024 by a 10-8 final.
Series History
Since 2016, West Chester is 3-1 against Gannon, including a 3-2 win over the Golden Knights in Cary in March 2024, which was the last meeting between the two clubs. Each of the previous three meetings before this game came in postseason play, with West Chester earning 5-1 and 11-1 wins over Gannon in the PSAC Tournament before a 6-4 loss to the Golden Knights in the NCAA Tournament in West Chester in May 2019.
Scouting Gannon
Gannon enters the weekend after salvaging the final game of a four-game series against Findlay on Sunday afternoon for a 7-3 victory to halt a five-game losing streak, which began with a doubleheader sweep against Tiffin and continued through the first three games of the series with Findlay. The Golden Knights are 2-1 against PSAC East competition this season after opening the year with a 2-1 series win at Shippensburg, where the Golden Knights outscored the Raiders 24-13.
Individually, Matt Smith and Ian Soto are first and second on the team offensively, batting .345 (10-for-29) and .332 (13-for-38), respectively. Smith has two doubles and two home runs for 11 RBI and eight runs scored, while Soto has a team-best three home runs and four doubles, which also allows him to lead the team in RBI (12) and runs (9). On the mound, Jacob Engel is the top starter for the Golden Knights at 2-1 on the year with a 3.63 ERA and a .231 batting average against with 11 strikeouts against 15 hits in 17.1 innings of work. Ryan Hood is 1-1 in three starts with an 11.57 ERA after allowing 11 runs on nine hits in two innings against Findlay last Friday afternoon. Ryan Bioni is the bullpen arm that has seen the most time this year, pitching 7.2 innings over three appearances with a 7.04 ERA and a save.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday at Wilmington, beginning at 3 p.m., before opening PSAC East play against Mansfield on Friday, March 20, at 1 p.m. in West Chester.
