NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Ben Marsico (Bradford Woods, Pa./North Allegheny) tossed 5.0 scoreless innings of relief to guide the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team to an 8-3 victory over Westminster College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Sunday afternoon. 

The victory by W&J secures a three-game series sweep of Westminster, while also extending the Presidents' current winning streak to 14 games overall. W&J stays perfect in conference play, moving to 12-0 in the league and 17-7 overall. At the halfway point of conference play, W&J has outscored its opponents by a 132-40 margin as they have rolled to a 12-0 start. 

Mullen Socha (Independence, Ohio/St. Ignatius) put the Presidents on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the first inning, scoring Dante Dalesandro (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) from second base.

After Westminster countered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, Dalesandro crushed a double to center field to bring home Josh Crummer (Great Falls,Va./Flint Hill School) and Michael Zito (Nashville, Tenn./Hume-Fogg) to put W&J in front by a 3-2 score in the second. The host Titans would tack on a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the score at 3-3. 

The two teams remained deadlocked until the top of the fifth inning when Adam Moore (Olean, N.Y./Archbishop Walsh) plated James Artale (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) with an RBI single to right field. W&J tacked on two more in the sixth when Dalesandro produced a sacrifice fly to score Jackson Russell (Burke, Va./Robinson) and Joey Bolick (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) stole home. 

Leading by a 6-3 score heading to the ninth, the Presidents added a pair of runs, as Crummer recorded an RBI groundout and Moore singled home Artale. 

Making his first relief appearance of the season, Marsico tossed 5.0 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out three as he improved his record to 5-1. Mitchell Taufer (Washington, Pa./Bishop Canevin) slammed the door shut, tossing two scoreless innings of relief to seal the victory. Taufer has not allowed a run in 15.0 innings out of the bullpen this season. 

As he has throughout the winning streak, Dalesandro was a catalyst for the offense. The senior outfielder collected two hits, three RBI, a double and a run scored. Dalesandro extended his career-best hitting streak to 16 games. Artale and Moore both registered multi-hit efforts during the win. 

W&J travels to La Roche College for a single nine-inning non-conference game on Friday, April 12. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.