WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The No. 9/20/22 West Chester University baseball team (19-4, 6-2) is set to return to action this weekend for its third conference weekend series of the year against Kutztown (11-11, 3-5), beginning with two games at Kutztown on Friday afternoon, beginning at 1 p.m. For the second weekend in a row, West Chester will host the final two games of the weekend series in West Chester on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. as the Golden Rams remain in search of their first conference sweep of the season.
West Chester vs Kutztown
Series Details
Friday, April 3 at Kutztown (North Campus Baseball Field) 1 & 3:30 P.M.
Saturday, April 4 vs Kutztown (Serpico Stadium) 1& 3:30 P.M.
Series: 74-66 (W4; 8-2 Last 10)
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Last Time Out
West Chester picked up another series win last weekend with a home sweep of East Stroudsburg on Sunday after splitting a doubleheader with the Warriors on the road on Friday afternoon. West Chester outscored its foes 18-16 on the weekend, batted .260 (25-for-96), led by
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA), who batted .545 (6-for-11) on the weekend with three runs and a pair of RBI, including a clutch RBI double in the game four comeback victory on Sunday.
Andrew Shank (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) came through in a big way for West Chester on Sunday as well, earning the start in game two and rewarding this vote of confidence with an important solo home run in the sixth, which helped the Golden Rams continue to erase a 7-2 deficit after five innings in the series finale.
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) would likely like to bottle his performance at the plate from this weekend, batting .444 (4-for-9) with a run scored and seven RBI, including a grand slam to left in the 6-2 victory in game one on Sunday and a bases-loaded walk in game two on Sunday, which scored the game-winning run.
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) also turned in a steady weekend at the plate, going 4-for-10 (.400) with a double, four runs, and a pair of RBI, along with two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) picked up another complete game shutout victory on Friday as he struck out a pair and scattered six hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings.
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) delivered perhaps the best start of the weekend by the remainder of the weekend rotation with five shutout innings, allowing just one hit and three walks, while striking out seven in a no-decision on Sunday afternoon.
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) made two appearances in relief over the weekend, logging 2.1 innings of work, allowing two runs on six hits, while striking out four on the weekend as he earned the victory in game four on Sunday afternoon.
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) was credited with the game-one victory on Sunday as he allowed two runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out two in the final two innings of the 6-2 victory over the Warriors.
Flock Talk
With a league-best 3.49 ERA, a .241 batting average, and a 1.22 WHIP, West Chester's pitching staff is quickly beginning to garner some national attention, as noted in Wayne Cavadi's latest Division II Power Rankings (learn more/article linked below). Costa leads this group at 5-1 on the year with a 1.67 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and a .219 batting average against, including his second career no-hitter earlier this season. The WCU Career Strikeout King, Costa, has fanned 29 in 37.2 innings of work, including a pair of complete-game shutouts.
Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) is 3-1 on the year in seven appearances and four starts with a 4.44 ERA after a rocky start in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Rogers has a .277 batting average and has struck out 17, while
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) is 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA and a .228 batting average with 26 strikeouts in 24.2 innings of work, including a complete-game shutout earlier this season. Lazer has returned to form quickly after a shortened preseason and is 2-1 on the year with a 2.38 ERA and a .220 batting average against with 23 strikeouts in 22.2 innings of work, including a complete-game shutout of Mansfield in late March. Out of the bullpen, Jones and Rozich remain two quick answers for LaRosa and the Golden Rams entering the weekend at 3-0 with 4.00 and 2.61 ERAs in eight and six appearances, respectively. Rozich has fanned 17 batters in 10.1 innings of work, while Jones has 14 strikeouts in nine innings, which includes a pair of saves.
Nick Cugino (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) has been a good almost immediate stopper for West Chester this season as well, pitching 5.1 innings over eight appearances, allowing just three hits and a walk, while striking out five and limiting opponents to a .158 batting average against as he seems to fill a role previously filled by the likes of Dylan Howanitz and
Gannon Kadlecik in previous seasons.
Offensively, Stalker is batting .390(30-for-77) with 14 extra-base hits, including eight doubles, four home runs, and a pair of triples for a team-best 26 RBI and 23 runs scored.
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) is second on the team in batting average at .343 (23-for-67) with six doubles, a triple, and four home runs, including his three against Division I foe Saint Joseph's in March. Strawhecker has scored a team-high 25 runs and driven in 19 more, which is second on the squad, trailing only Stalker.
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) remains third on the team in batting average at .333 (20-for-60) with 20 runs scored and 13 RBI, while also leading the team in stolen bases with 13 on 15 attempts.
