It was not too long ago that The Quad Sports Section celebrated the 75th anniversary of the paper and ran an article about the best teams in University history. Perhaps that article was a bit premature because we may be witnessing a new team that could top that list.The West Chester Golden Rams improved their record to 24-2 this week with wins over Wilmington, Millersville and California University of Pa.
The Golden Rams spent the first part of the season being led by experienced pitchers like Jason Bowman (6-0), Dave Slusser (5-0), Chris Powl (5-0) and James Rundatz (1-0, 3 saves). Bowman and Powl both improved on their perfect seasons this weekend with a win apiece against the division rival Millersville Marauders.
The ERAs for the pitching staff of the Rams prove that they are stifling batters on a regular basis. Nine pitchers have ERAs under 3.00, led by Junior Bret Moyer at 0.63 in three games started.
There was no stronger indication that the Rams are the team to beat in the PSAC this year than when they played host to California Pa. on March 22. In the beginning of the season the Rams and the Vulcans were both nationally ranked. The Golden Rams were just a few points ahead of the Vulcans in the polls.
During the double header between the two teams it was proved who the true number one squad in the PSAC was. The Rams picked up two wins, 10-2 and 5-3, behind wins from their star pitchers Powl and Bowman, possibly the best one-two punch starting pitchers in all of Division II baseball.
Matt Cotellese did the damage with the stick on that cold Saturday afternoon going 4-7 with two home runs. The Vulcans had led at points in both games but the bats would not be silenced.
Golden Rams swept the Player of the Week honors from the PSAC, Cotellese for Player of the Week and Powl for Pitcher of the Week. Cotellese went 10-18 during the week with two home runs and six RBIs. The junior outfielder also got it done in the field as well with three outfield assists including gunning down the game tying run at the plate during West Chester’s win over Pace University. Powl’s Pitcher of the Week honor was for his lights out performance against the California Vulcans, pitching a complete game six-hitter with twelve strikeouts.
Everything has been swinging in the Rams favor recently. Last year’s best hitter Drew Pare had been quiet for the main portion of the year so far but made plenty of noise against Millersville. Pare hit his first two home runs of the season, including a grand slam, in the 14-4 victory. Pare finished with seven RBIs in the victory.
Pare also carried the offensive load in the first win in the double header against the Marauders with two doubles, one of which plating the game winning run in the 6-5 victory.
The Golden Rams have started their series of division play at 2-0 with the doubleheader sweep over Millersville. Up next for the Golden Rams will be a home game against Wilmington April 2. The Rams demolished Wilmington in their first contest 16-2.
The Rams will then travel to meet division opponent East Stroudsburg on April 4 for a doubleheader before returning home to host another pair of games on April 5 against the same East Stroudsburg squad.
The Golden Rams have also won the right to play in the Bill Giles Classic final at Citizen’s Bank Park on April 8. Don’t miss the Golden Rams march to the College World Series; it has already proved to be a wild ride thus far.
Ken Schmidt is a third-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at KS609536@wcupa.edu.