STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU baseball team went 1-1 in today's doubleheader against No. 21 West Chester, bouncing back in the second game to split the contests.
PITCHING NOTABLES
- ESU got strong pitching all day long, only allowing four runs across 14 innings. Ryan Dewees pitched all seven innings in game one, keeping West Chester off the board through the first six. He matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts, a mark he set previously this season against D'Youville on March 7.
- Ethan Woods got his second win of the season in game two, going five innings and picking up five strikeouts. He's now allowed two runs or fewer in all but one of his starts this year.
- Jake Albert carried ESU the rest of the way, pitching nearly two full innings while keeping the Golden Rams off the scoreboard. He struck out a season-high four batters, only allowing two hits and one walk.
BATTING NOTABLES
- The Warriors did almost all of their damage at the plate through base hit singles, chipping away at the West Chester pitchers, but Easton Albert brought some juice to ESU's offense. He had two doubles in the second game, the only extra-base hits for either team the entire day. He added an RBI and scored once himself.
- Easton Albert was one of four batters in the second game to record two hits, as Troy Davis, Walker Zampella, and Zander Condeelis all had a pair of base hits. Davis went 2-2 with a walk drawn as well, but Zampella notched two RBI, and Condeelis had one.
- Zampella and Easton Albert were ESU's two most consistent batters all day, as Zampella went 3-3 and Albert was 1-1 in game one as well.
GAME ONE
- Dewees cruised through the West Chester lineup his first time around, as he struck out six batters through the first three innings. The Warriors got on base, but costly double plays and mistakes on the base paths would loom large to each team scoreless after three.
- Dewees picked up two more strikeouts across the next two innings, as West Chester mustered two hits in the first five innings. After two leadoff walks in the bottom of the fifth, the Golden Rams forced a double play and got a flyout to escape the inning.
- In the top of the seventh with one out, West Chester got three hits to finally break through. A single to right field and a second ball through the right side of the infield put runners on the corners, and Patrick Gozdan laid down an RBI bunt for the game's first run. After another bunt to advance the runners, West Chester added its second run off a balk before Christian Michak popped up to first base to end the inning.
- Zampella led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, but West Chester came up with another double play, the third of the game for ESU. Julian Costa finished his complete game in the next at-bat with West Chester holding on to win 2-0.
GAME TWO
- Woods got into a little bit of trouble early in the game, as Caleb Strawhecker was able to get to third off a base on balls, an errant pickoff attempt, then a wild pitch. He was able to get out of the inning with no damage, though, striking out Austin Stalker for the scoreless first.
- The double plays continued to plague ESU at the plate, as the Golden Rams turned one in the bottom of the first and third. After the first one of game two, ESU also left a runner stranded on third base when the final out of the inning was recorded.
- West Chester got the scoring started first in this game, earlier than the day's opener as well. Stalker sent a 2-0 pitch through the right side for a one-out single, as Drew Simpson executed the hit-and-run, putting Stalker 90 feet away. Chase Jones hit a ground ball to third base, as Condeelis made the play to first base with Stalker crossing the plate.
- The dam finally broke for the Warriors' offense in the bottom of the fourth, as they came through with a four-run inning to charge ahead. After walks by Troy Davis and Cole Serfass to start the inning, a flyout to right field gave ESU runners on the corners with only one out. Zampella stayed hot, getting his fourth hit in his fifth plate appearance of the day to open the scoring.
- ESU chased West Chester's starter Luke Raho, as the Golden Rams brought in Kyle Rogers. Christian Maccarrone entered as a pinch hitter after the change, singling down the right field line to bring Serfass around and advance Zampella to third base. Connor Reilly came up to bat, sending a ball to right field that gave Zampella plenty of time to tag up and score, as Maccarrone stayed at first base. Easton Albert came up with his first double of the game, as Maccarrone hustled around the basepath, beating the throw home to score all the way from first, making it 4-1.
- With a runner on second base and two outs in the top of the fifth, West Chester got one run back to make it a two-run ballgame. Strawhecker singled through the infield, scoring Landen Rozich to make it 4-2.
- However, the Warriors got that run back plus some insurance their next two times up. With Ben Jones now on the mound for the Golden Rams, Braydon Hubbard and Davis reached safely with singles to start the bottom of the fifth. Serfass hit into a fielder's choice, setting Parker Frey up with runners on first and third base. In a full count, Frey connected for a single into right field, scoring Hubbard and moving Serfass to third base. Zampella continued to be near impossible for West Chester to retire, as he continued to deliver at the plate with another RBI single.
- After Woods' day was done after five full innings, and West Chester started the top of the sixth with one out and two runners on base, Jake Albert came into the game on the mound for the Warriors. He struck out the first batter he saw, and after walking the next to load the bases, he got out of the jam with a groundout to keep the score 6-2.
- ESU gave Jake Albert one more run to work with in the bottom half of the inning, as the hits kept coming for the Warriors' bats. Easton Albert doubled off Ryan DeHaven in his first batter faced of the game, scoring the next at-bat as Condeelis reached first base safely off an error by DeHaven.
- Jake Albert got through his two batters faced in the top of the seventh with ease, striking them out in eight pitches total. Hunter Smith and Stalker both singled and were able to move into scoring position, but Albert retired Drew Simpson looking for the final out as ESU won 7-2.
GAME NOTES
- After starting 17-4, including today's two games, the Warriors held West Chester to its fewest number of runs scored in a two-game stretch this season.
UP NEXT
In order to split or take the series, the Warriors will be searching for their first win at West Chester since 2022. The final half of the series has been moved from Saturday to Sunday, with first pitch still in place for 1 p.m.
