The spring semester is in full swing for all! And while for most that means the school year is almost over, for our spring student athletes- their seasons are just starting to ramp up. With only a little less than a month left for the athletic season, each competition or game has large implications for every team. If you are trying to go out and support our Golden Rams, I will provide you with a guide that details each team’s season up to this point, and when and where you can catch them for the remainder of the season.
Baseball
Record: 31-10 (Conf. 13-7)
Graduate Student Anthony Boccio after hitting his RBI single in the 1st inning to give the rams a 1-0 lead against Shippensburg University. (Photo Credits to Scott Rowan)
The baseball team started out this season blazing with a 15-3 record through their first 18 games of the season. Including a trip to Cary, North Carolina to play in the Division II Baseball Challenge. During their time there, they took three out of four games, as well as totaling 37 runs. The bats this year have been hot and stayed hot with six players batting over the .300 batting average mark, led by second basemen Sean Szestowicki and third baseman Avery Spencer. The pitching staff has been just as hot with starting pitchers Julian Costa and Kyle Lazar each posting ERA’s below 2.50, each with seven and six wins respectively. In the bullpen- Patrick Taney, Ben Jones and David Ferguson have been locked down with each recording at least one save this season. The hot start has landed the rams firmly in third place in the east, and within striking distance of East Stroudsburg and Millersville. The next chance for the 17th ranked Division II team to make up some ground in the PSAC East, comes in the form of a double header against Millersville on Friday the 25th, at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Remaining Games
| Friday, April 25th, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. | Double header vs Millersville at WCU’s Serpico Stadium |
| Friday, May 2nd, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. | Double header vs Mansfield at WCU’s Serpico Stadium |
| PSAC Championships, May 6th to May 9th | Slippery Rock University |
Women’s Lacrosse
Record: 14-0 (Conf. 10-0)
Freshman attack/midfielder Avery Roberts and Senior midfielder Piper Hammond celebrate a goal scored against Shippensburg University. (Photo Credits to Tom Silknitter)
As the reigning back-to-back PSAC champions, the women’s lacrosse team have showed early signs of wanting to get back out there and claim a three-peat. They’ve been cruising to start the season scoring 76 goals in their first four games, and outscoring their opponents by a whopping 76 to 25. As of today, they have an overall 211 to 96 goal difference for the whole season. In March, they showed they could win close games as well, with a pair of wins against East Stroudsburg as well as one against PSAC champion opponent from last season, Kutztown, edging them out 14-11. On Senior Day, they took care of business by beating Bloomsburg 23-6, which was lead by senior and leading goal scorer, midfielder Keri Barnett, who tallied eight goals. Along with Barnett, midfielders Sydney Wasdick and Kendall Fortune lead the team on the scoring front. Barnett also leads the team in assists, totaling 17 for the season. Midfielder Madeline Edinger and attacker Lila Skates McMahon follow close behind with 12 assists a piece. Up next for the number two team in the latest Division II poll is the PSAC Playoffs- where they will try and claim their third PSAC title.
Remaining Games
| PSAC Championships, April 28th, May 1st & 3rd | The top seed in the West Division (Between Slippery Rock and Seton Hill) |
Softball
Record: 29-14 (Conf. 15-11)
Mairead Hopkins drives in 2 RBIs with her single as it led the rams to a 4-2 victory in Game 2 against Shepard University. (Photo Credits to Danny Aguilar)
The softball team, like most of the other university teams, started out hot this season with an insane 19-6 start. They dominated in an out of conference play including a 7-1 showing in games at the Space Coast games in Melbourne, Florida in early March. They outscored opponents in those eight games 46-10, as not only were the bats on- but so was the pitching. This season at the plate, they are led by outfielder Mairead Hopkins, who leads the team in batting average, hits and doubles this season. She is also tied for first on the team in home runs with catcher Paige Marabell. Infielders Lauryn Kane, Julia Miller and catcher/utility Casey Best, have also had very productive seasons. On the mound, they are led by a three headed monster of Mackenize Edwards, Alyssa Tooley and Danielle Ciliberto, who each have pitched at least one complete game this season, with Ciliberto leading the way with five. The next chance they get to take the field is against Shepard University this Saturday, with the double header being played at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Remaining Games
| Saturday, April 25th, 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. | Double header vs Shepard University at WCU’s Softball Field |
| PSAC Championships, May 6-9 | Grand Slam Park, Binghamton, New York |
Women’s Rugby
Record: 5-4 (Conf. 2-2)
Ty Hickey lines up for a drop attempt during the West Chester 7’s Tournament, as WCU wins its 3rd consecutive WCU 7’s Tournament. (Photo Credits to WCU Athletics)
The women’s rugby team has had a few recent 7’s tournaments this spring season in which they have shown their dominance. To start the season, they participated in the Frostbite 7’s Tournament, and came away with a pair of victories over Walsh College and Kutztown University. Later in March, they participated in the Navy Legacy 7’s Tournament, where they finished in second place after a 3-1 finish, beating the likes of Mount St. Mary’s, Princeton and LIU. However, they could not capture the title as they played a hard-fought championship game against Queens University. Recently, they hosted and won their third consecutive WCU 7’s Tournament. They lost the first game of the day to eventual championship opponent, Navy, but after that they won two games and beat Navy in a rematch for the championship. Seniors Brooke Crago, Ty Hickey and Lily Rhode lead the ways in scoring, each having multiple tries and conversions on the day. The last chance for the team is at the Collegiate Rugby 7’s Championships on April 26th to the 27th in Boyds, Maryland.
