Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
No. 23 Millersville (34-13) (No. 1 PSAC East) vs. Slippery Rock (25-19) (No. 4 PSAC West)
PSAC Tournament - Wednesday, April 30 - 12:30 p.m.
Kelly Automotive Park - Butler, Pa. | Directions
Tournament Bracket/Website

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats
Twitter: @MarauderNews | @psacsports | @MSBN_Kuhns | @CoachShehan

TICKET INFORMATION
· All-Day Passes: $10 (adults) | $5 (students)
· PSAC Students with ID: Free
 (All tickets are general admission and available at the gate)

SERIES INFORMATION
Slippery Rock leads 11-7 (.611)
Jon Shehan vs. Rock: 3-0
Jeff Messer vs. Millersville: 9-7
First Meeting: 1982 (L, 9-12)
Postseason Meetings: Ville leads, 5-4

TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
•    For the first time in program history, Millersville is making its fourth consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance. The Marauders are 34-13 and went 21-7 in the PSAC East for their second consecutive division crown and third in the last four years. The Marauders have won four of the seven PSAC East titles awarded since Jon Shehan took over in 2008. This is Millersville's fifth trip to the PSAC Tournament under Shehan, but it has not won a PSAC Championship since 1998. Shehan's clubs own a 7-8 record in the tournament, winning two games in 2008, 2011 and 2014.
•    Millersville 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. In 2013, the top-seeded Marauders won their first round game but lost in the second round to No. 3 seed East Stroudsburg. Over the last 14 years, only three No. 1 seeds have won the PSAC Championship: West Chester (2012, 2009) and Mercyhurst (2011). No No. 4 seed has ever won the title and only four No. 3 seeds (Kutztown in 2008 and 2005, Shippensburg in 2007 and ESU in 2013) have won it. The key is winning early. Since the field expanded in 2005, six of the nine champions have went 4-0. Only one team, Shippensburg in 2007, lost in the first round and rallied to win.
•    Wednesday's first round game between Millersville and Slippery Rock is a rematch of the 2013 opener. Millersville won that game 5-0 behind Tim Mayza's complete game, four-hitter. The teams have met in three of Millersville's four previous appearances in the tournament with Millersville winning all three. Millersville is 5-2 in PSAC Tournament games against The Rock. Those two losses came in 1982.
•    While Millersville's pitching staff boasts a 2.89 ERA, Slippery Rock is tied for first in the PSAC with a .319 batting average. It averages better than six runs per game. Shortstop Will Kengor was a Daktronics All-America Second Team pick after hitting .448 in 2013 and his .415 average ranks third in the PSAC this season. He also ranks first in hits, second in runs scored, fourth in slugging percentage and fourth in triples. Kengor went 0-for-4 against Mayza in last season's meeting.

PERFECT PITCH
•    Millersville boasts one of the deepest starting staffs in the country as all five pitchers with at least three starts and 23 innings pitch boast boast ERA's of 3.07 or lower. The five starters have combined for 25 wins. Four of them have thrown at least one complete game and all five have limited opponents to batting averages of .248 or lower. The pitching staff has held teams to no more than four runs in 37 of 47 games and to two runs or fewer in 25 games. The Marauders own a 32-5 record in those games. Jim McDade, Tad Barton and Chris Murphy were a combined 13-3 against PSAC opponents this season.

KEEP IT CLOSE
•    Millersville is at its best when games are close, holding a  6-1 record in extra inning games and an 8-2 record in games decided by just one run. The lone extra inning loss came in nine innings against Bloomsburg, and Jim McDade pitched into the ninth in that game. The Marauders also don't give up leads. They are 27-0 when holding the lead after six innings.

SENIOR MOMENT
•    This season's senior class is the first to play in four PSAC Tournaments and the first two win three PSAC East crowns. It has compiled a 143-66-1 record, making it the winningest class in Millersville history. The class has helped the team earn a national ranking for at least one week in all four seasons. Prior to their arrival, Millersville had made just two NCAA Tournaments. It has already played in two (2011 and 2013) and the Marauders were ranked No. 3 in the first NCAA Atlantic Region Ranking of 2014. Along with four-year players Zach Stone, Dan Johnson, Tad Barton and Adam Zipko all hold a spot at least one career top 10 category. Stone holds records for hits and RBIs and Barton holds the wins record. Zipko needs just three more appearances to set a new record at 77. 2013 Toronto Blue Jay draft pick Tim Mayza was also a member of the class.

