OLNEY, Md.- The West Chester University baseball team (5-1) is finishing its preparations for a weekend series in Hanover, Maryland, against Frostburg State, beginning on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. West Chester will play doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday against the Bobcats. With the series being moved to Joe Canon Stadium on Friday afternoon, game times have been adjusted and Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 5 p.m., while Sunday's twinbill will begin at 4p.m.
West Chester vs Frostburg State
Game Details: Doubleheaders March 7 & March 8 I SATURDAY 5/8 P.M. SUNDAY 4/7 P.M.
Location: Joe Canon Stadium (Hanover, Md.)
Series: 2-0
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Last Time Out
West Chester returns to action this weekend from a weekend trip to Cary, North Carolina, last weekend, 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.
Rank and File
West Chester broke into the top-25 in at least one poll this week as the Golden Rams were ranked 23
rd in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll, while continuing to receive votes in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll.
Test Ahead
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
West Chester is 2-0 in its limited history with Frostburg State, with wins over the Bobcats in Cary, North Carolina, in both 2024 and 2022. The Golden Rams' most recent win was a 10-3 win in 2024, as the team has outscored the Bobcats 19-7 in the two meetings.
Scouting Frostburg State
Frostburg State enters the weekend at 7-2 overall, including a 3-0 effort last weekend with wins in West Virginia over Walsh (9-3), Bloomsburg (6-2; 11 innings), and Lock Haven (11-1) after falling to Slippery Rock on February 21 by a 6-5 final, which halted another modest three-game winning streak.
Jackson Schalick leads the team at the plate, batting .417 (15-for-36) with seven extra-base hits, including six doubles and a home run, while also leading the team in RBI with 12 runs with 11. Brian Scott is second on the team, batting .381 (8-for-21) with two doubles and 10 runs scored, along with seven RBI. Jake Holler, who has the third-best batting average on the team at .364 (12-for-33), is first on the team in home runs with three, with 10 RBI and six runs scored, along with a 1.149 OPS.
Joey Serafin is 3-0 on the year with a 1.00 ERA and a .219 batting average against with nine strikeouts against just seven hits and a run in nine innings of work. Zach Dodson is 2-0 in three starts with a 2.40 ERA and a .151 batting average against with 13 strikeouts against just eight hits in 15.0 innings of action. John Smith is also unbeaten this season at 1-0 on the year in three appearances and two starts with a 1.04 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work, along with a .179 batting average against.
Up Next
West Chester will return from its four-game series in Maryland to take on Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, March 11, at 3 ahead of its home opener vs Gannon on Friday, March 13.
