The West Chester baseball team swept their divisional rival Bloomsburg University, on a warm early spring Friday afternoon. The Golden Rams hosted the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference EasternDivision opener at Serpico Stadium, where they won the first game 9-8, and the second game 7-1. With these wins, West Chester improves their record to 15-10, placing them only three wins behind divisional leader Kutztown University.
In the opening game, Bloomsburg started strong, scoring six runs in the first two innings. West Chester responded with a pair of runs of their own in the second and third innings to pull within two. In the fourth inning, the Golden Rams and the Huskies exchanged two more runs, making the score 6-4 in the Huskies favor.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the bases loaded, West Chester’s Sean Bond hit a two run single to left field that scored Blair Dameron and Ben White, and tied the game for the Rams. Unfortunately for the Bloomsburg Huskies, the ball got past their center fielder, allowing Drew Pare to score the winning run from first base.
The Golden Rams had 14 hits in the opening game. Sean Bond and Brent Wallace both had two RBI’s, and Nate Guers went 3 for 4 with one RBI.
West Chester’s Jason Bowman received the win for the Golden Rams after he entered in the fifth and threw for three strong innings.
In the second game of the afternoon, West Chester’s Frank Gailey threw a complete game victory. Gailey struck out five, and allowed only five hits without forfeiting an earned run.
Drew Pare hit two triples in game two with two RBI’s and a scored run. Kyle Bechter also had two RBI’s in a 2 for 3 effort, while Nate Guers was 2 for 4. West Chester’s offense had 11 hits from eight players. All but two scored in the second game.
With these victories, West Chester has now won 13 of their last 15 games, and begins their record in the PSAC East at 2-0. West Chester travels to Bloomsburg on Saturday for a double header to complete the four game series.
The Golden Rams return home to Serpico Stadium on Tuesday, where they face Wilmington at 3:00 p.m.