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WCU Heads To Division II College World Series

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The West Chester University baseball team is off to Texas after advancing to the Division II College World Series. They will open play down in Grand Prairie on Saturday afternoon against the University of North Georgia.

The Golden Rams won the NCAA Tournament's Atlantic Regional to get here, capping things off on Monday with a 12-7 win over Winston-Salem State.

"Anytime you get to a regional setting, that in itself is an accomplishment," West Chester head coach Jad Prachniak tells KYW Newsradio. "Having the chance to win that, super excited for the kids and happy for the program to get back to the World Series."

Listen to the entire interview with West Chester's Jad Prachniak:

 

This will be West Chester's first appearance in the World Series since 2012 when the Golden Rams won the national championship.
West Chester did not lose a game in the double-elimination Atlantic Regional, going 4-0. That improved the Golden Rams to 40-11 on the season and Prachniak says they are playing some of their best baseball right now.

"For the most part," he says. "Another thing I like is, even when we don't play our best baseball, whether we have a defensive miscue, or maybe somebody on the mound doesn't have their best stuff, we're finding ways to win and pick each other up. So it's definitely the balance. You have to play well, but we're doing a good job of responding. Whether it's one inning or a couple at bats or something doesn't go our way, our guys are responding in a really good way right now."

The World Series is also double-elimination. Prachniak talks about what they need to do to have success down in Texas, starting with the game against North Georgia.

"I think it still starts on the mound," he says, "where it's just getting consistent performances from our starters and having our bullpen come in and stabilize games when needed. Then, obviously, offensively we're going to have to score some runs along the way. But I'm hoping basically whatever the game situation is, whether the ballpark's playing small or it's playing big, we can do whatever is necessary to score runs on that day and figure out a way to win each day."

West Chester and North Georgia are scheduled to get underway at 4:00pm on Saturday.

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