• Box Score

WASHINGTON, Pa. (May 7) – The California University of Pennsylvania baseball team used eight pitchers and stole eight bases to close out the regular season on Saturday with a 5-2 victory over West Liberty in a night game at CONSOL Energy Park.

With the win, the Vulcans close out the regular season with a 29-16 overall record. Cal U, who was fifth in the latest Atlantic Regional rankings, returns to action next week at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament in Johnstown, Pa., at Point Stadium. The Vulcans will open the tournament by playing the second seed from the PSAC East (to be determined) on Wednesday, May, 11, at 9:30 a.m. Meanwhile, West Liberty falls to 14-33 this year.

Senior starter Ryan MacNamara (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle) worked the first two innings (32 pitches) before Cal U used seven pitchers over the next seven innings. Sophomore Tyler Zimm (Fayetteville, W.Va./Oak Hill) earned the win (4-2) after tossing a scoreless inning (23 pitches) of relief in his first appearance since April 13, and junior Randy Sturgill (Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg) registered his second save of the year after retiring the Hilltoppers in order in the top of the ninth (18 pitches).

After West Liberty failed to score after loading the bases in the third, the Vulcans took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning on a pair of singles. Sophomore catcher Kyle Petty (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg) opened the inning with a single and stole second before scoring on a two-out RBI single by senior third baseman Aaron Ordy (Butler, Pa./Butler).

Cal U expanded its lead to 4-0 in the fourth on three hits and two walks. Senior left fielder Sean Welsh (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) and senior shortstop Casey Teagarden (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) started the rally with back-to-back doubles before Teagarden scored on a sacrifice fly by Petty. Junior designated hitter Kyle Bowser (Stoystown, Pa./North Star) then collected a two-out RBI single that scored senior right fielder Chuck Faust (Hershey, Pa./Hershey), who reached on a walk.

After the Hilltoppers cut the deficit to 4-1 in the fifth, the Vulcans answered with their final run in the bottom of the inning. Junior Troy Handza (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) reached on a walk and advanced to second on a ground-out before stealing third and scoring on the same play (wild pitch).

West Liberty scored a run in the top of the eighth to cut the deficit to 5-2 on a ground-out before the next five batters were retired in order to close the game.

Ordy collected two of the six hits for the Vulcans, finishing 2-for-4 with one RBI and two steals. With his double in the fourth, Teagarden extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is now hitting .387 (12-for-31) during that span.

Senior Eric Hayden (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing four runs (all earned) on five hits in 2.0 innings of work (47 pitches).

Cal U will be making its 12th appearance in the PSAC Tournament since 1994 next week. Last season, the Vulcans won the PSAC Championship at Point Stadium in walk-off fashion with their third one-run victory in four games.