Remaining Games
| Collegiate Rugby 7’s Championships, April 26th-27th | Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, Maryland |
Men’s/Women’s Track and Field
Sophomore Derrick Lukomski-Pizzo put the shot put at 15.15M, which would be good enough for 1st place against Shippensburg. (Photo Credits to Andrew Miller of Shippensburg)
For the men’s track and field team, they were impressive from the jump. During their home opener, they won the 4×100 with a time of 41.57 seconds. Sammy Jenkins won the pole vault with a mark of 13 feet 3 ½ inches, and Derrick Lukomski-Pizzo won both the shot put and discus, including a PSAC qualifying discus performance. Recently, at the Ursinus Track and Field Festival, several team members posted personal bests in their events. The women’s team were also impressive at their home opener, as Cate Hildebrand, Amanda Marquis and Leah Wasko swept the 100M hurdles. Other impressive performances at the home opener included Jada Williams taking 2nd in the 400M hurdles, Katie Pieslak coming up with a victory in triple jump and Zhayria Washington taking first in the hammer throw. This past weekend, the teams competed in the Bill Butler invitational in which the men finished in 2nd place and the women took home 3rd for the two-day event hosted by West Chester University. Next up for both teams are the Penn Relays at the end of the month, followed by the PSAC Outdoor Championships hosted by Slippery Rock University from the 8th to the 10th of May.
Junior Jada Salmon attempting a high jump at the Ursinus Invitational where she finished 12th overall with a height of 1.45m. (Photo credits to Scott Rowan)
Remaining Meets
| PSAC Outdoor Championships, May 8th-10th | Slippery Rock University |
Men’s/Women’s Tennis
Record: Men 0-12 (Conf. 0-2) Women 4-13 (0-3)
Mateus DeVasconcellos serves in a match against West Virginia Wesleyan earlier this season. (Photo Credits to WCU Athletics)
Looking past the records this season for both teams, there have been some exceptional individual performances from players on both the men and women’s teams. On the women’s side this season, sophomore Delaney Tingle has posted a 6-9 record in matches and has been playing well as of late carrying a 5-5 record over her last ten matches. Fellow sophomore Sohana Thompson has also had a very good run recently, as in her last nine matches she had a 5-4 record. As for the men’s team, senior Felix Weber and freshman Mateus DeVasconcellos lead the team with three match wins a piece. The next opportunity for the men’s team to win their first match of the season comes Friday, April 25th, when Shippensburg University travels to West Chester to take on the Rams at 1:30 p.m. As for the women’s team, they also take on Shippensburg University on the same day, after the men’s team finishes up around 3:30 p.m.
Freshman Alexandra Cave returns a serve in a match against Wilmington University. (Photo Credits to WCU Athletics)
Remaining Matches
| Friday April 25th, 3:30 p.m. | Vs Shippensburg University at WCU’s Tennis Courts |
Clay Kopko is a Media and Culture major at West Chester University. He enjoys combining his love of writing and sports into informational pieces. When Clay is not working on school, you can find him at any of the Philadelphia professional sports games.
