SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- In need of a doubleheader sweep on Saturday to split the season series with Shippensburg (23-12, 10-6), the No. 8/18 West Chester baseball team (24-8, 10-6) was back in action on Saturday at Shippensburg for the final two games of the season series with the Raiders. West Chester hit six home runs in game one on Saturday for a 13-4 victory over the Raiders before hitting two more in the nightcap, but it was not enough to pick up the doubleheader sweep as the Raiders erased a deficit with a two-run sixth inning for a 7-6 win in the series finale.
Game One WCU 13 Shippensburg 4
WP: Kyle Lazer (3-1)
LP: Kaleb Maksimik (3-2)
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) gave West Chester an early lead with a home run to left on the second pitch of the game before
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) stretched the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single to left.
Shippensburg answered with an RBI single of its own in the home half of the first, which cut the lead in half before back-to-back solo home runs by
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) and
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA) gave West Chester a 4-1 lead.
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) got the lead to 5-1 in the third with an RBI single through the left side of the infield before Shippensburg scored its final three runs of the game in the home third on a two-RBI single and a wild pitch, which cut the lead to 5-4.
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) settled back in after this and did not allow another run over the final four innings as he earned a complete-game victory, scattering 10 hits and a walk for four runs, while striking out eight in his third victory of the season.
Strawhecker hit his second home run into the fourth to give West Chester a 6-4 lead before West Chester scored five in the fifth on a solo home run by
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood), a two-RBI single by Rust, an RBI single by Simpson, and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to give the Golden Rams a commanding 11-4 lead.
Smith added two more runs to the lead in the seventh with a two-run blast to left for the team's sixth home run of the game in a dominant 13-4 victory.
Kaleb Maksimik (3-2) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out three in 3.2 innings of work. Brenden Anderson allowed seven runs on eight hits, while walking a pair and striking out one in the final 3.1 innings.
Game Two: SHIP 7 WCU 6
WP: Bryce Amos (2-1)
LP: Ben Jones (3-1)
S: Jack Robinson (7)
Kyle Ausgotharp drove in the first run of the game in the bottom of the second with an RBI single to left before
Tanner Donati (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) had an answer for West Chester with a one-out solo home run in the third, the first of his Golden Ram career, which tied the score at 1-1.
A pair of one-out singles in the fourth inning gave Shippensburg a 3-1 lead but West Chester answered with a bases-loaded walk by
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) and a Smith grand slam moments later off Bryce Amos, who had entered in relief before this at bat to give West Chester a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Nick Noga (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove) entered in relief of
Nick Cugino (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) in the fifth and got a quick first out before allowing a single and an Ausgotharp home run to center, which cut the lead to 6-5.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) entered in relief with two outs in the fifth and escaped the jam.
In the sixth inning, Shippensburg saw its first two batters of the inning reach and quickly had runners on second and third with no outs after an AJ Wenrich double started the inning. Jones managed to get two quick outs, but not before Shippensburg had tied the game and taken the lead back as the Raiders held a 7-6 advantage heading into the seventh.
For the third weekend in a row, West Chester found itself in need of a seventh-inning comeback in the series finale to, in this case, earn what would have been a vital series split with the Raiders. West Chester did not get the comeback it was looking for as Jack Robinson delivered a 1,2,3 seventh inning to close out a 7-6 comeback victory for the Raiders.
Kyle Kearns got the start for West Chester and worked 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out four. Cugino and Noga each pitched two-thirds of an inning in relief as Cugino worked around a pair of hits, while Noga allowed two runs on three hits and a walk. Jones finished the fifth and worked the sixth, allowing two runs on three hits, while striking out one as he was saddled with his first loss of the season, falling to 3-1 on the season.
Brady Kain got the start for Shippensburg and allowed one run on one hit, while walking and striking out three in four innings. Jacob Dennis entered in relief in the fifth and lasted just two-thirds of an inning, being charged with four runs on three walks, while striking out one.
Bryce Amos (2-1) earned the win with 1.1 innings in relief, allowing one run on one hit, while walking one and striking out three before Robinson entered and worked a 1,2,3 seventh with a strikeout to finish off his seventh save of the season.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action at home on Wednesday afternoon against Goldey-Beacom in midweek action beginning at 3 p.m. before welcoming Shepherd to South Campus for a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m.
