WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Outscoring opponents 37-11 through the first two games of the Atlantic Regional Tournament, the top-seeded and No. 11/12 ranked West Chester University baseball team (41-10) turned in another dominant victory over East Stroudsburg (37-16) on Saturday afternoon in West Chester as the Golden Rams got out to a first-inning lead for the 24th time this season and raced past the Warriors for a 14-7 victory.

This triumph in the first game of the day on Saturday helped West Chester avoid the dreaded if-necessary game and allowed the Golden Rams to punch their ticket back to Super Regionals for the first time since the 2022 season, when West Chester took two of three from East Stroudsburg to return to the Division II Baseball National Finals in Cary, North Carolina. Unbeaten through three games in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, which was the last time the Golden Rams were crowned Division II Baseball National Champions, West Chester will face Millersville in the Super Regionals next week. The location and game times for the Super Regional, which will begin next Thursday and potentially continue through Saturday if three games are necessary, have yet to be announced by the Division II Baseball National Committee.

"I'm so proud of and excited for our guys," opened head coach Mike LaRosa following the Golden Rams' victory over East Stroudsburg. "I'm particularly excited for the guys who have been around for a few years and have been on this stage but haven't had the chance to experience this type of success. I thought today was another complete win for us," continued LaRosa. "We stayed hot offensively and got that early separation and then kept putting together good innings and adding insurance runs, which was crucial because East Stroudsburg would not go away. We've said all week what a good team ESU is, and they showed it again today, battling all day long with great at-bats throughout the game, but credit to our guys for matching their effort and earning a great win."

Including a leadoff home run, which set the tone immediately and helped West Chester jump out to a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second, Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Pa./Lakota West) was a team-best 3-for-5, including the leadoff home run and a two-RBI double in the third with three RBI and three runs scored, while Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) was also 3-for-5 with three RBI of his own and a pair of runs scored.

"I've been trying to hone in my approach more and more all weekend, and I saw something elevated early that I wanted and was able to drive it," explained Rust. "That was a great moment for us because it got the dugout going early and really gave us good momentum right away."

Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood), who had one of the most interesting lines in recent memory in yesterday's victory with four walks and six runs, both of which tied single-game program records, was 1-for-3 in the win today with one RBI, two more runs, and two more walks for his 32^nd and 33^rd walks of the season.

Rust wasted little time giving West Chester an early lead as he drove the second pitch of the game over the left field fence off the scoreboard to give the Golden Rams an early 1-0 lead.

"He's done that a couple times this season," said LaRosa when asked about Rust's leadoff home run. "After the kind of game we had yesterday, that really helped set the tone early and show everyone right away that we were going to find a way to win this game."

22-1 when scoring first entering play on Saturday, West Chester improved to 23-1 in Saturday's victory as the team added six more runs in the second courtesy of RBI doubles by Michak and Rust along with a two-RBI single by Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./Council Rock North) and a Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) sac fly, which gave the Golden Rams a commanding 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second.

ESU got two runs back with one swing in the second as Ryan Manning hit his first of two home runs on the day to cut the lead to 7-2.

In the third, Michak swiped third and scored on an errant throw to stretch the lead to back to 8-2 before East Stroudsburg got another run back in the third via a sac fly to cut the lead to 8-3.

West Chester answered with a four-run sixth, scoring its first run of the frame on a defensive miscue before a bases-loaded walk and a two-RBI single by Michak gave West Chester a comfortable 12-3 lead.

This proved important as ESU continued to battle, scoring three in the sixth, including a solo home run by Manning, before adding another run in the seventh with a home run by Parker Frey, which cut the deficit to 12-7.

Andrew Shank (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape), who had entered the game when Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) made his way to the mound in the sixth, tripled home the Golden Rams' 13^th run in the eighth before scoring on a wild pitch, which gave the Golden Rams a commanding 14-7 lead with six outs to get.

Rozich worked a 1,2,3 eighth, and Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA) worked around a pair of two-out walks to deliver a scoreless ninth, including a strikeout of Connor Reilly, which finished off the victory.

Rozich delivered the best pitching performance of any Golden Ram arm on Saturday, allowing just one run on two hits in 2.2 innings of work as he entered the game in the sixth and finished that frame, while also pitching a strong seventh and eighth with the lone blemish on his line being the home run by Frey on a 2-1 pitch that started the seventh inning.

"Landen was phenomenal in relief today," agreed LaRosa. "He gave up that one home run, but other than that, pitched great and delivered some big shutdown innings to let us take control of the game late."

Rozich was one of five Golden Ram pitchers used on Saturday as Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) got the start and allowed three runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out two in 3.1 innings before exiting for Nick Cugino (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), who finished off the fourth. Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) (5-2) entered to start the fifth and worked a 1,2,3 inning to earn his fifth win of the season. Rogers returned to the mound in the sixth but found himself in early trouble and was lifted for Rozich with one out in the sixth, who combined with Simpson for the final 11 outs of the victory.

"Our pitching staff did a good job competing this afternoon," noted LaRosa. "ESU was not going to go down quietly, but our guys battled all day, and Landen (Rozich) and Drew (Simpson) gave us some great innings late to finish off the win."

Peyton Brannock (5-5) suffered his fifth loss of the season as he got the start and allowed five runs on five hits, while walking and striking out one. Evan Hughes recorded the longest relief outing of any ESU pitcher on Saturday, allowing five runs (four earned) on two hits and two walks, while striking out three in 3.2 innings of work.

Up Next

West Chester returns to Super Regionals for the first time since 2022 against Millersville beginning on Thursday. The exact time and location of those games have yet to be announced.