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Recaps:  Wed vs. Gannon (W 8-5)  l  Thu vs. Millersville (W 6-2)  l  Fri vs. California (W 7-4)

Watch:  Sunday, 10 p.m.: NCAA DII selection  l  Coach Kochmansky discusses PSAC title, NCAA regional

JOHNSTOWN - Senior Brian Ernst threw eight innings without allowing an earned run on just two days rest, and East Stroudsburg University used a five-run fifth inning to secure its first PSAC baseball championship since 1971 with a 7-1 win over defending champion West Chester on Saturday at Point Stadium.

The Warriors (33-16), who set a school record with their 33rd win, earned the PSAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament thanks in large part to an outstanding effort by Ernst, who was named the PSAC Tournament MVP.

ESU went 4-0 in the tournament with Ernst starting the opener on Wednesday against Gannon. He went 5.2 innings in an 8-5 win and was lifted after a lightning delay of four hours, 13 minutes which allowed him to return on short rest on Saturday.

Ernst led ESU offensively and on the mound, going 8-for-16 with two RBI and four runs scored at the plate, and threw 13.2 innings on the mound, allowing just four earned runs and striking out 13. He was 4-for-5 along with his 5.2 inning stint in the win over Gannon - the same day he was named NCBWA DII Pitcher of the Week for his 15-strikeout performance in a three-hit shutout at Millersville on May 3.

ESU will be included in the national field for the second time in three years when the NCAA Division II Tournament selections are announced on Sunday night at 10 p.m. on ncaa.com. The Warriors finished third in the Atlantic Region in 2011.

The six-team Atlantic Regional will begin on Friday at a site to be determined. Winston-Salem (CIAA) and Concord (WVIAC) received their conference's automatic bids, and Millersville and Seton Hill are expected to be included as well based on last week's regional rankings, leaving one at-large spot still available.

West Chester (25-24-1), the defending national champion, came up one game short of returning to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Rams won two extra-inning games against Kutztown last Saturday to earn the PSAC East's fourth and final playoff spot, then went 3-0 this week before falling to the Warriors.

Ernst was the third straight ESU pitcher to go 8.0 innings as the Warriors won four games using just five pitchers. Junior Ryan Lubreski set ESU's single-season record for wins, improving to 8-0, in a 6-2 win over Millersville on Thursday night. Junior Matt Smith went 8.0 innings in a 7-4 win over California on Friday night to pitch ESU into the PSAC championship game.

Ernst, ESU's No. 1 starter and a three-time All-PSAC East utility selection, struck out nine and walked three against West Chester, getting better as the game went on. After walking two in the first inning, he threw 1-2-3 innings in the second, fourth and eighth and stranded nine of 10 WCU base runners.

After ESU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Ernst pitched around a leadoff double by Rob Lessig in the third by getting Chris Pula, 10-for-14 in his last three games, to fly out to right to end the threat.

In the fifth, he used two strikeouts to eliminate a leadoff single by Rob Spekhardt. West Chester scored an unearned run on two hits and an error in the sixth, but Ernst struck out Spekhardt with runners on first and second to get out of the inning.

WCU threatened again in the seventh, trailing 6-1, and Ernst got Pula out in a big spot again. The Golden Rams had runners on second and third with two outs, but junior CF Chris Knott ran down a fly ball to shut it down.

Ernst got two flyouts and his ninth strikeout of the game in the eighth, and turned it over to junior Keenan Stare for the ninth. Stare pitched in all four games, recorded two saves, and allowed just one hit in 5.0 innings. He struck out Jack Provine for the final out and started ESU's first PSAC championship celebration in 42 years.

Offensively, the Warriors got a first-inning lead for the second straight game when senior OF Eric Boyer hit a two-out single to left, stole second and scored on a base hit to center by junior DH Mike Tenaglia.

West Chester starter Connor Kerins, who was the starter and winning pitcher in West Chester's 2009 and 2012 PSAC tournament championships, retired ESU in order in the second and third innings, and got out of a huge jam in the fourth when ESU had three hits and a walk but made two outs on the base paths.

The game turned in the fifth, when the Golden Rams turned it over to All-PSAC East first team reliever Kyle Weary.

Junior SS Eric Linares battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a one-out walk from the No. 9 spot, senior 2B Joe Bennie waited out another walk and Ernst legged out an 80-foot single that found room between the first baseman, second baseman and pitcher to load the bases for Boyer.

Boyer, just 2-for-11 in the tournament but second in school history in career RBI, belted a two-run double to the wall in right field to score Linares and Bennie and give the Warriors a 3-0 lead. Tenaglia followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Ernst and move Boyer to third, and Knott reached on a throwing error by Weary on a chopper down the third base line with Boyer scoring on the play.

