Box Scores
W 3-1 / L 24-2

WEST CHESTER – Senior Christian Saveri fired a five-hit complete game victory in East Stroudsburg University's 3-1 win in the opener, while No. 10 West Chester came back to post a 24-2 win in the second game as the two schools split a PSAC East baseball doubleheader on Sunday.

Saveri took a shutout into the seventh inning and junior Jason Kelmer provided the offense with a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, in the first inning as the Warriors (10-10, 1-5) earned their first conference victory of the season.

In the second game, the Golden Rams (22-4, 9-1) had five doubles, a triple and home runs by Nick Spisak and Matt Baer among their 23 hits and jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first inning. Baer was 5-for-6 with five RBI and scored four runs, Joe Wendle went 4-for-6 and scored four times and Spisak had a three-run double in the first and a three-run homer in the seventh.

Saveri improved to 2-2 on the season in five starts and lowered his ERA to 2.43 with an impressive performance against a West Chester squad that is hitting .355 and scoring nearly 11 runs per game this year. WCU was the visiting team in both ends of the doubleheader after ESU's home games in the weekend series were moved due to field conditions at Mitterling Field.

The Golden Rams had back-to-back singles to start the game before Saveri got out of the inning without any damage, and the Warriors jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore 2B Ryan Guarino had a one-out single and stole second and third, and Kelmer homered with two outs to put ESU in front.

Neither team had a base runner in the second, third or fourth innings as Saveri got 11 straight outs and West Chester ace Eric Carmichael retired 13 straight batters before ESU got to him again in the sixth.

WCU threatened in the fifth when Bob Stumpo had a leadoff single and Christian Cox drew a one-out walk, but Saveri retired Josh Heyne and leadoff hitter Frank McGrath to maintain the Warriors' 2-0 lead.

ESU scratched out another run for a 3-0 advantage in the sixth as sophomore CF Carey Zimmerman struck out but reached on a passed ball, moved up on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore SS Evan Gallagher, stole third and scored on a single by Guarino.

Baer broke up the shutout with a solo home run with one out in the seventh before Saveri got a pair of fly outs to finish the complete game.

Saveri gave up five hits, struck out five and walked one and has 34 strikeouts and six walks in 33.1 innings this season. Carmichael is 5-2 after throwing his first complete game in eight starts. He was charged with two earned runs and yielded just three hits – two singles by Guarino and the homer by Kelmer – to go with a walk and four strikeouts.

In the second game, West Chester had 10 straight batters reach base in the first inning after McGrath flied out to open the game to chase freshman pitcher Brian Ernst, who had a 3.13 ERA in 23.0 innings and pitched well (5.2 IP, two earned runs) in the first conference start of his career at Kutztown on Wednesday.

WCU led 18-0 before the Warriors got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Gallagher walked and scored on a single by redshirt sophomore 3B Jake Griesemer, Kelmer doubled and Griesemer scored on a fielders' choice with freshman RF Eric Boyer collecting the RBI.

Fred Breidenbach ran his season record to 5-0 with a complete game performance for the Golden Rams, allowing just four hits in 7.0 innings of work. Sophomore Chad Jacobson (3.1 IP), freshman Colin Kelly (2.1 IP) and redshirt freshman Kyle Evans (1.0 IP) followed Ernst to the mound for ESU.

The Warriors have played their first six PSAC East games against preseason favorite Kutztown and defending PSAC champion West Chester, dropping both games at Kutztown on Wednesday and going 1-3 in four games at West Chester on Saturday and Sunday.

They are slated to play Chestnut Hill and Lincoln in midweek play this week and have four games against Bloomsburg next weekend.