HANOVER, Md.- Following a doubleheader sweep of Frostburg State on Saturday, which saw West Chester limit the Bobcats to just two hits, West Chester returned to action for the final two games of its series with Frostburg State on Sunday, dropping game one by a 5-0 final before winning the series finale 11-0.
Game One: Frostburg State 5 WCU 0
WP: Layhew (3-1)
LP: Kyle Lazer (1-1)
A two-RBI single in the first inning gave Frostburg State an early 2-0 lead, and the Bobcats scored two more in the fourth with an RBI triple and another RBI single to lead 4-0 heading into the home half of the fourth.
In the seventh, Frostburg State added another run via an RBI single to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) scored four runs on four hits, while walking one and striking out in four innings of work as he suffered his first loss of the season.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) pitched three innings in relief and allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out four.
Hunter Layhew earned the win for Frostburg State, allowing just one hit and one walk against three strikeouts in five innings of work. Joey Serafin entered in relief in the sixth after a clean first inning of work, found himself in a jam in the seventh with bases loaded and two outs.
Serafin escaped the jam with a bases-loaded strikeout to finish off the 5-0 victory over the Golden Rams in the first game of the doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.
Game Two: WCU 11 Frostburg State
WP: Kyle Rogers (1-1)
LP: Branden Brown (0-1)
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) led off the home first with a walk and stole second before sealing third and eventually scoring on a two-out wild pitch, which gave West Chester an early 1-0 lead.
In the third,
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA) picked up an RBI with a sac fly to center, which scored
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) before
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) plated Rust with an RBI groundout to give West Chester a 3-0 lead.
In the fifth, West Chester loaded the bases with no outs after
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) and Stalker both singled around a walk by Simpson. This led to a quick pitching change for Frostburg State as Mac Crismond entered in relief of Kamden Sowers with the hopes of limiting the damage.
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West welcomed the new pitcher with a double to left, which scored a pair before
Chase Jones (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) singled home another run and advanced Michak to third. This proved vital moments later, as Michak scampered home on a wild pitch, which gave the Golden Rams a commanding 7-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.
West Chester tacked on four more runs in the sixth courtesy of RBI singles by Stalker and Jones along with another wild pitch to take an 11-0 lead into the seventh.
With an 11-run lead in hand heading into the final half inning of the weekend, West Chester turned to its bullpen as
Trey Stricker (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) entered in relief of
Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J/Clifton), who was outstanding through his first six innings.
Rogers got the start and the win on Sunday night in the series finale as he scattered four hits over six scoreless innings, while striking out seven to earn his first win of the season.
Stricker walked his first batter in the seventh, but this was his only baserunner as he retired the side quickly, including two strikeouts to finish off the 11-0 victory.
Jones was 3-for-4 with three RBI in the win, while Stalker was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI of his own in the series-clinching win.
For Frostburg State, Brown suffered the loss after allowing three runs on one hit and four walks in two innings of work to fall to 0-1 on the season. Brown was one of five pitchers used by Frostburg State in the loss.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon at Division I foe Saint Joseph's, beginning at 3 p.m., before its home opener against Gannon on Friday afternoon.