Junior catcher Eric Forth provided the final hit of the five-run inning, hitting a sinking liner to center that turned into his first career triple when Mike Raimo was unable to come up with a diving catch.

That was more than enough offense for Ernst, who held West Chester's first five hitters to 2-for-17 with three walks after they led the Golden Rams to a 14-8 win over Millersville on Friday night to reach the championship game.

ESU added an insurance run in the eighth when Forth led off with a single, redshirt sophomore OF Andy Brandstetter doubled down the line in right and Forth scored on a sacrifice fly by Linares.

ESU had 11 hits, five off Kerins and six off Weary, who both threw 4.0 innings.

Boyer was 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs from the No. 3 spot. Tenaglia was 2-for-3 with two RBI as the cleanup hitter and Forth was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run in the No. 6 hole.


GAME NOTES

* ESU won its fifth PSAC championship in school history and first since 1971. The Warriors won their second tournament championship - the 1971 tournament was only the second contested in the PSAC. ESU previously won championships under the Saylor Rating System in 1957, 1963 and 1969.

* ESU last played for the PSAC championship in 1985, falling to West Chester, 4-0, after forcing a final game with a 2-1 win over the Golden Rams.

* The Warriors advanced with wins over Gannon (8-5), Millersville (6-2) and California (7-4), while West Chester has wins over California (5-0), Kutztown (3-0) and Millersville (14-8).

* ESU's previous team championship, the 2012 men's basketball title, also came against West Chester. The Warriors won 90-85 at WCU on Saturday, March 3, 2012.  (Complete recap)

* ESU was the No. 3 seed in the PSAC East, and West Chester was the No. 4 seed. The PSAC East went 4-0 in the first round of games against the PSAC West. California's 12-7 win over Kutztown on Friday morning was the only win for the PSAC West over the PSAC East. Eastern division schools were 6-1 against their western counterparts.

* Ernst has 82 strikeouts, the 2nd-most in school history, in 60.2 innings this season. He didn't pitch from March 2 to March 30 due to injury before returning to go 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA, .188 opponents average, 67 strikeouts, 18 walks and 33 hits allowed in 48.0 innings in the last six weeks.

* Ernst is 4th at ESU with 195 career strikeouts, and t-4th with 198 career hits. He is one of four PSAC players with 150 career strikeouts and hits in a career. He can become the first player with 200 strikeouts and 200 hits in the Atlantic Regional.

* Boyer moved into 2nd at ESU with 117 career RBI, tied for 8th with 118 runs, and is 2nd with 62 stolen bases - 4 from the school record.

* Ernst is tied for the ESU record with 44 career doubles after doubling in his third at bat against Gannon.

* In the PSAC Tournament, ESU hit .305 with a .365 on-base percentage, while holding its four opponents to a .228 average and .298 on-base percentage.

* Ernst hit .500 (8-for-16) with a .529 on-base percentage, a double, two RBI and four runs … Tenaglia hit .400 (6-for-15) with a .412 on-base percentage, six RBI and three runs … Boyer hit .400 (6-for-15) with a .471 on-base percentage, a double, two RBI and six runs … Forth hit .333 (5-for-15) with a .375 on-base percentage, a double, triple, two RBI and two runs … Knott hit .308 (4-for-13) with a .412 on-base percentage, two doubles, a triple, home run, five RBI and five runs (he was 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, a home run and four RBI vs. Gannon) … Brandstetter hit .250 (2-for-8) with a .333 on-base percentage, a double and a run … Bennie hit .235 (4-for-17) with a .278 on-base percentage, double, two RBI and five runs … Fr. OF John Armbrust hit .200 (1-for-5) … Linares hit .154 (2-for-13) with a .250 on-base percentage, one RBI and three runs … R-Fr. 3B Drew Hercik hit .143 (2-for-14) with a .250 on-base percentage, a double and five RBI.

* ESU fielded .981 for the tournament, committing just three errors in four games. The Warriors had a .972 fielding percentage, in the top 10 in DII, entering the week.

* Lubreski allowed one earned run on 6 hits in 8.0 innings, struck out 4 and walked 3 in the 6-2 win over Millersville on Thursday.

* Smith allowed four earned runs on 8 hits in 8.0 innings, struck out 2 and didn't issue a walk in the 7-4 win over California on Friday.

* Stare pitched in all four games, going 5.0 innings and allowing 1 hit and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts. Jr. Colin Taylor threw 1.1 innings in relief of Ernst on Wednesday against Gannon, getting the final out of the 6th inning in a 4-4 game and allowing one run in the 7th after ESU took the lead with a four-run inning.