West Chester Upsets No. 21 Mercyhurst In PSAC Tournament, 5-2

Box Score

BUTLER, Pa. – Another solid outing from the starting pitching, coupled with a five-run fifth inning, was all West Chester needed to upset 21st-ranked Mercyhurst, 5-2, on the second day of the 2016 PSAC Baseball Tournament at Kelly Automotive Park Monday night.
 
West Chester (34-11) scored all five runs in the fifth inning to break open a scoreless tie as well as what had been quite a pitcher's duel between West Chester righty Eric Close (Berwyn, Pa./Haverford) and Mercyhurst right-hander Cam Knott. The Lakers (39-11) fell into the loser's bracket and must now fight their way back.
 
Up until that fateful fifth frame, both hurlers were tossing a 1-hit shutout at each other. However, everything changed in the fifth when Knott allowed a lead-off single and then later hit a batter and walked another to load the bases with only one out. A pair of fielding errors opened things up, and West Chester took full advantage.
 
Drew Diehl (Unionville, Pa./Unionville) delivered the big blow with a bases loaded double down the right field line that plated a pair of runs. Nick Ward (Unionville, Pa./Unionville) then reached on an error by Mercyhurst's center-fielder, but was still credited with the sacrifice fly, and Justin Roman (Berwyn, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) then singled in a run. West Chester's fifth and final run came across on Roman's hit by virtue of another Lakers' error.
 
Knott (8-3) did not make it out of the fifth. He suffered the loss, allowing five runs, three of them earned, on four hits. He walked three and struck out four.
 
Close (5-0) threw six full innings, yielding just a pair of hits and one run. He walked four and struck out three. Josh McClain (7) came on in the seventh and took the Golden Rams home to earn his seventh save of the season and record West Chester's second straight three-inning save of the tournament.
 
Both Diehl and Roman finished the day with a pair of hits. Diehl added in the two RBI while Roman had one.
 
West Chester continues on in the winner's bracket, as does second-ranked Millersville. Both Eastern Division rivals advanced to the conference semifinals as a result of their victories Monday. West Chester will take on the winner of Seton Hill vs. East Stroudsburg at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.