WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The No. 8/18 West Chester University baseball team (23-5, 9-3) is preparing for its next PSAC East series of the year against Shippensburg (20-11, 7-5) as the Golden Rams prepare for an important weekend series with the Raiders as the Golden Rams look to extend their two-game lead over the Raiders, who are just a game back of Shepherd for second in the PSAC East standings as the final month of the regular season continues.
West Chester vs Shippensburg
Series Details:
Friday, April 10 I 1 & 3:30 P.M. Serpico Stadium (West Chester, Pa.)
Saturday, April 11 I 1 & 3:30 P.M. Fairchild Field (Shippensburg, Pa.)
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Series: 58-68 (since 1984)
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Last Time Out
West Chester jumps back into league play on Friday after a dominant 21-7 victory over Chestnut Hill on Monday afternoon behind a program-record 15-run first inning, which broke the previous record of 12 runs, which had stood since a 1992 victory over Jefferson. West Chester picked up 25 hits in the victory, which are the most in a single game since the team recorded 28 in a 32-3 win over Salem in April 2023, which was also the last time West Chester scored more than 21 runs in a single game. 13 of the Golden Rams 25 hits were for extra-bases, including four home runs, with three of those home runs coming in the 15-run first inning.
AJ DiAddezio (Phoenixville, Pa./Pope John Paul II) was 4-for-6 in the victory with a pair of runs and five RBI, including a first-inning solo home run, a two-RBI single in the third, and another two-RBI double in the eighth in a tremendous afternoon at the plate for the freshman shortstop.
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) was 4-for-4 at the plate with three runs and a pair of RBI, while
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA) was 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored, including a three-run first inning home run, which opened the scoring.
Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) earned the win with seven strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work, including three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed over those three innings.
Flock Talk
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) leads the team in batting average at .376 (35-for-93) with nine doubles, five home runs, and three triples for a team-best 29 RBI and 28 runs scored. Michak is second, batting .355 (27-for-76) with five doubles, a triple, and a home run, driving in 18 runs and scoring 26 more, while
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) and
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) are close behind at .350 and .349, respectively. Strawhecker leads the team in runs scored with 31 and has 14 extra-base hits of his own this season with eight doubles, four home runs, and a pair of triples. Strawhecker's four home runs are the second most on the team, trailing only Stalker and his five.
On the mound, Costa continues to lead the Golden Rams with a record of 6-1 and a 1.41 ERA along with a .211 batting average against in 44.2 innings of work, including three complete-game shutouts. Costa also has a staff-best 41 strikeouts.
Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in seven appearances and five starts with 24 strikeouts and a .231 batting average against in 28.0 innings of work. Out of the bullpen,
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) is a top arm at 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA and a .234 batting average against with 20 strikeouts over the course of 12.1 innings in seven appearances.
Nick Cugino (West Chester, Pa./Henerson) and
Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) have also been frequently used bullpen arms for West Chester as they are 2-0 and 3-0 with ERAs of 3.24 and 5.59 in 8.1 and 9.2 innings of work, respectively. Jones has a staff-best three saves in 10 appearances and has struck out 14.
Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) has been something of a Swiss Army knife for the Golden Rams as he enters the weekend at 3-2 with a 4.68 ERA and a .294 batting average against in nine appearances and four starts, striking out 19 in 25.0 innings of work. When not used in relief earlier in the weekend, Rogers is frequently the Golden Rams game four starter. However,
Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) has also been a valuable starting arm, entering the weekend with a record of 1-0 and a 2.87 ERA along with a .157 batting average against and 14 strikeouts in 15.2 innings of work with five appearances and three starts.
We Are Honored
After his tremendous performance against Kutztown last Friday, Costa earned PSAC East, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region, and NCBWA Division II National Pitcher of the Week honors, with the most recent honor, National Pitcher of the Week, being announced earlier in the day on Thursday.
