No. 14 West Chester Upsets No. 3 Mercyhurst; Advances To Regional Final

Box Score

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. – Nick Bateman (Aston, Pa./Malvern) went 3-for-5 and reliever Josh McClain (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) threw 4.1 innings in relief to lift 14th-ranked West Chester to an 8-4 victory over No. 3 Mercyhurst in the NCAA Atlantic Regional late Saturday night inside Russell Diethrick Stadium.
 
West Chester (39-11) advances to the regional final on Monday afternoon while Mercyhurst (38-7) drops into the loser's bracket and will take on the winner of Winston-Salem State vs. Shippensburg Sunday afternoon.
 
The winner's bracket final featured the top-ranked team in the region (Mercyhurst) vs. the second-ranked team in the region (West Chester) with the Lakers throwing the Atlantic Region pitcher of the year at the Golden Rams. However, it was West Chester closer, McClain, the PSAC pitcher of the year, who stole the show by tossing 4.1 innings of relief to pick up his team-leading eighth win of the season.
 
Now, West Chester gets a day off on Sunday and needs to win once on Monday, before somebody beats them twice, to advance to the NCAA Division II national championships in Grand Prairie, Texas. WCU is now 2-1 against Mercyhurst this season.
 
The Rams scored two in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in both the sixth and seventh innings to pull away from the Lakers.
 
McClain entered the ballgame in the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and one out, relieving starter Eric Close (Berwyn, Pa./Haverford). He struck out the first batter he faced to get out of the jam. Close went the first 4.2 innings, working in and out of trouble all night and throwing 116 pitches, before exiting with the game tied at three.
 
From there, Nick Ward (Unionville, Pa./Unionville) hit a two-run single in the sixth to break the deadlock, and West Chester never looked back. Shane Dressler (York Haven, Pa./Red Land) started off the seventh with a single, and Bateman followed with his second double of the night to put runners on second and third with nobody out.
 
That's when Sheeran greeted Mercyhurst reliever Jamie Lauria with a two-run double to expand the Rams' lead to 8-3.
 
McClain (8-2) took care of the rest. He allowed just one unearned run in the ninth, scattering two hits while striking out seven without surrendering a walk.
 
Bateman's 3-for-5 night included two doubles and a triple. He also scored three times. Sheeran and Dressler were both 2-for-3 with a double.
 
West Chester finds itself in its eighth regional final overall and first since 2012 when the Golden Rams won the Atlantic Regional en route to the program's first national championship. West Chester is 3-4 in regional finals overall and 3-1 when it entered the finals needing just one win to advance to the national finals. Kutztown swept a doubleheader from West Chester in the finals in 2010.