CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In their opening contest of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Thursday, West Virginia State Baseball dropped a heartbreaker to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) foe Millersville 3-2 via walk off at Welch Athletic Complex on the campus of University of Charleston.
 
State used two long balls to tie the contest on two separate occasions, thanks to the hot bats of seniors Andrew Stone and Matthew Kline. Kline went 3-for-4 in the contest and sophomore Trey Junkins also posted a multi-hit contest, tallying two hits.
 
Friday will feature a long-awaited Battle of the Kanawha, as third-seeded WVSU will face fifth-seeded Charleston in the 11 AM elimination game.
 
The Yellow Jackets were robbed of multiple base hits by the Millersville left fielder, Bren Taylor, who made four fantastic plays throughout the contest.
 
The Marauders took the lead in the second, capitalizing on a bunt single and scoring on a Yellow Jackets miscue. The lead was short lived, as Kline launched his fifth homer of the season in the top of the fourth.
 
State nearly tied it in the top of the third after third baseman Christopher Jordan cracked a ball to deep left center to the wall.
 
Millersville took the lead once again in the fifth, using two walks and a single to left field to go up 2-1. Again, the Yellow Jackets wasted no time in response, as Stone launched a solo shot to right center for his seventh home run of the season.
 
State threatened in the seventh after two back-to-back catches by Taylor in left field spoiled the threat. The Yellow Jackets got Kline to third in the eighth after he singled to center field and then advanced on a single by Junkins and a fielder's choice from outfielder Jared Hunt.
 
WVSU again posed a threat in the ninth, stranding two men, but Millersville used a leadoff single down the right field line and found the gap in left center for a walk-off double to advance in the winners bracket.