WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The No. 17/25 West Chester University baseball team (30-8, 14-6) is set to return to action this week against Bloomsburg (24-14, 11-9) in the team's second-to-last PSAC East weekend series of the regular season. The four-game series with the Huskies will begin in West Chester on Thursday at 1 p.m. before concluding in Bloomsburg on Friday at 1 p.m.
West Chester vs Bloomsburg
Series Details:
Thursday, April 23 I 1 & 3:30 P.M. – Serpico Stadium (West Chester, Pa.)
Friday, April 24 I 1 & 3:30 P.M. – Danny Litwhiler Field (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Series: 76-35 (since 1996)
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Last Time Out
West Chester returns to action on Thursday after a dominant 11-2 win over Jefferson in the Bill Giles Championship game on Tuesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. West Chester fell behind 1-0 after the first but outscored its foes 11-1 in the remaining eight innings, including a 6-0 run from the second through the fourth to take control of the game heading into the fifth.
Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) earned the win, his third in as many midweek outings, as he surrendered just one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out four in three innings of work.
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) was 1-for-2 with a pair of runs and a team-best four RBI in the victory.
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA), Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West), and Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) all recorded multi-hit games in the victory.
Flock Talk
Smith leads the team at the plate, batting .394 with 43 hits, including 13 doubles, six home runs, and a triple, driving in 43 runs, while scoring 25 more.
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North), who was named PSAC East Athlete of the Week earlier this week, is batting .373 with 47 hits, including a team-best eight home runs, 11 doubles, and four triples, while scoring 40 runs and driving in 41 more. Strawhecker is third, batting .348 with 40 hits, including 10 doubles, seven home runs, and two triples, scoring 44 runs and driving in 27 more.
On the mound, Costa improved to 7-2 over the weekend and lowered his ERA and batting average against to 2.53 and .234 as he has 52 strikeouts in 53.1 innings of work, while
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) and
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) improved to 4-1 and 2-1 on the year, respectively. . Out of the bullpen,
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA and a .222 batting average against with 26 strikeouts in 16.1 innings of work, including his first career save on Friday against Shepherd.
Nick Cugino (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) are first and second in appearances out of the 'pen at 15 and 14 and have records of 2-0 and 3-1 to show for it. Jones also has a team-best three saves and has struck out 17 in 14 innings of work, while Cugino has nine strikeouts in 10 innings of work and a 2.89 ERA as he did not surrender a run until April 4 against Kutztown when he made his ninth appearance of the year.
Chasing History
After picking up his seventh (7-2) win of the year last week, Costa is one win shy of matching Jeff Brennan's (30-13) career win record, which he set from 2002-05.
For the 16th Time
West Chester matched its program-record streak of five straight Bill Giles Invitational Championships on Tuesday with an 11-2 win over Jefferson, and in doing so won the Bill Giles Invitational Championship at Citizens Bank Park for the Invitational-best 16th year in a row.
Yes, Mother Nature
The Golden Rams series with Bloomsburg has been adjusted due to inclement weather in the forecast. Originally set for a doubleheader at Bloomsburg on Friday and a home doubleheader with the Huskies on Saturday, West Chester flipped its series this week and will start the series at home on Thursday with Bloomsburg before visiting the Huskies on Friday due to the threat of inclement weather throughout the weekend. Saturday was originally scheduled as Senior Day and Alumni Day; those festivities have been postponed to May 1 vs Millersville.
Starting Fast
West Chester is 16-1 when scoring in the first inning and 19-2 when scoring first. West Chester continues to outscore teams 49-13 in the first inning and 108-48 in the first three innings of games. After a big weekend against Shepherd and another 11-run outburst on Tuesday, West Chester now outscores opponents in every inning and holds a 316-151 lead over its foes, including a 35-25 lead in the seventh inning.
Rank and File
West Chester climbed back to 25
th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll this week and 17th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll. West Chester is also expected to be listed among the teams receiving consideration in the first NCAA Regional Rankings, which are due to be released later this afternoon.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester is 13-3 in West Chester this spring and has only lost one doubleheader at home, with Shippensburg being the lone opponent to sweep the Golden Rams with 17-4 and 6-5 wins in West Chester on April 10. This halted a six-game home winning streak, during which West Chester outscored its opponents 65-39, including a 21-7 win over Chestnut Hill in the Bill Giles Semifinal on April 6.
The First Time This Year
West Chester swept a PSAC East series for the first time this spring last weekend against Shepherd, outscoring the Rams 53-10, including 24-4 and 18-3 wins at Shepherd on Saturday. With this, West Chester scored the most runs in a four-game weekend series since a 59-run weekend with Kutztown in 2021.
Series History
West Chester holds a 76-35 lead in the series against Bloomsburg dating back to 1996 and took three of four last year with a doubleheader sweep in West Chester before playing to a split at Bloomsburg to win the series with the Huskies.
Scouting Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg enters the weekend at 24-14 and 11-9 in league action after winning three of four against Kutztown last weekend and a non-league win over Lock Haven on Tuesday, which is now in the PSAC West after the departure of Mercyhurst. Against Lock Haven, Bloomsburg jumped out to an early 7-0 lead but needed an RBI single by Jace Jarmon in the ninth, his third hit of the afternoon, to earn an 11-10 victory over the Bald Eagles. Jack Carver got the start for Bloomsburg and allowed just one hit in three innings, while striking out five as one of eight pitchers used.
Offensively, Grant Russo leads the team, batting .432 with 54 hits, including 12 doubles, two triples, and two home runs, while scoring 45 runs and driving in 21. Matt Freda and Casey O'Brien are second and third offensively, batting .356 and .317 with 37 and 33 hits, respectively. Freda has driven in a team-best 27 runs and scored 27 more, while O'Brien has scored 17 and driven in 20.
On the mound, Aiden Murphy is the Huskies' ace at 7-0 with a 1.97 ERA and a .202 batting average against with 47 strikeouts in 50.1 innings, including a pair of complete games and a shutout. Brandon Wozniak is 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA and a .250 batting average with 22 strikeouts in 43.1 innings, while Andrew Armstrong is 2-3 with a 2.90 ERA and a .236 batting average against with 43 strikeouts in 40.1 innings of work. Pete Modrovsky is one of the top arms out of the bullpen for Bloomsburg, entering the weekend with a 2.70 ERA and a .233 batting average against in 16.2 innings over the course of 10 appearances.
Up Next
Following its weekend series with Bloomsburg, West Chester will conclude the regular season against Millersville on April 30 and May 1 as the Golden Rams visit the Marauders on Thursday and host on Friday.
