The importance of the National championship won by the men’s baseball team can be captured in a few statements. Since West Chester joined the NCAA’s Division II ranks, the school as a whole has won seven national championships. Even though the college World Series has been played at the Division I and Division II levels since 1947 and 1968 respectively, only one team from the Northeast region of the country have won the championship. West Chester is that team and they have done it twice. To get a better understanding of the importance that this national championship had, I asked five players from the national championship team five questions each and their answers highlight the weight this championship had on the team and the school.
What were your expectations going into the season?
Jared Melone: I really didn’t know what to expect. I was coming from a pretty bad team [from La Salle University] record-wise freshman year, so I just wanted to get back on a team that was focused on winning. I knew talent-wise we were very good, but I wasn’t sure what the level in the PSAC was.
Shane Dressler: The expectations were to be very successful as a team. Win the PSAC and appear in the college World Series.
Mike Cipolla: That we had a solid group of athletes and experience to take us into the playoffs.
Jon Fisher: My expectations were to make it to the regionals but probably not any further. I did see how good the team was, so I knew we had a shot to do something special.
Josh McClain: I think everyone had high expectations. I think that played into how well we were able to actually perform.
Did you ever think that season would end in a National Championship?
Melone: No. I never considered that throughout the season. I just wanted to help us win because I knew there were high expectations for me coming in and I was just focused on delivering.
Dressler: I knew we had the talent to win it all. The feelings didn’t become real until later in the season.
Cipolla: Not at all until after we were able to beat Mercyhurst in the PSAC tournament.
Fisher: Drew [Jarmuz] and I would joke in the fall and say we were going to win the championship, but I definitely did not think it was actually going to happen.
McClain: You obviously always hope to make it that far, but it was pretty surreal once we got off the plane in Texas.
When did you realize this was a real possibility?
Melone: [I realized] when we played a doubleheader against Mercyhurst in the PSAC tournament. They were the top ranked team in the country, and we were facing one of their stud pitchers. We dominated that game. The second game is when I knew we had the ability to win a championship. It was like a seesaw all game going back and forth. We ended up losing but we knew we were better than they were after that.
Dressler: It felt real after we won the first game of the World Series against North Georgia.
Cipolla: After we beat Mercyhurst, the number one team in the country, we felt like we belonged.
Fisher: I wasn’t sure after we won only one game in the PSAC tournament, but after we won our first two games in regionals, I realized we had a real shot.
McClain: When we scored seven runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to tie it up against Bloomsburg. It showed we could deal with adversity; it gave us confidence before playoffs.
What emotions did you have when the final out was recorded?
Melone: Just pure joy. It was pretty surreal that we were able to go down there and beat the top teams across the country. We didn’t have the most talented team in the tournament, but we definitely had the most fun.
Dressler: I was just so happy there were tears of pure joy in my eyes.
Cipolla: It was the happiest moment of my life. I felt like I was on top of the world.
Fisher: A lot of relief and excitement. After having an awful freshman year at James Madison University, it was so satisfying being part of a championship run, especially feeling like I was a vital part of it. Winning it all made me feel like I found my place at West Chester.
McClain: Extremely grateful for the teammates and coaches I got to share those memories with, the support we got from friends and family and the hard work didn’t go to waste.
What was your favorite memory or highlight from that year?
Melone: The grand slam in game one of the championships against North Georgia. We were down 3-0 early and we needed the confidence. That’s probably my favorite highlight of my baseball career. When we took the lead, we felt like we belonged.
Dressler: Steamrolling everyone in the college World Series. When Jared hit a grand slam in the first game against North Georgia or when Rob Knox led us off with a homerun against UC San Diego in the championship game.
Cipolla: Besides storming the field in a dog pile and celebrating at the hotel, [my favorite memory] was when I received All-American and All-Region after being a walk-on player. It showed I deserved to be there.
Fisher: Besides jumping into the pool after we won, my favorite memory has to be the first game of the world series. We had no idea what we were going up against and we could lose two games and be out. We went down 3-0 early, but watching Jared hit that grand slam was amazing. It was such a fun back-and-forth game.
McClain: There really isn’t just one. It was all just an amazing experience and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to share it with.
After talking with these guys, the main takeaway was the pure emotion they all felt during the championship run. It was clear that Melone’s grand slam in the college world series was a key moment in the season. While everyone knew this team was good, a world series is only a dream that every player in the country has. That dream became a reality for the Rams on June 4, 2017 when they defeated UC San Diego 5-2.
Dan McCartin is a third-year student majoring in management with a minor in journalism. DM870055@wcupa.edu