WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The No. 18/28 West Chester University baseball team (25-8, 10-6) heads into an important weekend series against PSAC East leader Shepherd (24-13, 11-5) knowing that a weekend series victory may be enough to catapult the Golden Rams back into first place atop the Eastern Division standings. West Chester will welcome Shepherd to Serpico Stadium on Friday afternoon for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. before making the trip to Fairfax Field in West Virginia for the final two games of the set on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.
West Chester vs Shepherd
Series Details:
Friday, April 17 I 1 & 3:30 P.M. I Serpico Stadium (West Chester, Pa.)
Saturday, April 18 I 1 & 3:30 P.M. I Fairfax Field (Shepherdstown, W.V.)
Series: 16-9 (3-2 in last five)
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Last Time Out
West Chester got right back in the win column on Wednesday with an 11-5 win over Goldey-Beacom on Wednesday afternoon as West Chester erased an early four-run deficit with 11 unanswered runs, including a three-run second, highlighted by an
AJ DiAddezio (Phoenixville, Pa./Pope John Paul II) home run and a five-run fifth to roll to the six-run victory.
Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) earned his second win of the season as he allowed four unearned runs on four hits, while walking three and striking out four in three innings of work.
Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton), Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), Patrick Taney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), and Evan Wineburg (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) all worked scoreless innings in relief.
Flock Talk
Offensively,
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) is batting a team-best .372 (35-for-94) with 11 doubles and five home runs, driving in 32 runs, while scoring 20 more. Smith ranks in a tie for second on the team in multi-RBI games with seven, including two games with four RBI, which is tied for first on the squad. Smith is also in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak and a 13-game on-base streak, which are both second-longest on the team.
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North), who is batting .345 (38-for-110) with 32 RBI and 19 extra-base hits, including 10 doubles, five home runs, and four triples, owns the longest hitting streak and on-base streaks of 10 and 25 games, both of which were halted over the weekend.
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) is second on the team offensively, batting .363 (33-for-91) with five doubles, one triple, and a home run, while
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) is the team leader in home runs and runs scored with seven home runs and 37 runs as he bats .337 (33-for-98) on the year with eight doubles, seven home runs, and a pair of triples, with 26 RBI.
On the mound, Costa suffered his second loss of the year last week and enters play this weekend at 6-2 with a 2.47 ERA and a .234 batting average against with 44 strikeouts in 47.1 innings of work.
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) is 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA and a .256 batting average against with 32 strikeouts in 35 innings, including a pair of complete games, with his most recent complete-game effort at Shippensburg on Saturday.
Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) has found himself in a weekend starter role multiple times in recent weeks for West Chester and enters the weekend with a record of 1-0 with a 3.79 ERA and a .209 batting average against with 18 strikeouts in 19 innings. Rogers, who appeared in relief on Wednesday, has also been a weekend arm for much of the season and is 3-2 with a 4.33 ERA and a .284 batting average against with 23 strikeouts in 27 innings of work. In the bullpen, Jones leads the team in saves with three and is 3-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12 innings of work across 12 appearances.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) and
Nick Cugino (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) continue to be important bullpen arms for West Chester at 3-1 and 2-0 with ERAs of 2.35 and 2.89 in 15.1 and 9.1 innings of work, respectively.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester is 11-3 at home this Spring and has scored 111 runs, batting .340 with 29 doubles, 19 home runs, and three triples, including its 11-run outburst against Goldey-Beacom on Wednesday. West Chester has scored 10 or more runs in three of its last five home games and all three of its most recent home victories, including a 21-7 win over Chestnut Hill on April 6. Smith plays as well as anyone in the lineup at home for West Chester, batting .452 (19-for-42) with six doubles and two home runs, driving in 15 runs, while scoring nine more.
Starting Fast
West Chester remains 14-1 when scoring in the first inning and 17-2 when scoring first, although the team did improve to 8-6 in games where its opponent opens the scoring as the Golden Rams erased a 4-0 deficit in the win over Goldey-Beacom yesterday. West Chester outscores its opponents 43-10 in the first inning and 90-45 in the first three innings. West Chester also holds a 53-27 lead in the fifth inning of games, a frame that has proved important in a number of comeback wins this spring as the Golden Rams remain just 3-8 when trailing or tied after six.
Seven or More
West Chester is 17-0 when scoring seven or more runs in a game this season and just 8-8 when scoring six or fewer, including a mark of 3-1 when scoring six.
Rank and File
West Chester dropped to 28
th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) rankings this week and slid to second in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Regional rankings, now trailing Seton Hill, which is also ranked 17
th in the latest ABCA National poll. West Chester is also ranked 18
th in the latest NCBWA National poll, while Seton Hill is 11
th as the lone two PSAC teams in the top 25.
Going to the Bank
West Chester advanced to the Bill Giles Classic final at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, April 21, with a 21-7 victory over Chestnut Hill in West Chester on April 6. Searching for its fifth straight Giles Invitational Championship, West Chester will face off against Jefferson next Tuesday, beginning at 1 p.m. Tickets will be $5. Additional fan information for the Giles Classic will be announced as it becomes available.
Series History
West Chester holds a 16-9 lead in the all-time series over Shepherd, including a series split last year and wins in three of the last five after taking three of four from the Rams in April 2024, which is the closest the Golden Rams have come to sweeping a four-game series from Shepherd.
Scouting Shepherd
Shepherd (24-13, 11-5) enters the weekend atop the PSAC East standings with a slim one-game lead over the Golden Rams heading into the important weekend series. Shepherd took three of four from Kutztown last weekend with 7-0 and 10-6 wins on the road before taking the first game of the doubleheader at home last Saturday by a 9-2 final and dropping the finale by 7-6 final.
Offensively, Ryan Fluharty is first on the team batting .426 (55-for-129) with 11 doubles and seven home runs, driving in 48 runs, while scoring 39 more. Nik Rubendall is batting .353 with nine doubles and six home runs, driving in 27 runs and scoring 29 more. Bodie Pullen is third batting .345 with eight triples, seven doubles, and five home runs, scoring 51 runs and driving in 38 more, while also going a perfect 21-for-21 on stolen base attempts.
On the mound, Allen Miller is 4-2 with a 6.40 ERA and a .308 batting average against with 31 strikeouts in 45.0 innings of work, including a complete game. Gavin Miller is 3-4 with a 7.55 ERA and a .327 batting average against with 28 strikeouts in 39.1 innings of work, while Henry Ortiz is 3-0 with a 7.41 ERA and a .305 batting average against in 34 innings. Logan Bower leads Shepherd in saves with two and is 2-2 with a 10.47 ERA and a .269 batting average against in 16.1 innings of work.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Tuesday, April 21, at Citizens Bank Park for the Bill Giles Classic Championship game against Jefferson, beginning at 1 p.m.
