Image Credits: Elise Lindros
West Chester University (WCU) baseball opened its 2026 season Friday, Feb. 20, with a doubleheader sweep against Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), taking the first game 8-3 and holding on for a 5-4 win in the nightcap.
IUP scored first in the opener when Ricardo Aponte hit a solo home run down the left field line in the top of the first inning. West Chester tied the game in the bottom half after Carter Rust doubled down the right field line and later scored on Drew Simpson’s single through the left side.
West Chester took the lead in the second inning. Hunter Smith singled and Christian Michak reached base ahead of Patrick Gozdan, who brought Smith home on a fielder’s choice. Michak later scored on a throwing error by the catcher, and Gozdan came in on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-1.
“The biggest thing that we talk about is playing inning-to-inning baseball, where you win an inning, you lose an inning,” said head coach Mike LaRosa. “It resets into the next inning and you’re playing to win that inning.”
Devon Boyles hit a two-run home run in the third, bringing IUP within one run. West Chester regained momentum in the fourth after Hunter Smith walked, Michak singled to left field, and Rust reached base on a fielding error. Strawhecker followed with a two-run single up the middle, and fielding errors allowed two runners to score, giving the Golden Rams a 6-3 lead.
The offense added insurance in the fifth when Michak singled to center field to bring in Austin Stalker. In the sixth, Strawhecker scored on a ground ball double play off Stalker, crossing the plate before the third out to give West Chester an 8-3 lead to close the game.
Strawhecker finished with two RBIs, while Simpson, Gozdan and Michak each drove in one, respectively. Several West Chester runs were unearned as IUP committed multiple defensive errors.
The second game followed a similar pattern, with West Chester scoring early and then responding late after IUP took a short lead.
WCU freshman pitcher James Bottger got the start but was replaced by Kyle Rogers during the second inning.
Strawhecker provided the first run of the nightcap with a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the first inning. The Golden Rams added two more in the third when Rust reached base and Strawhecker followed with a single before Simpson drove both runners home with a base hit down the left field line, putting West Chester ahead 3-0.
IUP took the lead in the fifth inning. A walk followed by an Elijah Dunn double sent the first runner home, making the game 3-1. Following another walk, Rogers was replaced on the mound by Kyle Lazer.
With the bases loaded, Lazer walked Anthony Annichine, forcing in Dunn. Erik Rhodes and David Kessler added back-to-back singles, driving in two more runs to take the lead 4-3. WCU reliever Landen Rozich then entered the game and struck out the next three batters to end the inning.
West Chester regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Simpson reached on a walk and stole second before Stalker was hit by a pitch to place two runners on base. With two outs, Hunter Smith delivered a single up the middle that scored both runners and moved him into scoring position on the throw, giving the Golden Rams a 5-4 lead.
From there, the bullpen secured the win. West Chester pitchers retired six of the final seven batters, including three strikeouts in the sixth, and did not allow any hits over the final two innings.
“We’ve got a lot of depth on our bench,” LaRosa said. “Guys were ready to step up, guys came off the bench in big moments and did a great job.”
Strawhecker recorded multiple hits in the second game, scoring twice with one RBI. Simpson drove in two runs, earning two RBIs. Smith recorded two RBIs from his 5th inning single that drove in the winning run.
Across both games, West Chester put pressure on IUP’s defense, combining contact hitting, stolen bases and capitalizing on errors to drive in runs.
“I felt like the guys competed really well,” LaRosa said. Our at-bats were very competitive, and they really bought into that next-inning mentality,”
Next weekend, West Chester baseball travels to Cary, North Carolina, to face Pace University, then play a doubleheader against Wilmington University (Del.), followed by a game against Dominican University of New York.
Sophie Stair is a third year English major with minors in Journalism and Media & Culture. ss1029515@wcupa.edu