WASHINGTON, Pa. – The second-seeded Washington & Jefferson College baseball team claimed its spot in Championship Saturday with a 7-4 victory over sixth-seeded Chatham University in the winner's bracket final in the 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Friday afternoon at Ross Memorial Park.
Seth Rosenfeld (Ellicott City, Md./Long Reach) finished a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs at the plate.
Jack Anderson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) continued his strong showing in the tournament with two hits.
Teddy Platt (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) produced three RBIs out of the number nine spot in the lineup.
The Presidents took an early lead with two runs in bottom half of the first inning. A leadoff single by
Keegan Carr (Irwin, Pa./Norwin / Indiana University of Pennsylvania) and a walk drawn by
Andrew Miko (Portage, Pa./Portage) set up shop for the Red and Black. Anderson delivered a two-run, two-out, two-strike single that landed just out of reach for the Cougars in left field.
W&J tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the second to extend its lead to 4-0. Back-to-back singles by
Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) and Rosenfeld ignited the scoring opportunity for the Presidents. A successful sac bunt by
Paddy Hernjak (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) advanced the pair of runners up 90 feet. That led to yet another sac fly for the Presidents, as a long fly ball by Platt to deep right center. Heads up base running allowed two runs to score on the sac fly, as Rosenfeld was able to score all the way from second on the play.
Spectacular diving catches by Hernjak to end both the third and fourth innings helped Pass keep the Cougars off the board.
The Red and Black added another run in the fourth inning. Consecutive singles by Rosenfeld and Hernjak put runners on the corners. Another sac fly by Platt, his second of the day and eighth for W&J during the tournament, scored Rosenfeld to make it 5-0.
The third time through the batting order helped Chatham get off the mat and back into the game. Three consecutive singles allowed the Cougars to load the bases with no outs. Cooper Baxter brought the Cougars back into the game with one swing, as a grand slam down the left field line cut the Presidents' lead to 5-4.
W&J responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Anderson smacked a one-out double down the left field line and a two-out double by Rosenfeld scored Anderson to strengthen the lead to 6-4.
The Presidents tacked on another insurance run in the eighth when Rosenfeld singled up the middle to plate Miko for a 7-4 advantage.
A trio of seniors pitched the Presidents to the victory.
Anthony Pass (Clinton, Pa./West Allegheny) improved his record to 7-2 by tossing five-plus innings. Pass allowed four runs on seven hits during the outing. The senior righthander struck out three and walked just one. Pass pitched four scoreless innings before seeing Chatham do all its damage in the top of the sixth.
Nate Nolan (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) tossed a scoreless inning of relief to cool off Chatham's bats.
Luke Alvarez (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) recorded his team-leading fourth save by recording the final nine outs. Alvarez struck out three and allowed just one hit over the final three innings.
The win advances the Presidents to Saturday's title round. The Presidents will face Grove City again on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Game J of the PAC Tournament. By virtue of entering Saturday with a 3-0 record in the PAC Tournament, W&J needs just one win to claim the conference crown. Grove City will need to defeat W&J twice on Saturday. The Presidents have won 16 conference titles in program history.
