The schedule changed. The opponent didn’t.
When weather wiped out a planned opening weekend trip to Fairfax, Virginia, West Chester University found a new field and kept its focus. The Golden Rams opened their 2026 season Friday afternoon at Harford County Community College instead — and left with two wins.
West Chester (2-0) swept Indiana University of Pennsylvania by scores of 8-3 and 5-4, leaning on timely hitting in the opener and late-inning pitching in the nightcap.
In Game 1, the Golden Rams answered early adversity with immediate response.
After IUP grabbed a 1-0 lead on a two-out solo home run in the first inning, West Chester countered in the bottom half. Carter Rust ignited the offense with a double down the right-field line, and Drew Simpson followed with a single through the left side to tie the game.
The Rams broke it open in the second. Hunter Smith crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice by Patrick Gozdan, and West Chester’s aggressive base running created two more runs — a double steal brought in one, and a wild pitch plated another for a 4-1 lead.
IUP trimmed the margin to one with a two-run homer in the third, but the Rams kept applying pressure. Caleb Strawhecker delivered a two-RBI single in the fourth to stretch the lead to 6-3. Christian Michak added an RBI single in the fifth, and Austin Stalker’s sixth-inning groundout drove in the final run.
Left-hander Julian Costa set the tone on the mound. The veteran worked five innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out four to earn the season’s first win. Sophomore Luke Raho followed with two scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just one hit.
West Chester collected nine hits in the opener, with Strawhecker and Simpson each recording two.
Game 2 required a different kind of composure.
Strawhecker struck first again, launching a solo home run to straightaway center field in the first inning. Simpson’s two-run single in the third extended the advantage to 3-0.
But the Crimson Hawks flipped the game in the fifth. A double, three walks and consecutive RBI singles gave IUP a 4-3 lead before West Chester recorded an out.
With the bases loaded and no outs, freshman Landen Rozich entered and delivered the afternoon’s pivotal sequence. He struck out three straight hitters to limit the damage and keep the deficit at one.
The Rams responded immediately. Simpson worked a leadoff walk and stole second. After Stalker reached, Smith lined a two-run single up the middle to restore a 5-4 lead.
From there, the bullpen took over. Patrick Taney struck out the side in the sixth, and Ben Jones closed the seventh with a strikeout and a pair of routine outs to secure his first save of the season.
Rozich earned his first collegiate victory with a one-inning, three-strikeout effort.
Across the doubleheader, West Chester tallied 18 hits and received 18 strikeouts from its pitching staff. Strawhecker finished 5-for-8 with a home run and three RBI. Simpson drove in three runs, and Smith delivered the decisive swing in the finale.
Opening weekends often reveal as much about resilience as talent. Forced to adjust before throwing a pitch, West Chester did both — adapting to the circumstances and finishing the day unbeaten.
In other local action
D'Youville 19, Chestnut Hill 8
Game 1 (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) — Chestnut Hill’s day started in a hole and never fully climbed out, as D’Youville used a nine-run third inning to blow the opener open and handed the Griffins a 19–8 loss in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader. Chestnut Hill scratched across a run in the second, then was held in check until a seven-run ninth made the final score look far closer than the game felt — with Cameron Leach driving in a run with a single and Ryan McNichol adding an RBI hit as the late rally piled up baserunners and pressure. Nicholas Shiffler also delivered a triple earlier in the game.
Chestnut Hill 7, D'Youville 3
Game 2 (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) — The response was immediate and emphatic. Chestnut Hill flipped the script in the nightcap, scoring six runs in the first inning and riding that early burst to a 7–3 win to split the day. Joe Kelly earned the win, and the Griffins added an insurance run in the fifth while holding D’Youville’s push to two runs in the sixth.
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