University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
vs. West Chester University - 05/17/08
Mountain Cats' Season Ends With 6-2 Loss to West Chester
05/17/08...West Chester posted a trio of two-run innings to outlast Pitt Johnstown 6-2 in a rain-delayed NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional elimination game Point Stadium. Matt Hanley (Delmont, Pa.) banged out a pair of hits for the Mountain Cats, who finished the 2008 season with a school-record 37-19-1 overall record.
West Chester (44-15) plated a pair of unearned runs to open the scoring in the third. Brandon Wolfe reached base after striking out via a two-out passed ball. Kyle Bechter added a pop fly double that was just out of the reach of Pitt Johnstown rightfielder Nick Barbera (Harrisburg, Pa.). Nick Spisak then laced a two-RBI single to score Wolfe and Bechter for a 2-0 Golden Ram lead.
West Chester pushed the edge to 4-0 in the fourth frame. Kevin McGrath drew a bases-loaded walk to score Bob Stumpo to up the lead to 3-0. Wolfe followed with a run-scoring single, but Bechter grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Pitt Johnstown finally lit up their side of the scoreboard with a pair of tallies in the sixth. Hanley got things started with a single, Chris Turka (Natrona Heights, Pa.) walked, and Justin Demek (Cabot, Pa.) brought home Hanley with a double. A Barbera sacrifice fly plated Turka, but the Mountain Cats' would eventually fail to capitalize on a chance to tie the game or take the lead as they left the bases jammed.
West Chester took advantage of a key error to increase the lead to 6-2 in the eighth. Bechter's two-out high pop to short center was mishandled by Mountain Cat shortstop Matt Petrowsky (Johnstown, Pa.). Blair Dameron and McGrath, both of which were running on the play, came in to score the insurance runs for the Golden Rams.
James Rundatz (3-0) walked seven hitters in 5 1/3 innings, but only gave up four hits and a pair of runs to pick up the win. Kyle Guers earned his first career save by working 3 2/3 hitless innings.
Ben Watkins (Johnstown, Pa.), 4-4 on the year, gave up eight hits and a pair of earned runs to suffer the loss for Pitt Johnstown.
Spisak and Wolfe paced West Chester's 10-hit attack with two hits each. Hanley was the only Mountain Cat with multiple hits with two of his team's four safeties. Th Pitt Johnstown attack stranded 12 runners.
West Chester faces Shippensburg in Sunday's noon championship contest. The Golden Rams must defeat unbeaten Ship twice to advance to next week's NCAA Division II Baseball Championship in suburban St. Louis. Shippensburg downed West Chester earlier on Saturday 10-5. WCU won two of the three regular season meetings between the squads.
Last Reviewed: May 18, 2008