No. 6 West Chester Rallies For Win Over No. 20 Lindenwood, 5-2

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Post-game Press Conference
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GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – West Chester scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, and closer Josh McClain (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock), shut the door in the ninth, to lift No. 6 Golden Rams to a 5-2 victory over No. 20 Lindenwood inside AirHogs Stadium Monday night.
 
West Chester (42-11) advances to the national semifinals on Thursday and awaits its opponent while Lindenwood (40-19) falls into the loser's bracket and will play Wednesday at 3 p.m. against either UC San Diego or Quincy (Ill.).
 
"I felt that was a really good college baseball game," West Chester head coach said afterwards. "Obviously, being on the winning side makes it feel a little bit better. I thought both teams competed really hard.
 
"(The game) was a mirror image of itself. Both starting pitchers threw really well, and both closers came in and made big pitches. We just got a break there in the eighth inning on the throwing error, and everything kind of snowballed off of that."
 
Golden Rams starter, Mike Cipolla (Newark, Del./Wilmington Charter) and Lions starter, Andrew Eilers, matched each other pitch-for-pitch through six innings. Cipolla threw 109 pitches in 7.1 innings of work, yielding just one run in the top of the first. He scattered five hits, walked three and struck out three, before handing off the ball to McClain (10-2), who finished out the game for the win. Eilers went six strong innings, also allowing one run in the first, before giving the ball to Lindenwood's closer, Connor Law (6-2).
 
"Tough loss tonight," Lindenwood head coach Doug Bletcher said. "We didn't do very well offensively. Cipolla had a good off-speed pitch, and good command of that off-speed pitch. It's going to be a tough day at the office for anybody when a pitcher is on like that. But, Eilers matched him pitch-for-pitch, inning-for-inning, and had a standout performance."
 
Law got Lindenwood out of a second-and-third and nobody out jam in the bottom of the seventh by striking out the next three batters, the last two looking, to keep the score at 1-1 for the time being.
 
However, West Chester was finally able to break through in the eighth when Nick Ward (Unionville, Pa./Unionville) drew a walk to open the inning, and Jared Melone (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) then singled through the right side to put runners on first and second with nobody out.
 
Cleanup hitter, Shane Dressler (York Haven, Pa./Red Land), laid down a bunt that Law popped off the mound and fielded quickly, wheeling around and throwing to third in an attempt to get Ward, the lead runner. His throw short-hopped the Lions' third baseman and skipped down the left field line, allowing Ward to race home with the go-ahead run.
 
"Fastball and command is what (Law) is looking to do," Prachniak added. "But, just because you know a fastball is coming, when he is throwing it at 90 miles per hour and he is spotting it, it's still tough to hit. Our guys were geared up for it, and we were able to get some hits and create some runs."
 
The next three batters after Dressler all reached base with Nick Bateman (Aston, Pa./Malvern Prep) delivering a double down the right-field line that scored a run. Drew Jarmuz (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) hit a RBI single through the left side, and Clay Harwick (Lansdale, Pa./Methacton) brought home a run with a RBI ground out.
 
McClain, who had entered the game with one out in the eighth, yielded a run in the top of the ninth. But, it was not enough for Lindenwood to finish the comeback bid. McClain picked up his 10th win of the season, all in relief, becoming just the eighth hurler in school history to reach double digits in wins in a single season – and the first reliever to do it.
 
With a vintage pitcher's duel in progress between Cipolla and Eilers, West Chester benefitted from some web gems in the field behind their starting pitcher. Ward made a leaping grab of a hard liner that ended the second inning with the Lions stranding a runner at third. In fact, Lindenwood left three runners in scoring position in the first two frames.
 
"Offensively, I thought we struggled a little bit today. But, defensively, those guys played at a high level behind Cipolla," Prachniak added. "That jump (Ward) made, I told him that my eyes were already in the outfield. I thought that ball was going to be in the gap. That was a pivotal point in the game too. But, defensively, we were really sound."
 
"It all kind of happened in slow motion," Ward revealed.  "I saw it right off the bat, but thought it was way over my head. I jumped, figuring, 'Let's give this a shot.' Honestly, I was kind of surprised that it went in my glove."
 
Ward had high praise for Lindenwood starter, Eilers.
 
"He established his fastball low in the zone at our knees. That kept us off balance enough that he was able to put up six straight zeroes," Ward said. "He settled in nicely."
 
Ward also made a nice grab of a ball hit up the middle over the second base bag in the seventh inning. His partner up the middle, West Chester second baseman Joe Sheeran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) also made a nice stab on a grounder headed for the hole on the right side with a runner on first in the ninth inning. He made a sliding stop, popped up and threw to second in time to get the lead runner, who had led off the inning with a walk.
 
Melone and Jarmuz each finished the day 2-for-4 while Ward and Bateman accounted for the only other two hits.