West Chester baseball sweeps Millersville to punch ticket to Division II championship
It's the Golden Rams' first appearance in the Division II championship since 2022. They begin play in the double-elimination bracket on Friday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
West Chester baseball beat Millersville, 9-2, on Friday to advance to the Division II championship in Cary, N.C., for the first time since 2022.
The Golden Rams (44-10) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third before host Millersville answered with runs in the bottom of the frame and in the eighth to cut the lead to one. But a six-run ninth, powered by a three-run homer from sophomore Hunter Smith, helped preserve the win. The Mauraders (39-18) also had three errors in the inning.
Senior Kyle Lazer (Bonner-Prendergast) allowed two runs on eight hits in 7⅓ innings, and freshman Landen Rozich (Oxford) pitched the final 1⅔ innings to earn the save.
Millersville redshirt senior Rece Ritchey allowed three runs on four hits in 3⅓ innings and took the loss.
Golden Rams junior Drew Simpson also had three RBIs on Friday.
The Game 2 win sealed a sweep in the best-of-three super regional. West Chester won Game 1, 7-2, on Thursday night. Redshirt senior Julian Costa took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and earned his 12th win of the season, breaking the program single-season record.
» READ MORE: West Chester's Julian Costa is ‘putting everything together’
West Chester had 13 hits in Game 1, and the big blow came in the form of a three-run home run from senior Austin Stalker (Council Rock North) in the bottom of the first to give the Rams an early lead.
In 2022, West Chester beat Southern New Hampshire and Angelo State but lost to eventual national champion North Greenville in the semifinals. This year’s Rams will begin play in the eight-team double-elimination bracket on Friday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.