SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.- Making its second PSAC Championship game appearance in three seasons, the No. 14/16 West Chester University baseball team (39-10) fell to Millersville (36-16) by a 2-1 final in the PSAC Championship game on Saturday afternoon at Slippery Rock. West Chester fell behind by a pair of runs early and got a run back in the ninth, thanks to a wild pitch after a two-out Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) double but it was not enough to come back in the 2-1 loss to the Marauders.

"All in all, I'm very happy with how we competed all Tournament long," opened head coach Mike LaRosa. "I think we also learned some important things about ourselves this week that will help us prepare for Regionals next week. Ritchey (Rece Ritchey) did a great job for them today, mixing his pitches and filling up the zone all day, so it was tough for us to string hits together and get anything going against him. Unfortunately, the two early runs were a result of a leadoff walk and some tough luck along the way, so in a Championship game against a really good team, those mistakes can end up being the difference maker, and it was today."

Donis Rodriguez led off the bottom of the first with a walk, and after stealing second and third, scored the first run of the game on a fielder's choice off the bat of Sammy Laux before picking up an RBI of his own with a ground rule double in the second, which scored Troy Chamberlin to give the Marauders a 2-0 lead heading into the third.

West Chester got runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth after a wild pitch, but Millersville escaped the inning with a strikeout to keep a two-run lead intact into the home half of the fourth.

Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) (2-1) got the title game start and suffered the loss for West Chester, allowing one run on two walks, while getting the first two outs of the game before exiting for Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland), who had picked up a nine-out save in yesterday's victory.

Raho allowed a run on two hits in 1.1 innings of work before Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) entered and worked 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, while striking out four to keep the deficit right where it was at 2-0 with one away in the home half of the seventh.

Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./DMA) entered in relief and got his first out via a strikeout of Matthew Williams after pitching two scoreless innings against the Marauders last week, before also striking out Jimmy Kirk to keep the deficit at two heading into the eighth.

"Rogers did an amazing job locking it down for us and keeping us in that game," acknowledged LaRosa when asked about the effort by Rogers. "Whenever you get into the bullpen in the first inning, you know it can get dicey, but our bullpen was exceptional between Raho, Rogers, and Simpson."

After a scoreless home half of the eighth by Simpson, who struck out three for his five scoreless outs, Strawhecker started the ninth with a single and advanced to third when Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) ripped a two-out, 3-2 pitch down the left field line to give West Chester runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth. This closed the book on Rece Ritchey (5-1), who was excellent in the Championship game, allowing just one run on six hits, while striking out seven.

Joe Morrissey entered in relief and picked up his sixth save of the season, striking out Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) for the final out, but not before Morrissey threw a wild pitch, which allowed Strawhecker to score and cut the deficit to 2-1 in the Championship game setback.

Up Next

West Chester will await the 2026 NCAA Tournament selection show, which airs on NCAA.com on Sunday at 10 p.m., to learn its official NCAA Tournament fate.