Millersville and Shippensburg Split a Pair of One-Run Games

Saturday, April 6

Shippensburg, PA

1 PM

Millersville University

23-8, 7-0

Shippensburg

17-12, 4-7

Millersville

Shippensburg

Millersville and Shippensburg Split a Pair of One-Run Games

4/6/2013 6:53:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Shippensburg, Pa. - Zach Stone did the damage at the plate, and Chris Murphy provided another lights-out pitching performance as the Millersville baseball team took game one of Saturday's doubleheader from Shippensburg by a 2-1 score. The Raiders, however, snapped the Marauders' win streak at nine with by a 7-6 count in the series finale.

The Marauders (23-9, 7-1 PSAC East) kept pace with Kutztown and West Chester and put some distance between them the rest of the PSAC East Division by taken three of four from the Raiders (18-12, 5-7 PSAC East). Saturday's game one win was no less dramatic than the thrilling, walk-off win that closed Friday's doubleheader.

Stone gave the Marauders a 1-0 lead in the third with a double that drove in Tyler Orris. Murphy surrendered only one walk over the first 4.1 innings, but Simon Beloff and Jimmy Spanos doubled in back-to-back at bats, tying the game and snapping Murphy's streak of consecutive scoreless innings at 25.1, which was just 2.1 away from the PSAC record.

Stone answered Shippensburg's strike with one swing of the bat. As the second batter of the sixth, Stone slammed the first pitch he saw from Shawn Patterson over the left field wall. It was Stone's second home run in as many days and his team and conference-leading fifth of the season.

Shippensburg put a scare into the Marauders in the seveth, though. After Murphy sat down the first two batters of the inning, Kyle Hollingsworth and Mike Marcinko recorded back-to-back singles, putting the go-ahead run on first. Mike Douglas worked a full count, but Murphy killed the rally by striking out Douglas.

Murphy struck out five, gave up five hits and two hits. Stone went 3-for-3, and Dan Johnson added a pair of hits.

Stone kept up the run production in game two, driving in Evan King with a double three batters into the game. Jeff Heisey boosted his team-leading RBI total by driving in Stone.

Shippensburg, which entered the weekend as the second most productive offense in the PSAC (behind only Millersville), was held to five runs in the first three games. But the Raiders struck for four in the bottom of the first off starter Jim McDade.

Jeremy Musser, playing for the first time as a collegiate player in his hometown, single in a run in the second to pull the Marauders to within 4-3. But the Marauders had three hits in the inning and stranded two.

Shippensburg bounced McDade in the second with two more runs. The Marauders, however, tied the game at 6-6 in the third on a sacrifice fly from Mark Stuckey and a two-run blast from David Pine.

The Raiders retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a Cal Hogan single. Millersville just couldn't crack the Shippensburg bullepn after that. It stranded three runners over the final three innings. Austin Bartley pitched a perfect seventh for his first save of the season. Marcus Shippey earned the win for Ship.

Millersville used four pitchers in the game. Jesse Mowen (0-1) suffered the loss. Freshman Sean Stephenson provided 2.1 perfect innings of work.

Every starter in the Millersville lineup had at least one hit. King led the team with two hits, a walk and two steals.

Millersville travels to Philadelphia for a nine-inning affair with USciences Sunday afternoon. On Friday, April 12, the Marauders host PSAC East front-runner Kutztown at Marauder Park for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.