PSAC TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
• Pullman Park - 100 Pullman Park Place, Butler, Pa.
• PSAC Tournament Central
• Adult Day Pass - $7
• Student Day Pass - $2
• PSAC Students with ID - FREE

MEDIA COVERAGE
• Listen Live on MSBN
• Live Stats

ABOUT THE GAME
No. 23 Mercyhurst (35-13, No. 1 West seed) vs. Millersville (24-21-1, No. 4 East seed)
•  Millersville leads series, 4-2 (.667)
•  Jon Shehan vs. Mercyhurst: 2-1
•  Joe Spano vs. Millersville: 4-2
•  First Meeting: 2002 (W, 4-1)
•  Postseason Meetings: Millersville leads 2-1

THE SERIES
• 5/23/2011 Ville 14, Hurst 3 (NCAA Regional)
• 5/22/2011 Ville 8, Hurst 5 (NCAA Regional)
• 5/13/2011 Hurst 4, Ville 2 (PSAC Semifinals)
• 2/23/2007 Hurst 7, Ville 6 (Florida)
• 3/9/2002 Ville 4, Hurst 1 (at Millersville)
• 3/9/2002 Ville 16, Hurst 2 (at Millersville)

•    Millersville needed a little help from its PSAC East rival West Chester in the final game of the regular season to reach the postseason. Millersville needed West Chester to take three of four from Mansfield, and the Golden Rams' 10-6 win in the series finale clinched Millersville its second consecutive bid to the postseason. It is Millersville's third PSAC Tournament in five seasons under Jon Shehan, but it is the first time since 1974-75 that the Marauders have reached back-to-back PSAC Tournaments. In 1974 and 1975, only the two division winners played in the postseason.  Millersville, which has four PSAC Championships all-time (the last came in 1998), has won at least one game in each of its last four trips to the tournament. Shehan's clubs own a 4-4 record. It is the first time since 1989 and just the second time ever that Millersville has entered the tournament not holding the No. 1 seed from the East.
•     While Millersville is the No. 4 seed and draws defending PSAC Champion and 2012 PSAC West Champ Mercyhurst in the opening round, it knows first hand that seeding matters little in the PSAC Tournament. In 2011, Millersville lost to No. 4 seed Indiana (Pa.) in the opening round, 5-4. Over the last 12 years, only two No. 1 seeds have won the PSAC Championship (Mercyhurst in 2011 and West Chester in 2009). However, no No. 4 seed has ever won the title and only three No. 3 seeds (Kutztown in 2008, Shippensburg in 2007 and Kutztown in 2005) have won it.
•     Postseason meetings between Millersville and Mercyhurst are becoming a regular occurence. The two clubs met in the 2011 PSAC Tournament and twice in the NCAA Atlantic Regional. In last season's PSAC Tournament match-up, Millersville received seven shutout innings from Tim Mayza, and the Marauders led 2-0 on RBIs from Zach Stone and Carlos Medina. Mercyhurst tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the ninth off of closer Zach Eckley, who had never blown a save in his career until that game. In the bottom of the 12th, Ethan Santora hit a walk-off, two-run home run to give Mercyhurst the win. The regional match-ups were more lopsided. Millersville beat Zach Leitten and Brad Duffy 8-5 in the first meeting and then won the regional championship by a 14-3 score. Millersville scored five runs in 1.2 innings off of Matt Jimenez.
•     It's been a roller coaster season for Millersville after opening with a No. 5 national preseason ranking. Situational hitting has been one of the biggest problems. The team is hitting .309 with runners in scoring position. Last season, the Marauders hit .324 in the same situation. August's averaged dropped from .379 to .285, Stone dipped from .357 to .291 and Chris Edgar dropped from .344 to .253. Adding some punch, however, has been a group of first-year starters--two of which were named All-PSAC East First Team. First baseman Dan Johnson led the team in four offensive catgories and ranked 13th in the PSAC with a .360 average. Left fielder Kurt Seiders closed the regular season with a .338 averaged, but was even better in league play. In 24 games against the PSAC East, he led the team in average (.423), runs (16), triples (3), RBIs (13), slugging percentage (.551), on base percentage (.458) and steals (5). Of Seiders' RBIs, 14 have come with two outs.
•     The Marauders hope that August can recreate his 2011 PSAC Tournament. In four games, he hit .471 with four doubles, five runs and three RBIs. He slugged .706.
•     Game one starter Brooks Rothschild--an All-PSAC Second Team pick--owns a 19-7 career record and is 6-4 this season, but has struggled of late. He started 5-0 and has since last four of five decisions. He allowed no more than one run in his first five starts, but since a loss to Shippensburg on March 23, he has a 6.93 ERA and a .310 average against.  Tad Barton was statistically the team's best pitcher against the PSAC East, going 3-0 with two complete games and a 3.15 ERA in three starts.Outside of allowing two runs without recording an out on April 24 against Wilmington, Barton has allowed no more than two runs in five of his starts. From March 13-April 13, he threw 27 innings and allowed just four earned runs on 15 hits.
•     After a shaky start to the season, the bullpen has solidified itself with Jason Long, Adam Zipko and Tyler Horst. Horst and Long did not allow a single earned run in a combined 19.0 innings against the PSAC East. Horst converted all five save chances and held opponents to a .167 average. Zipko, who led the PSAC in appearances with 21, has posted a 2.93 ERA. He allowed a run in just five of his 21 appearances.

THE LAKERS
•     Mercyhurst boasts a formidable lineup and pitching staff. The two-time defending PSAC West champs swept the PSAC West player awards. Shane Latshaw was named PSAC West Player of the Year, Ben Rawding was the pitcher of the year and Ryan Siegel was the freshman of the year. Six Lakers were named All-PSAC West First Team and two more landed on the second team. Third baseman Ethan Santora is a four-time honoree and Rawding is a three-time honoree.
•     The Laker lineup ranks first in the PSAC in hitting with a .328 average and first in runs with 335. Six starters are hitting over .320, including freshmen Ryan Siegel (.389) and Kolin McMillen (.386). Latshaw hit .383, drove in 44 runs and hit 11 homers. Santora is Mercyhurst's all-time home run leader. He has five bombs and 40 RBIs. Matt Adamczyk ranks sixth on the team in average but leads the team with 45 RBIs and is second in doubles with 13. The team is hitting an incredible .368 with runners in scoring position and have 105 two-out RBIs--49 more than its opponents. Mercyhurst outscores its opponents by an average of 7.0-3.8.
•     A key to Mercyhurst's success is its deep rotation. Rawding posted an 8-0 record and struck out 74 in 67.2 innings of work. His 2.79 ERA was bested only by Zach Leitten, who posted a .278 ERA and a .185 batting average against in 55.0 innings. Brad Duffy (3.74) and Eric Aschley (3.80) are also veterans with at least 10 starts this season and ERA's under 4.00. If the Lakers have the lead late, Samuel O'Neill, with three saves and a 2.16 ERA, and Dan Altavilla, who boasts a 5-0 record, 1.07 ERA and .184 batting average against, have been successful closing games.