Wayne's Word
West Chester rose to sixth in Wayne Cavadi's latest
Division II Baseball Power Rankings on NCAA.com. West Chester debuted in these rankings two weeks ago in 10
th after taking three of four from East Stroudsburg over the weekend; the Golden Rams rose to eighth in the Power Rankings ahead of the Kutztown series.
Rank and File
With wins in three of four against Kutztown last weekend, a dominant 21-7 win over Chestnut Hill on Monday, West Chester rose to eighth in the latest NCBWA poll, 18
th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll, and 18
th in the diviibaseball.com rankings.
Starting Fast
West Chester is 13-1 when scoring in the first inning and 16-12 when scoring first as the Golden Rams outscore opponents 41-7 in the first inning of games this year and 75-25 in the first three innings.
Comeback Kids
West Chester has won four of its last five PSAC East games with a comeback in the sixth inning or later, including six runs in the sixth in game three against East Stroudsburg, three in the sixth in game three against Kutztown, and a pair of game four walk-offs against East Stroudsburg and Kutztown to complete doubleheader sweeps and earn series victories.
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) played the hero against East Stroudsburg last weekend with a walk-off walk in the series finale, while
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) walked it off for West Chester in the seventh with a sac fly in game four against Kutztown on Saturday evening. Rust and Gozdan both drove in the eventual winning runs in the sixth-inning comebacks the last two weekends, with Gozdan driving a grand slam to left against ESU, while Rust plated the Golden Rams' seventh run with a sac bunt in the sixth inning on Saturday afternoon.
Protect the Streak
West Chester will look to win its fourth series of the season and fifth in a row, dating back to a 3-1 series win over Mansfield to conclude the regular season last May. West Chester has lost only one series in the last two seasons, dropping the series 3-1 to Millersville last April, with a 4-3 victory in eight innings in game three for the lone win in the four-game series with the Marauders.
Officials Appreciation Week
Friday is a part of Division II Officials Appreciation Week in conjunction with the Division II Conference Commissioners Association and the Division II Athletic Directors Association, as programs around the Nation take time pregame throughout this week to say thank you to our dedicated and hard-working sports officials who make games possible.
Series History
Since April 1984, West Chester trails Shippensburg 68-58, including seven losses in the last 10 meetings against the Raiders. Last April, West Chester split the series but had lost five of six in 2024. West Chester's last home victory over the Raiders came in March 2023, and the Golden Rams' last series sweep of the Raiders was in 2021, when West Chester was playing its home games at Maplezone in Aston, Pennsylvania.
Scouting Shippensburg
Shippensburg (20-11, 7-5) enters the weekend after winning three of four from Millersville last weekend, including a home sweep of Millersville to open April. This winning streak helped Shippensburg halt a five-game losing streak, which included a road loss to Seton Hill and a sweep at the hands of Bloomsburg to finish off March.
Offensively, Will Oates is batting a team-best .422 (35-for-83) with eight doubles and a pair of home runs, along with 17 RBI and 28 runs scored. Thomas Cano-Piszel is batting .379 (36-for-95) with five doubles, four home runs, and a triple with 23 RBI and 17 runs scored. AJ Wenrich leads the team in RBI with 35, including a team-best 19 extra-base hits with 10 doubles, six home runs, and three triples, while also scoring 27 runs and batting .356 (32-for-90).
On the mound, Conner Barto is 6-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a .216 batting average against with 39 strikeouts in 40.0 innings of work over the course of eight starts. Jonah Mayer and Kaleb Maksimik are both 3-1 in seven and six starts with ERAs of 4.35 and 2.14, along with batting averages of .308 and .248, respectively. Both arms have 25 strikeouts and have logged 31.0 and 33.2 innings of work, respectively. Jack Robinson has six saves in 12 appearances and is also 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA and a .234 batting average against with 12 strikeouts in 12.1 innings of work.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon at home against Goldey-Beacom in a midweek clash with the Lightning before a four-game set with Shepherd beginning on April 17 at home at 1 p.m.
