Game 1
Game 2

Millersville, Pa. - Little had gone right for the Millersville baseball team lately. But on Saturday at the Millersville University Baseball Stadium, the Marauders finally got a few breaks and made a few plays and squeaked out a sweep of PSAC East foe Bloomsburg by scores of 2-1 and 4-3.

It took the Marauders eight innings and a perfectly executed squeeze play by senior Miles Gallagher to earn the 2-1 victory in the opening. They then overcame a pair of fielding blunders in the top of the seventh to secure a second one-run win of the day.

The Maruaders (9-14, 3-5 PSAC East) were just 1-4 in games decided by two runs or less before today. The sweep also pushed Bloomsburg to the back of the pack in the PSAC East at 5-19 overall and 1-7 in league play. The two squads square off Sunday afternoon at Bloomsburg.

Starting pitching ruled the opener, the Bloomsburg's Grant Kernaghan (1-4) and Millersville's Forrest Mengle (2-2) dueling pitch-for-pitch throughout. Millersville was first to strike, though. Ryan McCormick singled to lead off the inning and an error on the second base put Gallagher aboard. One out later, Chris Edgar singled up the middle scoring McCormick.

Bloomsburg tied the game in the top of the fifth on an RBI double from Joey Ianiero, but the runner that scored was allowed on by an error, keeping Mengle free of an earned run.

Neither team managed to push in front in the first seven, and Mengle worked a scoreless eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Kent Gerdes sparked the rally with a double down the right field line. Mike DeSanto was hit by a pitch, and McCormick put down a bunt single to load the bases. Gallagher then pushed a bunt down the first base line, and Gerdes crossed home safely, giving the Marauders the win.

Mengle allowed just one unearned run on four hits and a walk. He also struck out three. Kernaghan, despite striking out 10 and walking just one, was the hard-luck losing, allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings.

It was late heroics at the plate in game one, but Millersville used heroics in the field to save game two. The Marauders jumped out to a 4-1 lead after three runs in the first and one in the second, but Bloomsburg chipped away, scoring one in the fourth and fifth off starter Brooks Rothschild (1-0).

Nursing a 4-3 lead in the sixth, Coach Jon Shehan called on the Marauders' bullpen. Andrew Hunt sat down the first two batters but ran into trouble with a walk and a single. Zach Eckley, however, came on and forced Gino Wise to fly out to right on his first pitch.

Eckley stayed in for the seventh, but a dropped pop up put the tying run on base with one out. Eckley fanned Ianiero for the second out. He then got Chris Tressler to fly to deep right field. What looked to be the third out turned into an adventure when Adam Boyd couldn't hang out and the ball dropped from his glove to the turf. Scott Pauling, who entered the game as a pinch runner, tried to go from first-to-home on the play, but McCormick cut-off Boyd's throw and fired a strike to Gallagher, who blocked Pauling off the plate and tagged him for the final out.

The play gave Eckley his first save of the season and ensured Rothschild of his first win as a Marauder. Millersville scraped together only four hits--all coming from the first three batters in the lineup. McCormick led the team with two hits and two runs, and Derek Kline plated two with two RBI singles.