The Golden Rams managed to salvage one game of their doubleheader with East Stroudsburg Saturday with a three-run seventh inning in the second game to give them a come-from-behind 4-3 victory.
With the winning run on third base and two outs, junior infielder Rob Spekhardt laced a single into left-center field just out of the reach of the diving left fielder for the game-winning hit.
“I think our guys hung tough,” head coach Jad Prachniak said. “That’s the unique thing about this game, opportunities pop up all over the place.”
The big inning got started when ESU shortstop Eric Linares let a one-out groundball go through his legs for an error. Jordan Wlodarczyk then singled, which prompted a pitching change for the Warriors.
Justin Roman singled to right, which scored the first run of the inning, and just a few pitches later, Rob Spezialetti-who pinch ran for Wlodarczyk-scampered home on a wild pitch to tie the game.
One batter and one out later, Spekhardt ended the game with his second hit and second RBI of the day, spoiling what was a fairly solid outing from ESU starter Ryan Lubreski.
West Chester had their chances against Lubreski throughout the game, as they had base runners in six of the seven innings. But poor plate discipline and lack of patience with Lubreski led to the Rams stranding 10 runners on base throughout the game.
Prachniak would like to see his team be more aggressive with guys on base, especially in scoring position.
“Some of our guys are zoned up and ready to hit something, and if they get it we want them to swing at it,” Prachniak said. “I agree there are times where we get 3-1 counts and I certainly want the result to be better, but just because a guy pops up 3-1 doesn’t mean it’s not a good pitch to swing at. You are just hoping he can do something a little different with it.”
In addition to Spekhardt’s two hits and two RBI, Roman added a pair of hits in three at bats and drove in a run, and Chris Pula, Justin Lamborn, Jack Provine and Wlodarczyk each had a hit apiece.
On the hill, Fred Breidenbach earned his third win of the season as he went the distance, allowing three runs (just two earned) on five hits while striking out seven.
“To just go out there and establish a good outing on the mound was important to keep our guys going, and for him to get rewarded on the tail end, I think that was important too,” Prachniak said.
East Stroudsburg hit some balls hard off the righty, but the fielding backed him up well, and his command was good enough to be able to work out of any minor jams. He did not walk a batter in all seven innings, and in his last 21 innings has allowed just three free passes.
Breidenbach has settled down after a rough start to the year in which he gave up 12 runs in his first 11 innings. Since then, he has only allowed nine runs in 29 innings on the mound.
In the first game, West Chester also got a strong pitching effort, this one from ace right-hander Joe Gunkel. He pitched all eight innings of the extra-inning affair, punching out a season-high 11 batters and allowing just three runs. It was his sixth quality start in seven starts this year, all of which have come consecutively.
“Gunkel pretty much was Gunkel,” Prachniak said.
Despite Gunkel’s strong performance, the West Chester bats remained dormant in the 3-2 loss to the Warriors.
West Chester was retired in order in four of the first six innings, and only had one runner in scoring position during that stretch. They did manage to put together a little rally in the seventh on a double from Pula followed later by a walk, a wild pitch, and RBI hits from Roman and Tyler Coleman.
However, the Rams continued to struggle with runners in scoring position as Mike Raimo struck out with men on second and third to end the seventh, and in the eighth Spezialetti grounded out to shortstop with the tying run on third.
With the series split, West Chester sits at 17-11-1 overall, with an impressive 8-2 conference record. They will travel to East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg this week, before returning home on April 20 for a the second end of their home-and-home series with the Big Red.
Kenny Ayres is a third-year student majoring in communication studies with a journalism minor. He can be reached at KA739433@wcupa.edu.