No. 11/12 West Chester waited only one inning before looking like the regional host it has become accustomed to being.
After falling behind by two runs in the opening frame, the Golden Rams responded with relentless offense and overwhelming depth, rolling past Bloomsburg, 15-4, on Thursday afternoon at Serpico Stadium in the opening round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament.
For West Chester, it was more than just another postseason victory. It was the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since May 2023 and an important step for a team hosting the regional for the third consecutive season and the fourth time since 2022.
“It is certainly nice to get the proverbial monkey off our back and get back in the right column with an NCAA Tournament win today,” West Chester coach Mike LaRosa said. “We got some pressure off with this win, and I think we're in a really good frame of mind heading into the rest of the weekend.”
The Golden Rams improved to 40-10 and now advance to a best-of-three regional series against East Stroudsburg University beginning Friday at Serpico Stadium with a trip to the Super Regionals on the line.
West Chester answered Bloomsburg’s early two-run burst immediately, scoring once in each of the first three innings before delivering the decisive blow in the fourth. The Golden Rams sent 17 batters to the plate in an 11-run inning fueled by six hits, five walks and a hit batter to seize complete control.
Austin Stalker opened the scoring for West Chester with a sacrifice fly in the first inning before Christian Michak tied the game in the second with a perfectly placed bunt single.
An RBI sacrifice fly by Patrick Gozdan gave the Golden Rams their first lead in the third before the offense erupted one inning later.
Back-to-back RBI singles from Caleb Strawhecker and Drew Simpson highlighted the rally before Stalker capped the inning with a two-run double that pushed the advantage to 14-2.
West Chester finished with 15 runs despite producing only two extra-base hits all afternoon, a reflection of the lineup’s patient approach and ability to continually pressure Bloomsburg pitching.
“I was really happy with our approach all day today,” LaRosa said. “Bloomsburg has a really talented pitching staff, but I think top-to-bottom we did a good job wearing them down and getting some timely hits and some important walks.”
Strawhecker finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Stalker also collected three hits and drove in three runs. Michak added two hits and two RBI, while Carter Rust reached base four times, scored three runs and added an RBI.
On the mound, Julian Costa improved to 11-2 after allowing two runs over five innings. His 11th victory tied the program’s single-season record.
The bullpen kept Bloomsburg from mounting any threat the rest of the way. Evan Wineburg and Ryan DeHaven combined to cover four innings before Patrick Taney struck out two in a scoreless ninth.
“Our pitching staff was excellent again today,” LaRosa said. “We got a great start from Costa and then strong bullpen work from Ryan DeHaven, Evan Wineburg and Patrick Taney to finish it off and put us in a great spot heading into day two of the regional.”
Bloomsburg, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021, finished its season at 27-21.
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