West Chester Sweeps Millersville Again; Ties Regular-Season Wins Record
MILLERSVILLE, PA – No. 17 West Chester shocked seventh-ranked Millersville for the second day in a row taking both ends of a conference doubleheader at Cooper Park Friday afternoon to sweep the season series from the Marauders.
West Chester (39-7, 25-7 PSAC East) finishes the regular season in second place in the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and enters the 2024 PSAC Tournament next week as the two-seed out of the East. It's 39 wins in the regular season ties the school record set by the 2009 squad, which incidentally, was the last Golden Rams team to sweep a four-game season series from Millersville (37-13, 23-9). The Marauders finished the regular season in third place and will be the three-seed out of the East in next week's postseason tournament.
The nightcap looked like it might go to the homestanding Marauders, who held a 6-1 advantage heading into the fifth inning. However, the Golden Rams stormed back as they had in all four games of this week's series and completed the sweep.
West Chester scored six runs in the fifth to grab a 7-6 lead that it would not relinquish. The Rams added another in the seventh to cap the scoring.
Lefty Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) earned his first college win in relief with 3 1/3 scoreless frames, scattering two hits, walking one and striking out two. He was the fourth pitcher of the game and held Millersville's offense in check allowing his hometown college to come back and earn the 'W'.
Anthony Boccio (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and RBI. Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway Regional), who homered in game one, tripled in the second game and knocked in a pair of runs.
In the opener, John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) hit a pair of doubles and drove in a pair of runs while Szestowicki homered to lead the Golden Rams' offense.
Joe Sperone (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) improved to 6-1 on the year. He started the game on the mound and threw the first five innings, surrendering two runs, only one of them earned, on five hits while walking one and striking out four. Dylan Howanitz (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) came on in relief and went the rest of the way for his second save of the season.
West Chester opens the PSAC Tournament next Wednesday against the third seed out of the West. That tournament will be played in its entirety at Jack Critchfield Park on the campus of Slippery Rock University.
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