Comeback Kids
West Chester picked up its series win over East Stroudsburg with wins in almost every way you can win a baseball game, winning the first game of the series behind a gem of a performance by Costa as he scattered six hits and three walks, while striking out two in a complete-game shutout, outdueling Ryan Dewees to give West Chester an early1-0 series lead. After dropping game two at ESU on Friday, West Chester won game one on Saturday, erasing a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the sixth with a two-RBI single by Michak before a Gozdan grand slam gave West Chester the 6-2 victory and at least a series split. In the series finale, West Chester found itself in trouble late once again, trailing 7-2 heading into the home fifth, but scored six unanswered, including back-to-back bases loaded walks in the home half of the seventh to walk off with an 8-7 victory over the Warriors.
Wayne's Word
West Chester rose to eighth in Wayne Cavadi's latest
Division II Baseball Power Rankings on NCAA.com. West Chester debuted in these rankings last week in 10
th after taking three of four from East Stroudsburg over the weekend, the Golden Rams rose to eighth in the latest Power Rankings.
Rank and File
West Chester held steady at 22
nd in the latest Division II Baseball (diviibaseball.com) rankings, while climbing to 20
th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll and ninth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) rankings this week after taking three of four from ESU over the weekend.
Making History
After breaking the WCU career strikeout record in the PSAC East opener against Mansfield, Costa moved into a three-way tie for second on the career wins chart with the 27
th victory of his career on Friday at ESU. With a victory this week, the veteran lefty will move into solo second and move just two wins shy of tying Jeff Brennan (30) for first in career wins.
Starting Fast
West Chester is a perfect 10-0 when scoring in the first inning and 13-1 when scoring first. The Golden Rams are also 16-0 when leading after six and earned their first comeback win of the year on Sunday vs ESU. West Chester is outscoring teams 21-5 in the first inning and 30-16 in the first two innings, a ratio that grows to 49-22 when the third inning is added. The only inning that opposing teams have outscored West Chester this season is the second, as teams hold an 11-9 lead in this inning.
Series History
Since 1984, West Chester holds a 74-66 lead over Kutztown, including wins in each of the last four meetings after picking up its first season sweep of the Golden Bears since 2022 last season. Last spring, West Chester started the series with an 11-0 victory over Kutztown before winning the nightcap by a 3-2 final and sweeping a pair at Kutztown with a 12-2 win in game three and a 9-7 win in the series finale. West Chester has not lost to Kutztown at home since 2019, when the team fell 2-1 before bouncing back with wins in the next three games, including a 13-0 win in game two and an 11-3 win in the series finale.
We Remember
Before the home set with Kutztown on Saturday afternoon, West Chester will have a moment of silence before the National Anthem in memory of late Kutztown pitcher Stephen Hood, who tragically passed in a car accident in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, in late December. Kutztown will have patches on its uniforms throughout the weekend bearing his initials (SH), and the Golden Bears home bullpen at North Campus Field had a bench officially dedicated in his honor before a doubleheader against Mansfield last weekend.
Scouting Kutztown
Kutztown enters play on Friday at 11-11 overall and 3-5 in league action after going 3-1 against Mansfield last weekend, following a sweep at the hands of Shippensburg to open PSAC East play. Kutztown swept a doubleheader at home with 3-2 and 4-3 victories before winning game three by a7-5 final to capture the series. Mansfield avoided being swept with a 7-0 win in the series finale to salvage a game of the conference series for the second week in a row. Kutztown enters the weekend 7-5 at home this season and 3-4 in true road games, while going 1-2 in neutral site games to go 4-6 in games away from Kutztown.
Offensively, Jared Ferguson leads Kutztown with a .453 (34-for-75)batting average with five doubles and a home run, along with a team-best 21 RBI. Bo Barthol leads the team in runs scored with 26 and is batting .362 (21-for-58) with six doubles, a triple, and a home run.
On the mound, Kannon Zdimal is 4-2 with a 7.24 ERA in six starts, striking out 31 in 27.1 innings of work and holding opponents to a .277 batting average. Kooper Zdimal is 2-0 with a 6.59 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 28.2 innings, while Abel Saft is 2-2 with a 4.76 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 28.1 innings of work, including one of two complete games by a Kutztown pitcher this season.
Up Next
West Chester will follow up its four-game series with the Golden Bears with a rare Monday non-league clash against Chestnut Hill at Serpico Stadium beginning at 3 p.m. in a Bill Giles Classic semifinal. The winner of this battle, which was originally scheduled for early March, will advance to the Bill Giles Championship game at Citizens Bank Park on April 21.
