WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Down to its final at-bat twice, No. 17 West Chester rallied to take both games of Thursday's PSAC East doubleheader from No. 7 Millersville. West Chester won game one 7-6 in nine innings and then scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh of game two for a 5-4 win. 

Millersville entered the series tied for first in the PSAC East, but Thursday's losses put their division title hopes in critical condition. Millersville now must win both ends of Friday's home doubleheader against West Chester and hope Kutztown can steal two from first-place East Stroudsburg. 

Overshadowed in the dramatic finishes of both games, Millersville's Jeff Sabater broke the PSAC single-season record for stolen bases when he stole his 53rd of the season in the first inning of game two. 

Millersville raced to early leads in both games. In the opener, the Marauders scored at least one run in each of the first four innings and led 5-1 entering the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the seventh, A leadoff single turned into a manufactured game-tying run for the Golden Rams when Sean Szestowicki singled with two outs. Both teams loaded the bases but failed to score in the eighth. In the bottom of the ninth, Millersville issued a two-out walk, and Zack Miles followed by hitting a high fly ball to center that Sabater lost in the sun and couldn't control. Pinch runner Mark Elliott, moving on contact, scored easily from first for the walk-off win. 

Millersville knocked West Chester ace Julian Costa out of the game after 2 2/3 innings, and Millersville's No. 1, Carson Kulina, didn't fare much better. He surrendered a season-high nine hits and five runs over four innings. Sam Morris finished the game with three hits, and Matthew Williams hit a home run for the Marauders. 

After Millersville's misfortune in the final inning of game one, the second game took a bizarre turn after Millersville starting pitcher Conor Cook pitched to leadoff hitter Evan Profy. Millersville submitted a lineup card with Kulina's name in the starting pitcher slot. That forced Cook out of the game and Kulina back in. Kulina did not throw a pitch, intentionally walking Joe Kaleck instead. Redshirt freshman Alex Kuehn entered from the bullpen, and both inherited runs scored. Kuehn, however, settled in and pitched three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Redshirt freshman Hunter Stevens gave the Marauders a 4-2 lead with a two-run home run in the sixth. 

But Millersville's late-game defensive execution faltered again. Reliever Colby Gromlich retired the first nine Golden Rams he faced but quickly ran into trouble in the seventh, walking pinch hitter Mark Elliott. Miles hit a slow roller in front of home, but the throw to first sailed away, and Elliott scored on the play. Gromlich recovered with back-to-back ground outs, but with two outs and John DeMucci down to his final strike, he hit a chopper to shortstop. Amani Jones charged and fielded the ball cleanly but no play could be made. Miles scored, tying the game. DeMucci then stole second and moved to third on Millersville's second error of the inning, and he scored on Anthony Boccio's single to center, capping West Chester's three-run inning. 

West Chester finished with just six hits, three of which came in the seventh, and two were batted balls that did not leave the infield. Kuehn and Gromlich struck out 11 and walked just two. Soltis went 3 for 3 at the plate. 

UP NEXT
Millersville returns home to Cooper Park for a doubleheader against West Chester on Friday, May 3.