HOT STONE BARRAGE
•    Zach Stone is on an absolute tear heading into the postseason. Stone, the 2013 PSAC East Player of the Year, All-America Second Team selection, two-time Tino Martinez Award Watch List member, enters the tournament on a 13-game hitting streak and is the reigning PSAC East Player of the Week. Stone has two or more hits in seven of his last 10 games and is hitting .647 (22-for-34) in that stretch. Stone's batting average dipped to .311 on April 5 but has risen to .398 over the last 19 games. After batting .450 against the PSAC East in 2013, Stone hit .462 with 43 hits against his division foes this season. Stone could become the first Marauder since Jay Johnson in 1975-76 and second ever to hit over .400 in back-to-back seasons. Johnson had 115 total at bats in those seasons while Stone has 363.
•    Stone is money in the postseason, too. In 22 career postseason games, he's hitting .372 (29-78) with eight walks and eight hit-by-pitches. Stone is a three-time PSAC East Player of the Week this season and has won the award six times in his career.

STARTING SUMMERFIELD
•    Millersville's offense received a big spark in the final series against West Chester when David Summerfield was inserted into the lineup at second base. Summerfield, a walk-on freshman, had gone 3-for-8 in five appearances as a reserve. Against West Chester, Summerfield recorded five hits in his first five at bats and reached base four times in game one. He went on to bat 8-for-13 with two runs and two RBIs in the series.

IRON MEN
•    Zach Stone enters the postseason having played in a Millersville record 209 games. He has missed only three starts in his entire career and Millersville has played only one game without him since 2011. He has started 111 consecutive games. Sophomore Tyler Orris has impressive streak of his own. The shortstop has started every one of Millersville's 105 games since stepping on campus in 2013.

TAD TO THE TOP
•    Senior Tad Barton passed Bradd Everly, Matt Wagner and Timm Bromirski as Millersville's all-time wins leader on April 12. Barton has since won two more games to push his career record to 25-9. He has thrown at least 42 innings and two complete games in each season. He owns a 13-2 career record against PSAC East opponents. In six career postseason appearances spanning 21.2 innings, Barton is 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA and 19 hits allowed.

OLD RELIABLE
•    Adam Zipko's consistency and reliability is remarkable. Zipko pitched behind established closers in his first two seasons but has still totaled 18 saves, which ranks second in school history. In his career, he's struck out 80 in 112 innings while posting a 2.33 ERA and .258 batting average against. He is 5-0 this season with a .221 batting average against.
•    Zipko has made 11 postseason appearances, totaling 17.1 innings. He owns a 1-0 record, four saves and one earned run allowed, which equates to a 0.52 ERA.

ORRIS OFF AND RUNNING
•     Tyler Orris leads the PSAC with 34 stolen bases and ranks ninth nationally in steals per game. He sits third all-time behind Ernest McCoy, who swiped 36 in 1986 and 1987. Only three different Marauders have ever stolen more than 30 bags in a season. He has stolen two or more bases in nine games. A Millersville player has ranked in the PSAC's top three in steals in each of the last four seasons.

BREAKTHROUGH FOR McDADE
•    The team's No. 4 starter in 2013, Jim McDade posted a 6.85 ERA and did not pitch in the postseason. This year, McDade is 6-1 and ranks second in the league with a 2.39 ERA. He also ranks second in the PSAC and 19th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings. He also ranks 16th in Division II in WHIP.

MAGIC MURPHY
•    2013 PSAC East and Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year Chris Murphy continued his brilliance in 2014. His nine wins boosted his two-year record to 21-4, and his 1.85 ERA is lower than it was when he piled up the awards last season. Murphy is the only Marauder to total nine wins in two seasons. He is only two complete games shy of the school record. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 20 of 26 career starts. He posted a streak of 24.1 consecutive scoreless innings earlier this season, making him the only pitcher in PSAC history with two streaks of at least 23 consecutive scoreless innings.
•    He was named NCBWA Division II Pitcher of the Week three times, Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week five times and PSAC East Pitcher of the Week four times in his first 20 career starts.