BEL AIR, Md.- The West Chester University baseball team (5-1) is preparing for another trip to Bel Air, Maryland as the Golden Rams are scheduled to face Chestnut Hill (2-2) on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Harford County Community College.
West Chester vs Chestnut Hill
Game Details: March 3 I 3 P.M.
Location: Harford County Community College (Bel Air, Md.)
Series: 9-1
Coverage Links: Live Stats I
Video
WCU Links: NEWS I
ROSTER I
SCHEDULE I
STATS
CHC Links: NEWS I
ROSTER I
SCHEDULE I
STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester returns to action on Tuesday from a weekend trip to Cary, North Carolina, which saw the team go 3-1 wins over Pace and Dominican, along with a doubleheader split with Wilmington. West Chester outscored its opponents 39-12 on the weekend with 39 hits and just one home run. West Chester started the weekend with a 10-3 win over Pace before dropping the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday against Wilmington by a 5-4 final. West Chester responded with a 13-2 win in the nightcap against Wilmington before defeating Dominican by a 10-2 final on Sunday.
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) posted a team-best .583 (7-for-12) batting average on the weekend with four RBI and six runs, while
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) was 6-for-15 (.400) with two doubles and five RBI, along with seven runs scored.
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) delivered the best start of any Golden Ram starter on the weekend with six innings against Pace on Friday for his second win of the season. Against the Setters, Costa scattered just four hits and a walk, allowing one unearned run, while striking out six and limiting Pace to a .174 batting average against.
Trey Stricker (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) made his collegiate debut in Cary and delivered two perfect innings with two strikeouts to begin his collegiate career.
Flock Talk
After another strong weekend, which saw him bat .375 (3-for-8) with eight runs scored and two RBI,
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) is first on the team in most offensive categories, including batting average (.500; 8-for-6), runs (11), RBI (5), and OPS (1.480). Strawhecker is also one of just two Golden Rams, along with
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA), to leave the yard so far this season.
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) is second on the team in batting average at .438 (7-for-16) with three doubles, five RBI, and five runs scored.
Costa became the first Golden Ram pitcher to two wins on the season with his six-inning effort against Pace on Friday. The senior enters the new week 2-0 on the year with a 2.45 ERA and a .195 batting average against in 11 innings of work with 10 strikeouts.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) joined Costa at 2-0 on the year over the weekend with another scoreless inning in relief as the freshman has allowed just two hits and a walk, while striking out five in his first two collegiate innings.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) remains the only pitcher with a save this season, as he has also pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three.
A Town Called Bel Air
West Chester is becoming quite comfortable in Bel Air as the Golden Rams will play their third game of the season at Harford County Community College on Tuesday after opening the season against IUP in Bel Air on Friday, February 20. West Chester will return to Maryland this weekend for a four-game weekend series of games against Clarion, Frostburg State, and Georgian Court, beginning on Friday in Olney, Maryland.
Test Coming Soon
West Chester will be on Spring Break next week, but will have a big on-field test on Wednesday, March 11, as the team visits Saint Joseph's on Wednesday afternoon for a midweek battle against the Division I Hawks.
Series History
Since 2011, West Chester is 9-1 against Chestnut Hill, with the lone loss during that time coming by a 9-0 final on the road in April 2022. West Chester did not face Chestnut Hill last year but enters play on a three-game winning streak, following a 2-0 home win in April 2023, then a doubleheader sweep of the Griffins in March 2024, 7-4 and 8-5.
Scouting Chestnut Hill
Chestnut Hill enters the weekend at 2-2 on the year after defeating Staten Island by an 11-5 final on Saturday afternoon in a game played at Plymouth Whitemarsh to avoid their first losing streak of the season. Noah Tincher got the start and allowed three runs on two hits and four walks in 3.1 innings of work before exiting for George Conway, who helped the Griffins escape the fourth inning with a strikeout as he earned the victory. Chestnut Hill trailed until the third inning when the Griffins scored three runs on three hits before taking the lead for good in the fourth inning with a solo home run from Jackson Shollenberger, en route to the 11-5 victory.
Angus Moore is first on the team in batting average at .500 (4-for-8) on the year with three runs scored and two RBI, while Shollenberger is closing behind at .444 (4-for-9) with a triple and a home run with five runs scored and two RBI. Along with Conway, Joe Kelly is the lone other Griffin arm with a win so far this season, as he is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in six innings of work. In his six innings, Kelly has allowed three runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out six, posting a .273 batting average against.
Up Next
West Chester will begin its weekend stay in Olney with a 4 p.m. matchup on Friday against Clarion, then face Frostburg State in a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning
