West Chester is one win away from returning to Cary. And Thursday night, the Golden Rams looked every bit like a team capable of getting there.
Behind seven dominant innings from Julian Costa and another explosive first inning, West Chester opened the NCAA Super Regionals with a commanding 7-2 victory over Millersville at Cooper Park.
Costa carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and delivered the type of postseason performance that has become increasingly common during the best season of his career. The redshirt senior allowed just one run on two hits across seven innings while striking out five to secure his program-record 12th victory of the season.
By the time Millersville recorded its first hit with one out in the seventh, West Chester already held complete control of the game.
That happened quickly.
The Golden Rams wasted little time overwhelming Millersville starter Alex Kuehn in the first inning. After Carter Rust singled and Caleb Strawhecker was hit by a pitch, Drew Simpson punched an RBI single through the right side to open the scoring. Moments later, Austin Stalker delivered the early knockout blow with a three-run home run to right field that pushed the lead to 4-0 before many in attendance had settled into their seats.
It continued a trend that has defined West Chester’s season.
The Golden Rams improved to 24-1 when scoring in the first inning and 35-1 when scoring at least six runs.
And once Costa settled onto the mound with an early lead behind him, the game began to feel lopsided.
Costa needed just 59 pitches to complete five hitless innings. He consistently worked ahead in counts, attacked the strike zone and never allowed Millersville to generate any sustained pressure. Outside of a second-inning leadoff walk that was quickly erased by a double play, the Marauders spent most of the evening struggling to square him up.
Meanwhile, West Chester’s offense continued adding on.
Christian Michak ripped an RBI double in the third inning before Landen Rozich followed with an RBI single as the Golden Rams stretched the lead to 6-0. By then, West Chester’s dugout had fully taken over the energy of the night.
Millersville finally broke through in the seventh after Matthew Williams lined a one-out single into left-center field to end Costa’s no-hit bid. The Marauders later pushed across a run on a sacrifice fly, but Costa calmly worked through the inning and finished his night with a shallow fly ball to right field for the final out.
West Chester never allowed the momentum to shift.
Simpson moved from third base to the mound and delivered two strong innings in relief, striking out three while helping close out the victory. Hunter Smith added an insurance run in the eighth inning as the Golden Rams moved within one win of another trip to Cary, North Carolina.
Now comes the difficult part for a team that suddenly sits on the doorstep of the Division II College World Series: blocking out the temptation to look ahead.
West Chester has spent much of this season looking like one of the best teams in the country. Thursday night only reinforced that reality.
The Golden Rams played clean defense. They dominated on the mound. They attacked early offensively. And most importantly, they once again looked entirely comfortable on a postseason stage that continues getting bigger.
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