Full Poll
WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Winners of five of six to open the season, the West Chester University baseball team (5-1) broke into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top-25 on Wednesday afternoon at No. 23 in Division II, while the program remains on the cusp of rejoining the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Top-30 as the team continues to receive votes.
West Chester is one of three Atlantic Region teams to appear in the rankings this week, with all three hailing from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, as Seton Hill is 11
th in Division II, while Millersville is receiving votes. Tampa (14-1) retains the top spot in the poll, followed by Pittsburg State (17-0), Catawba (13-3), Colorado Mesa (14-2), and Central Missouri (15-2) to round out the top five.
West Chester improved to 5-1 on the year over the weekend in Cary as the team defeated Pace (W, 10-3) and Dominican (W, 12-2) in single nine-inning games on Friday and Sunday, and split a doubleheader with Wilmington (L, 5-4; W, 13-2) on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester outscored opponents 39-12 on the weekend with a team-batting average of .322 (39-for-121) led by
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West), who batted .583 (7-for-12) and .400 (6-for-15), respectively. Gozdan and Rust combined to score 13 runs on the weekend and drive in nine more as they were both key parts of the Golden Ram offense throughout the weekend.
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) turned in the best start on the mound of any starting pitcher for the Golden Rams last weekend with six innings on Friday against Pace, allowing just one unearned run on four hits and a walk, while striking out six and holding the Setters to a .174 batting average against.
West Chester had its schedule adjusted this week as the Golden Rams were slated to play Chestnut Hill at home on Tuesday but that game was postponed until April 6 at 3 p.m. The Golden Rams weekend series in Olney, Maryland, was also adjusted, and the team will now face Frostburg State in back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 12 p.m. both days.
