Wednesday, May 9, 2012

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The No. 2-seeded Westminster College (25-15) baseball team is set to play the No. 3-seeded Thomas More (25-14) on Thursday in the first round of the four-team, double-elimination 2012 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship. The tournament is hosted by the No. 14 ranked and No. 1-seeded Washington & Jefferson (33-6) in Washington, Pa.

The Titans are vying for their first PAC Championship since 2005. Westminster is also two wins away from tying the most wins in a single-season in school history.

Westminster went 2-1 against Thomas More during the regular season. The Titans swept the Saints in a doubleheader (5-4, 6-1) on April 14, before losing 10-9 in extra innings in a nine-inning contest the following day.

In the three-game series, Westminster senior Steve Perrotta (New Castle, PA / New Castle) had a team-high .700 batting average (7-for-10). Perrotta led the Titans in runs scored (6), hits (7), and doubles (3). Other Titans that had a hot bat was junior Kyle Allen (New Wilmington, PA / West Middlesex) (.667), senior Justin King (Fombell, PA / Riverside) (.556), junior Ty Miller (Clinton, PA / Hopewell) (.500) and junior Tyler Robinson (Creston, PA / Norwayne) (.500). Senior Tim Wiand (Pottstown, PA / Owen J. Roberts) batted in a team-best four RBIs, followed by Allen and junior Chris Ross (West Pittsburg, PA / New Castle) with three RBIs each.

On the mound, senior Justin Prejsnar (New Castle, PA / New Castle) and junior Nick Grow (North East, PA / North East) earned the wins for Westminster. Prejsnar had a complete game performance, while giving up one run (unearned) off four hits. He struck out three batters and walked the same. Grow made two relief appearances (3.1 innings) and gave up one hit no runs.

The 2012 PAC Baseball Tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, beginning May 17, 2012. Daily PAC Tournament admission fees are $5 for adults, $2 for non-W&J students and free admission to W&J students with valid ID. Conference and institutional passes are not accepted at PAC Championship events. The complete tournament schedule can be found here and the tournament page with live stats can be found here. In addition, the PAC Sports Network will be providing an audio webcast of all tournament games at www.pacstream.net.

About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College ranks first in the nation as "Best College for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math," according to Forbes.com. Westminster, a top-tier liberal arts college, ranks third in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Best Colleges guide. Westminster ranked 6th among liberal arts colleges in social mobility, according to the Washington Monthly College Guide, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 376 Colleges" by The Princeton Review, and is named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning.

Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 42 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus. Visit www.westminster.edu/advantage to view "Advantage: Westminster" A Strategic Plan 2010-2020.