MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) turned in perhaps his best outing of the 2026 season to help lead the West Chester University baseball team (44-10) to a 9-2 victory over Millersville (39-18) to help West Chester win the Atlantic Regional title for the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2022.

West Chester never trailed in the victory on Friday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning before exploding for six runs in the top of the ninth to give the Golden Rams important separation in what had become a one-run game heading into the ninth inning.

"Getting out to an early lead was tremendous as that has definitely been a recipe for success for us all season," opened head coach Mike LaRosa. "Lazer (Kyle Lazer) was unbelievable on the mound, and our offense came through when it mattered most. This has been a goal for us since our first practice in the fall, so I'm just really happy and proud of these guys."

Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA) was 2-for-5 in the victory with three RBI and a run scored as one of three Golden Rams with a multi-hit afternoon. Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) had only one hit in the victory but matched Simpson for the team RBI lead as he hit a towering three-run home run to left in the top of the ninth, which left little doubt that the Golden Rams would capture their first Regional Championship since 2022.

Lazer (8-1) was excellent in the victory, allowing just two runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out three in 7.1 innings of work to pick up his eighth victory of the season.

"He's been waiting for this moment for five years," acknowledged LaRosa when asked about Lazer's tremendous effort. "Once he took the ball, we knew he wasn't going to give it up, and he did a great job competing and keeping them off balance all day."

"My goal was just to fill up the strike zone," said Lazer. "I think we have one of the best defenses in Division II baseball, so I wanted to just throw strikes and trust my D to make plays behind me, and that is exactly what they did."

Tanner Donati (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt Lebanon) started the third inning with a single ripped through the right side of the infield and later scored the first run of the game when Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) worked a bases-loaded walk. Simpson stretched the lead to 3-0 with one swing as he drove a single into right center, which scored a pair as the big inning continued.

Millersville got a run back in the home half of the third with a double to right center off the bat of Matt Williams, but Lazer held the Marauders down into the eighth inning, carrying a 3-1 lead into the eighth.

Millersville, who had been threatening throughout the sixth and seventh innings, got a run back in the eighth with an RBI groundout from Jimmy Kirk, which scored Donis Rodriguez, who had singled down the right field line to start the home half of the eighth. Rozich entered in relief of Lazer with one out in the eighth and escaped the inning with a groundout and a lazy fly ball to right to keep a one-run lead heading into the ninth.

Asked about the effort out of Rozich to work out of danger as the Golden Rams tried to cling to a one-run lead against the host Marauders, LaRosa said, "On the roster, he is a freshman, but he doesn't play or act like one. He is a guy that thrives in pressure situations and wants the ball in his hand, so I felt totally comfortable going to him in that spot, knowing he would come in and execute."

In the ninth, West Chester got to the Millersville bullpen for the first time on Friday as the potent Golden Ram offense exploded for five runs on five hits and three errors, including a towering-three run blast by Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) along with RBI singles by Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) and Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) along with a throwing error on a ground ball off the bat of Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA), which helped the Golden Rams carry a 9-2 lead into the home half of the ninth.

Rozich finished the eighth inning and was sharp in the ninth, allowing just one hit and throwing just 24 pitches to get the five outs the Golden Rams needed to finish off the victory.

Rece Ritchey got the start for Millersville and suffered the loss, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out five in 3.1 innings of work after turning in a tremendous pitching performance against West Chester in the PSAC Championship game at Slippery Rock earlier this month.

Joe Morrissey entered in relief and was brilliant for the better part of four innings in relief, allowing just two runs (one earned) on two hits, while walking one and striking out six in 4.2 innings of work.

Eli Simonton, who struggled against West Chester earlier this season, entered in relief in the ninth and got just one out, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits before Matt Shamany entered in relief and got the final two outs of the ninth to stop the bleeding.

Millersville picked up a one-out single in the ninth, but Rozich was unfazed, getting the final two outs quickly to finish off the 9-2 victory and send West Chester back to Cary, North Carolina, and the Division II National Finals for the first time since 2022.

Up Next

West Chester returns to the Division II National Finals for the first time since 2022 in Cary, North Carolina. Additional information on the Golden Rams' first game in Cary will be provided as it becomes available.