STROUDSBURG – Redshirt senior Brock Kauffman recorded his school record 147th career RBI as the East Stroudsburg University baseball team dropped the series opener to West Chester, 7-1, on Friday afternoon at Creekview Park.
With runners first and second in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kauffman laced a single into left field, which allowed Jeremy Piatkiewicz to score the Warriors lone run of the game. The Blue Ball, Pa. native surpassed the mark of 146 set by Chris Knott back in 2014 for his second program record of the season.
The Warriors were limited to just five hits, which included three in their final at-bats, as they drop to 25-11 overall and 6-7 in the PSAC. West Chester moves to 19-8 on the season and 8-5 in the conference.
Ben Piripavel, Jack Rothenhausler, Tommy Dunleavy, Piatkiewicz and Kauffman each recorded hits for the Warriors.
ESU starter Tom Resinger was handed the loss after pitching 3.0 innings, in which he yielded three runs on five hits to go along with six strikeouts.
The Golden Rams' Gabe Rappa fired a complete game (9.0 innings), allowing one run on five hits while striking out seven.
Notables
- Kauffman, who extended his team-best hitting streak to 10 games, holds steady at 69 career extra-base hits which ranks him second in program history and 13 off the record.
- Rojas remained at fifth all-time for career runs with 144 and second in program history for stolen bases with 72. The redshirt junior saw his 18-game on-base streak come to an end.
- Anthony Torreullas stretched his team-high on-base streak to 14 games with a walk while Piripavel and Kauffman both sit at 13 games
- The Warriors were held to zero stolen bases for just the fifth time this year as they season total sits at 103, which ranks second in the PSAC and fifth in all of NCAA Division II
- Head Coach John Kochmansky moves towards his 400th of his career win as he remains at 394
How it Happened
After West Chester loaded the bases in the top of the first inning, J.R. Gifford worked a seven-pitch walk with one out to give the Golden Rams a 1-0 lead.
WCU took advantage of a lead off single from Joe Kaleck in the top of the third inning to stretch their advantage to 2-0. Kaleck would steal second and third base before crossing home plate on an RBI double to center field from Mike Ferrara.
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, the Golden Rams put together a rally using a pair of hits and a walk to go ahead 5-0. Kaleck delivered his third base knock of the game for WCU's third run and Ferrara drove in two more on his second double.
The Golden Rams added an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning as Ferrara laced his third two bagger of the game to make the score 6-0.
With two outs and runners on the corners in the top of the ninth inning, West Chester sent the runner on first which allowed Keith Flaherty to race home from third to put the Golden Rams up 7-0.
ESU wouldn't go down without a fight in their final at-bats as one run on three hits made the final score 7-1. The inning was highlighted by Kauffman setting the program record for RBI, as Piatkiewicz came around to score following a lead off single.
Up Next
The Warriors are headed to West Chester tomorrow for a doubleheader against the Golden Rams beginning at noon from Serpico Stadium.
