STROUDSBURG, Pa.- The No. 11/21/22 West Chester University baseball team (17-4, 4-2) split its doubleheader with East Stroudsburg (15-9, 3-3) on Friday afternoon with a 2-0 win in the first before dropping the nightcap by a 7-2 final.
Game One WCU 2 ESU 0
WP: Julian Costa (5-1)
LP: Ryan Dewees (2-2)
East Stroudsburg threatened to score the first run of the day in the home half of the third when it got a runner to third with two outs, but
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) ended this threat with a perfect throw down to third to retire Easton Albert, who was dancing off the bag on a pitch in the dirt.
In the fifth, ESU threatened once more with back-to-back walks to lead off the inning before
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) got two crucial outs via a double play and escaped the inning with a fly ball to center to keep the score locked at 0-0.
West Chester and ESU both went quietly in the sixth before West Chester started the seventh with a pair of one-out singles by
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA) and
Andrew Kell (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) for runners on the corners with one out.
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) cashed in with an excellent bunt down the first baseline to plate Simpson and move Kell to second.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) advanced both runners 90 feet with a sac bunt before Kell scored on a balk to give West Chester a 2-0 lead heading into the home half of the seventh.
East Stroudsburg led off the home half of the inning with a single, but Costa got another double play ball, the 643 variety this time, to get two quick outs and ended the game on a lazy fly ball to left as West Chester took the first game of the season series from ESU on Friday afternoon.
Costa (5-1) improved to 5-1 on the year and moved into a three-way tie for second on the career wins chart with a complete-game shutout. The veteran lefty scattered six hits and three walks and struck out a pair to bounce back from his first loss of the season a week ago.
Dewees (2-2) was a tough-luck loser for ESU on Friday, allowing just two runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out 10 as he kept the Golden Rams off balance for much of the afternoon.
Simpson and Gozdan both picked up two hits in game one on Friday, going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Kell was 1-for-3 at the plate as the lone other Golden Ram to record a hit off Dewees in the victory.
Walker Zampella was a thorn in the side of West Chester throughout game one, going 3-for-3 at the plate, but Costa was at his best with runners on, holding the Warriors to a 1-for-10 effort at the plate with runners on base.
Game Two ESU 7 WCU 2
WP: Ethan Woods (2-3)
LP: Luke Raho (1-1)
Chase Jones (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) gave West Chester a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning an RBI groundout, which plated
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) before East Stroudsburg countered with a four-spot in the fourth inning with a pair of RBI singles along with an RBI sac fly and an RBI double to take a commanding 4-1 lead into the fifth inning.
Strawhecker cut the ESU lead in half with an RBI single in the top of the fifth before East Stroudsburg added two more RBI singles to take a 6-2 lead over the Golden Rams heading into the sixth.
The Warriors added a final run in the sixth, capitalizing on a Golden Ram defensive miscue to take a 7-2 lead and earn an important split to open the series.
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) (1-1) got the start and suffered the loss, allowing three runs on three hits, while walking three and striking out three in 3.1 innings of work.
Ethan Woods (2-3) earned the win for ESU in the nightcap, allowing two runs on four hits, while walking a pair and striking out five. Cole Dymek and Jake Albert combined for the final two innings, holding the Golden Rams scoreless in the final innings of the five-run victory.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action at home on Sunday against East Stroudsburg for the final two games of the series, with the Warriors beginning at 1 p.m.
