WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After losing its first PSAC East series of the year last weekend against Shippensburg, the No. 18/28 West Chester University baseball team (27-8, 12-6) returned home on Friday to take on Shepherd (24-15, 11-7) in a battle for first place in the PSAC East. West Chester took game one by a 4-2 final after scoring a pair of runs in the third to finish erasing an early deficit before using a seven-run sixth inning in game two to come from behind for a 7-1 victory and doubleheader sweep.
West Chester got excellent starting pitching performances from
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) and
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) as they both worked into the seventh inning.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) picked up his first collegiate save in relief of Costa in game one as he navigated his way out of a jam, which had the tying run on first and the game-winning run at the plate throughout his time in the game.
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) was the hero for West Chester in game two as his two-RBI double in the sixth inning broke open a game that was tied at 1-1 after his fifth-inning single earlier in the game broke up the Rams' no-hitter bid.
Game One: WCU 4 Shepherd 2
WP: Julian Costa (7-2)
L: Gavin Miller (3-5)
S: Landen Rozich (1)
After a leadoff double, Shepherd scored the first run of the game on a hard-hit single through the left side to give the Rams an early 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.
In the second,
Tanner Donati (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) drove in the tying run with an RBI single into right before
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) singled home a pair of runs in the third to give West Chester an early 3-1 lead.
After early trouble,
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) settled in and worked five scoreless frames, allowing just three hits, while striking out six from the second through the sixth.
In support of steady performance by Costa, West Chester added to its lead in the sixth with an RBI single by
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) to carry a 4-1 lead into the seventh.
Shepherd started the seventh with a home run, a double, and an error, which allowed the visitors to cut the lead to 4-2 and bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate. This led to a call to the bullpen as
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) entered in relief of Costa and got the final three outs to earn his first save of the season and finish off a thrilling 4-2 victory over the Rams.
Gavin Miller (3-5) suffered the loss for Shepherd, allowing four runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out one in 5.2 innings.
Costa (7-2) picked up his seventh win of the year with six strong innings, which saw him scatter seven hits and a pair of runs, while striking out eight.
Game Two WCU 7 Shepherd 1
WP: Luke Raho (2-1)
LP: Devin Mattei (4-2)
For the second time in as many games, Shepherd got out to an early 1-0 lead, this time using a solo shot down the left-field line by Ryan Fluharty to take an early one-run lead over the Golden Rams.
Devin Mattei was excellent early for Shepherd as he held the Rams hitless through four innings. West Chester got its first hit in the fifth inning off the bat of
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) before Shepherd escaped the inning to keep a one-run lead intact.
West Chester loaded the bases with one out in the sixth and pushed across the tying run with a bases-loaded walk of
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North). Smith followed this up with a double to straightaway center field as the ball bounced just in front of the 398 sign on the center field fence to give West Chester a 3-1 lead. A chopper to third from Gozdan nearly got a big second out of the sixth, but the throw home was high and wide, allowing Stalker to score and giving West Chester runners on the corners with one out.
Suddenly holding a 4-1 lead after being held to just one hit through the first five innings, West Chester continued to pile on in the sixth as
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) singled home a pair with a hard-hit ground ball through the infield before scoring the seventh and final run of the game on back-to-back wild pitches as Michak went first to third on the first and scored on the second.
After holding Shepherd to just one hit from the third inning on,
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) encountered his first real trouble of the afternoon in the seventh with back-to-back singles but got a lazy fly out to right and a groundout to second to finish off the doubleheader sweep of the Rams.
Raho picked up his second win of the year with a complete-game effort, his first since a 6-0 win over Frostburg State on March 7 as he allowed just one run on six hits and a walk, while striking out three.
Devin Mattei (4-2) took the loss for Shepherd, allowing two runs on three hits in 5.1 innings. Drew Hawkins got the final outs of the sixth for Shepherd as he followed the trio of Conner Chancey,
Jesse Specter, and Logan Bower, who all entered and failed to record an out, allowing one run, three runs (two earned), and another run on a pair of hits and three walks in the Golden Rams seven-run sixth inning.
Up Next
West Chester will conclude its series with Shepherd on the road tomorrow in West Virginia, beginning at 1 p.m.
