West Chester University wins NCAA Division II national baseball championship

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Robert Knox and Nick Ward each homered, and Josh McClain came on to pitch four innings of relief as West Chester University claimed its second NCAA Division II national championship in six years with a 5-2 win over UC San Diego Sunday afternoon at AirHogs Stadium.

West Chester (44-11) went unbeaten in the national finals with four straight wins.

"I think it starts with talent on the field," sixth-year coach Jad Prachniak said. "Both teams had depth and played very consistently. You are going to face resistance along the way during a season. This team was exceptional in handling those moments and minimizing the effects - especially on the back end of the season in the conference tournament, regionals, and down here."

UC San Diego (44-19) came out of the loser's bracket and needed to defeat West Chester twice on Sunday. However, the Golden Rams took care of business in game one.

Knox started the game with a home run to left field, his second homer of the year. Ward followed with a solo shot in the third that put West Chester back out in front, 2-1.

"When [Knox] led off the game with that home run, I just had a great feeling that we were going to win this game today," Ward said. "[UCSD] played us tough and put some doubt in the back of my head. But [Knox] set the tone early."

The Tritons evened things up at 2-2 in the sixth on a double-play groundout with the bases loaded.

West Chester closer Josh McClain, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player, came on in relief of starter Jon Fisher in the sixth with the bases loaded and nobody out. However, the Tritons mustered only that one run to knot the game.

McClain appeared in all four games of the national finals in Grand Prairie, earning the win twice and picking up a save. He pitched four innings, allowing one hit, walking one and striking out three.

McClain finished 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA in 9 2/3 innings in Grand Prairie.