CARY, N.C. – The Southern New Hampshire University Penmen saw their 2022 season end on Tuesday after a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the West Chester University Golden Rams at the NCAA Division II World Series.
SNHU got on the board in the fourth inning when redshirt sophomore Michael LaRocca (Vero Beach, Fla.) sent a 402-foot bases-empty shot to right center.
Senior Sam Henrie (Middleboro, Mass.) tripled in the fifth and then scored on a single by redshirt sophomore Nick Schwartz (Massapequa, N.Y.) for the Penmen’s second run. Redshirt junior Alex Kennedy (Braintree, Mass.) would make it 3-0 after a sacrifice fly that brought home senior Dakota Mulcay (Goffstown, N.H.)
Senior Mike Ferrara (Jamison, Penn.) put the Golden Rams on the board in the sixth with a 424-foot blast to center field and a bases loaded walk in the seventh cut SNHU’s lead down to one.
A double play saved the Penmen from further damage in the seventh, but West Chester finally broke through in the eighth, sending 11 men to the plate in what became a five-run rally.
Redshirt sophomore Griffin Gilbert (Concord, N.H.) was on the hook for the loss, recording two outs in the seventh off the double play and then hitting two batters in the eighth before leaving the contest.
SNHU senior Angus McCloskey (Farmingdale, N.Y.) got a no decision in his likely final collegiate start, going 6 1/3 innings, scattering eight hits and four walks, striking out four Golden Rams.
LaRocca’s homer was the 82nd of the season, a single-season record for the program, and on Tuesday each Penman batter had at least one hit. Redshirt sophomore Cristian Mercedes (Providence, R.I.) and graduate student Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.) each had a pair of hits for the Penmen.
SNHU finishes their year with a 46-12 record.