WEST CHESTER, PA — The West Chester University Golden Rams kicked off the NCAA Tournament in impressive fashion Thursday afternoon, rolling to a 15-4 victory over fifth-seeded Bloomsburg at Serpico Stadium. As the host team, it marked West Chester’s first NCAA Tournament opening win since 2023 and gave them some much-needed breathing room heading into the weekend.
With the victory, the Golden Rams now advance to a best-of-three series against East Stroudsburg. The two teams will battle for a spot in the Super Regionals, with West Chester serving as the home team. First pitch for Game 1 is set for Friday at 12 p.m. at Serpico Stadium.
Julian Costa anchored the pitching effort, earning his 11th win of the season and tying the program’s single-season wins record. He allowed just two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two.
Offensively, West Chester’s lineup stayed aggressive all day. Four different Golden Rams recorded multi-hit games, led by:
- Caleb Strawhecker: 3-for-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI
- Austin Stalker: 3-for-4, 3 RBI
- Carter Rust: 2-for-4, 3 runs, 1 RBI
- Christian Michak: 2-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBI
Head coach Mike LaRosa was pleased with how his team responded after a shaky start.
“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,” 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. We had a little bit of a sloppy first inning, which I think can be attributed to some nerves, but we responded really well and kept stringing together good at-bats.”
LaRosa also praised his team’s approach at the plate against a talented Bloomsburg pitching staff.
“I was really happy with our approach all day today. 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 to bounce back from that two-run first inning and pick up a nice victory.”
All signs point to a confident and dangerous Golden Rams team ready to make another deep run in the postseason.
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