Kyle Lazer aims to finish what he started with West Chester baseball in Division II championship

West Chester was down a run in the fifth inning against East Stroudsburg in a win-or-go-home game in the 2022 Division II Super Regionals.

Kyle Lazer, then a freshman, was the third pitcher to take the mound. The right-handed pitcher was “going to do anything” it took to win. Then, he threw a slider and heard a pop. Three pitches later, Lazer couldn’t handle the pain.

“I immediately knew something wasn’t right,” Lazer said. “I still didn’t want to come out of that game.”

The Rams won, 8-6, to advance to the Division II championship in Cary, N.C. Lazer, however, wouldn’t be pitching.

“I did know of UCL injuries, so I was just terrified of that,” Lazer said. “It was really hard to stay in the moment, but I was still trying to be there for my team afterward, even when I knew it was probably the worst-case scenario.”

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This time, Lazer is ready to contribute. The Rams are back in Cary for the Division II championship. West Chester is the No. 1 seed heading into a first-round game against eighth-seeded University of Indianapolis on Friday (6 p.m.)

“Going into this year, I told [Lazer], ‘You’re going to finish what you started,’ and now he’s in a position to be able to do that,” West Chester coach Mike LaRosa said.

During his freshman season, the Bonner-Prendergast graduate from Havertown had a 5-2 record, adding five saves with a 2.80 ERA, and had a major showing in regionals to help the Rams advance.

But there was nothing Lazer could do to affect the game in the national championship.

Instead, he took on the role as hype man.”

“We all had some handshakes all the way throughout the year, and obviously in Cary, we had to keep that going,” Lazer said. “The handshakes intensified a little bit, and I remember we had a line of about 15 guys going in order, in between innings giving each other handshakes, which I thought was pretty cool.”

West Chester lost to North Greenville, the eventual national champion, in the semifinals. After returning home, an MRI confirmed what Lazer feared. He tore his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery.

After six weeks, he started throwing again, but it took roughly eight months to return to the mound. He was dealing with pain he never experienced before in his shoulder and elbow. But the hardest part for Lazer was getting in the right head space.

“I was in my head every day,” Lazer said. “I thought I was never going to be able to compete again or throw again, probably three out of the seven days of the week. It was getting over that mindset of: ‘Every time I throw it, it’s not going to tear again.’ Getting over the mental side of everything had to be the hardest part of the recovery and the return to play.”

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That fear is common with arm injuries. LaRosa said it usually takes two years before pitchers return to form, and that was the case with Lazer.

“As much as those injuries are really difficult to go through, and it’s a lot of adversity that you’re battling with throughout that process, you get out on the other side, and you’re better because of it,” LaRosa said. “I think that’s clearly the case [for] Kyle.”

In 2024, Lazer posted a 4.08 ERA in 22 appearances from the bullpen. In 2025, Lazer started in all 13 of his appearances, including four complete games. He had a 3.17 ERA with 75 strikeouts. This season, the 6-foot-3 Lazer has an 8-1 record, starting in 12 of his 14 appearances, with a 3.72 ERA, and recorded his first shutout.

LaRosa said Lazer has become more refined in how he attacks hitters. He credited pitching coach John Fleming with helping Lazer develop and said he’s gotten better with every start.

“The Super Regional last week against Millersville, that was his best start of the season,” LaRosa said. “He was mixing everything in the zone, pitching to contact, hitting a lot of ground balls against him in that game, and he was really efficient to be able to get deep into that game.”

Lazer went 7.1 innings in that game, allowing two runs and eight hits. West Chester won, 9-2.

Lazer’s injury led him to refine his pitches, but it also put him and fellow pitcher Julian Costa on the same timeline. In 2022, Costa redshirted his freshman season. Now, they’re both fifth-year seniors.

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The two joked about what would have happened if they were eligible to pitch in 2022, but realized that would mean they’d have no eligibility left for this year.

“Things happen for a reason, and being able to compete with a guy like that and with the team we have this year as well … everything’s meant to be,” Lazer said. “It’s not over yet, but it’s going to be a storybook ending.”