Final inning surge helps West Chester pull away from Millersville

Friday, May 22

Millersville, PA

12:00 PM

Millersville University

39-18

West Chester

44-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
West Chester	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	6	9	10	0
Millersville	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	9	6

Millersville vs. West Chester in NCAA Super Regional baseball action at Cooper Park in Millersville on Friday, May 22, 2026. Mark Palczewski Photo.

Photo by: Mark Palczewski/MU Athletics

Final inning surge helps West Chester pull away from Millersville

5/22/2026 4:05:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville entered the ninth inning trailing No. 6 West Chester by a run, but the Golden Rams broke open game two of the Super Regional and went on to clinch its spot in the NCAA Championship by a 9-2 final.

Millersville struggled to stack hits against WCU starter Kyle Lazer (8-1) who scattered eight over 7 1/3 innings. The Marauders, however, chipped away at an early 3-0 deficit with an RBI double from Matthew Williams in the third and an RBI ground out from Jimmy Kirk in the eighth. But just as the Marauders got back into the game, West Chester blew it open with a six-run ninth that was aided by three Millersville errors and capped by Hunter Smith's three-run home run.

Despite winning the PSAC Tournament and being one of 16 teams in Division II still playing, Millersville's Achille's Heel throughout 2026 had been its defense and consistent hitting. Both issues cost the Marauders on Friday.

"Walks, wild pitches, a passed ball, the errors, we didn't take care of the ball like we needed to to beat a good team," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "You can't give good teams more than three outs an inning. In the PSAC Championship we made them earn it, and today we gave them some gifts."

In addition to six errors, Millersville did not get a leadoff runner on base until the bottom of the eighth, when it scored its second run. With the program's lowest batting average since 2010, the team relied heavily on walks and hit-by-pitches (setting a school record in that category), but West Chester's pitching did not oblige. On Friday, Lazer walked two and did not hit a batter.

"Lazer is good," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "We got to him the first time we played this season, but he is a really good arm. He competes with three pitches--two really good ones. We didn't swing the bats the last two days and you tip your cap to their pitchers. It's a combination of doing too much and not being present--chasing out of zones and swinging out of zones where we are successful as hitters."

Millersville's all-region reliever Joe Morrissey nearly single-handedly kept Millersville in the game, entering the fourth and pitching 4 2/3 innings with just two hits allowed. After 74 pitches, he ran out of steam in the ninth, giving up a single to Christian Michak and hitting Landen Rozich to start the frame. Millersville went to the bullpen, but there was no slowing West Chester's momentum as the next six hitters reached base, two on errors, and damage was too much for Millersville to overcome.

Both runs on Morrissey's line came in after he exited the game. Fellow senior Matt Shamany recorded the game's final two outs.

"Joe was the glue that kept this group together in the dugout and on the mound," said Shehan. "Anytime we got into trouble, Joe bailed us out all year long. It looked like he was going to do that again today, and he kept us in the game long enough to at least get within one swing. We didn't it done, but he has been that guy all year long and has been a positive even through the lows of the season. Tremendous leader and really good pitcher."

Williams concluded his career by going 3 for 4 and collecting his 191st RBI--two shy of the Millersville record and sixth-most in PSAC history. He also tied for third in PSAC history in home runs with 45. Williams and fellow multi-year Millersville seniors Shamany, Rece Ritchey, Alex Kuehn, Hunter Stevens, and Mike Costello were a part of three ring-winning seasons at Millersville, capturing the NCAA Atlantic Region in 2023 and back-to-back PSAC crowns in 2025 and 2026. Jimmy Kirk, a five-year member of the team, won three PSAC titles and a regional.

"Our seniors had a lot of success," said Shehan. "Incredible careers. They put together a year that most of didn't expect six weeks ago. When we step back from today and watching a rival dog pile on your field--which will hurt for a while--it is going to be a successful season. I'm proud of what they accomplished."