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Millersville

Dan Johnson

Baseball

Johnson's Walk-Off Single Lifts Marauders to Game Two Win

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Millersville, Pa. - With the score tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Millersville had the players it wanted coming to the plate. Tyler Orris and Zach Stone delivered back-to-back singles and Dan Johnson followed with a single to left. Orris raced home from second to give No. 28 Millersville a 3-2 win over Kutztown in game two of Wednesday's doubleheader. Kutztown squeaked out a 3-1 win in the opener.

Stone went 4-for-4 and hit a game-tying solo home run to lead off the fifth. Johnson and leadoff hitter Chas McCormick both went 3-for-4. Eleven of Millersville's (27-12, 14-6 PSAC East) 12 hits came from the top four batters in the lineup. Stone's homer was the only extra base hit for either team. Millersville pitching limited Kutztown (19-16, 7-13 PSAC East) to just two hits but issued six walks and hit three batters. Still, the Marauders limited the damage, getting out of bases-loaded jams in both the first and second innings and stranding nine Golden Bears on base.

Johnson drove in McCormick in the first for Millersville's first run, but Kutztown took the lead with two in the second. The Marauders went without a score until Stone drilled a line drive over the left field wall in the fifth. Dan Neff saved what would have been the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth. With a Kutztown runner on second, Neff made a diving grab on a sinking liner off the bat of Brady McNab. Alex Ramsay led off the sixth with a single but the Marauders stranded pinch runner David Pine at second.

Cody Stoneback, who pitched two shutout innings of relief, handed the ball to Adam Zipko (3-0) in the seventh. Zipko struck out the side and set the stage for Johnson's heroics.

Following singles from Orris and Stone, Johnson tried to bunt on the first pitch from Carlos Holmes (2-4). The bunt attempt failed, but it put Kutztown's defense in motion on the next pitch. On the second pitch to Johnson, shortstop Brandon Cholish broke for third while third baseman Ricky Devlin charged up the line. Johnson surprised both by swinging away and slapping the ball behind the breaking Cholish. Orris scored without a play at the plate.

Johnson has driven in 14 runs in his last 13 games and has 12 multi-hit games. Stone's home run was the 16th of his career, moving him into a tie for seventh on the Millersville career list. He also jumped into third place with 149 runs and moved within three RBIs of Derek Kline's school record 148. His 239 hits are also just eight short of setting a new school record.

After allowing just five total runs to Kutztown, Millersville's pitching staff has allowed no more than three runs in 15 of its last 18 games. And while the offense has mustered just 10 runs in its last six games, the team has won four of those games.

The Marauders managed only one run on six hits in game one. Johnson, who was responsible for two of the Marauders' three RBIs in game two, delivered the team's lone RBI in the opener. He drove in Orris with a single in the third. That run came after Kutztown scored a pair of runs off of Marauder starter Logan Grant (2-2).

Grant worked 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and five walks. He also struck out a career-high seven. Kutztown's Mike Kammerer went five strong innings, allowing only the one run and striking out three without walking a batter. Matt Swarmer picked up his seventh save with two perfect innings.

Millersville hosts Mansfield on Friday at Cooper Park for Military Appreciation Day. Shirts sold at the game will benefit the Wound Warrior Project.
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