MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The recently crowned NCBWA Division II Hitter of the Week Thomas Caufield hit two home runs, doubled and drove in three, but West Chester used effective two-out hitting to slip past Millersville 6-5 Thursday at Cooper Park. 

The teams traded leads four times in a see-saw battle befitting two of the region's top teams. The narrow difference for West Chester (26-13, 12-8) were a pair of two-out walks to No. 9 hitter Zack Miles that turned over the lineup and led to three runs in the second and three runs in the seventh. Millersville (35-7, 16-3) had just taken a 4-3 lead in the sixth on Caufield's first home run of the game, and Ben Wilchacky, who tossed six strong innings in a relief role, had sat down 11-straight batters. He was two quick outs into the seventh when Miles drew his second walk of the game--this one on four pitches. 

Speedy leadoff hitter Evan Profy pushed a bunt single down the third-base line, Joe Kaleck drove in two with a double, and John Demucci lined an RBI single to center, putting West Chester up by two. It proved to be the game-winning run. 

"It comes to walking the No. 9 hitter with two outs twice," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "It was two situations where we gave the top of their lineup to get it done. That's on us in a one-run game. We have to pitch better."

The Marauders still had chances. In the bottom of the seventh, Jimmy Losh hit a sinking liner into left-center that scooted past a diving Profy. Losh rolled into third with a stand-up triple with the No. 2 and No. 3 hitters to follow. Reliever Dylan Howanitz got Keegan Soltis out on a hard-hit grounder to Kaleck at third base, and then David Ferguson entered and got the PSAC hitting leader Bren Taylor to ground out on a bang-bang play at first base. Caufield pulled the Marauders to within one with a skyscraping solo shot to start the eighth. John Seibert singled and swiped second with two outs, putting the tying run in scoring position, but Ferguson again escaped the jam by getting Tyler Wright to fly out to left. In the ninth, Chase Simmons--arguably Millersville's fastest base runner--lined the first offering from Ferguson to center for a leadoff single, bringing the top of the lineup back to the plate with no outs. But on his way to first, Simmons pulled up injured and was forced to exit the game. 

Ferguson struck out Jimmy Losh on a 2-2 fastball up in the zone, and with Soltis at the plate, Morris tried to swipe second. He was gunned down by DeMucci for the second out of the inning, effectively killing the Millersville rally. Soltis grounded out to short to end the game, leaving Taylor and Caufield without an opportunity. 

"We thought we could steal a bag there," said Shehan of the Morris attempt. "That's a high percentage steal based on the times and everything. I might change it next time, but if Chase is there, he's a tenth of a second faster, and maybe that changes the game."

Both teams finished with 10 hits. Millersville stranded six runners, and West Chester stranded five. For both teams, nearly all the damage was done at the top of the lineup. Profy, Kaleck and DeMucci combined for eight hits and nine RBIs. On Millersville's side, Losh, Taylor and Soltis totaled seven hits, two walks and four runs. On the mound, Garet Blankenbiller made his first-ever start against a PSAC East team and worked three innings, allowing three runs. Wilchacky went the rest of the way, giving up three runs on four hits in six innings. West Chester starter Julian Costa earned the win after allowing three runs on four hits and three walks over six innings. Ferguson notched his fifth save of the season. 

West Chester has now won three games in a row at Cooper Park and four games overall in the series. Millersville now faces a road doubleheader against the Golden Rams Friday. Millersville still holds a four-game lead in the PSAC East standings with five games to play. With East Stroudsburg's loss at Kutztown on Thursday, Millersville can clinch its four-straight Eastern Division title with two wins at West Chester. 

"It's a good opportunity to challenge ourselves," said Shehan. It's a check point in progress. We got a couple check points that we failed at today. Tomorrow, we have to come out, correct them and play better. We don't have things wrapped up by any means, but we like to think we'll play solid baseball the last five games."

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR CAUFIELD
Just before first pitch, Caufield was announced as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II National Hitter of the Week. He was recognized for his four-game stretch against Wilmington and Shepherd in which he hit .625 with three homers, three doubles, two triples and 13 RBIs. He is the first Marauder ever named the national hitter of the week and the first Marauder recognized for a national weekly award since Chris Murphy was named the pitcher of the week in 2013. 

Over his last 25 games, Caufield has hit .402 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBIs. 

"It's impressive," said Shehan. "He's hitting sliders, hitting fastballs, hitting with two strikes, making good decisions. It's been impressive to see him take off. We knew he was capable, and he's doing it at the right time of the year."

UP NEXT
• First pitch for Friday's doubleheader at West Chester is 11 a.m.