Ephrata, Pa. - Millersville baseball rallied from a three-run deficit with four runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on to beat East Stroudsburg 4-3 in the opener of Sunday's PSAC East doubleheader played at War Memorial Field in Ephrata. East Stroudsburg exacted revenge in the nightcap, though, rolling to an 11-5 win to even the series.

No. 29 Millersville fell to 4-4 over its last eight games with the split and stayed even at 3-3 in the PSAC East. ESU's game two explosion marked the eighth time it has scored double-digit runs this season. ESU moved to 13-3 overall and 4-2 in the PSAC East. The Warriors, with ace Matt Festa on the mound, were in prime position to hand Chris Murphy his first loss of the season in the opener.

After not walking a single batter in his last start, Murphy struggled with command and issued four walks, including three in the third innings, which helped the Warriors pushed three runs home. Singles from Jay Young and Dylan Tamecki and a passed ball brought runs home, but Murphy managed to strike out Ian Allen to leave the bases loaded.

Festa kept Millersville off the board until the sixth. John Brogan, Mitch Stoltzfus and David Summerfield started the inning with three consecutive singles. Kurt Seiders ripped a single into left field, cutting the ESU lead to two. ESU pulled Festa in favor of Connor Crookham, and he immediately issued a bases loaded walk to Orris. Millersville's next batter, Dan Neff, hit a slow roller to the shortstop, who forced Orris at second, but Neff's speed beat out the throw to first and Summerfield came home for the tying run. Chas McCormick then delivered a two-out single past the third baseman to put Millersville in front, 4-3.

The Marauders turned to freshman Stephen Muscovitch in the seventh. Muscovitch had entered in the sixth and got the Marauders out of a two-on, one-out jam. ESU's Jay Young led off the seventh with a check swing single to right, but Muscovitch struck out Casey Saverio, Mitch Stoltzfus threw out Young trying to steal second and Muscovitch got No. 3 hitter Matt Walewski to pop out to Orris for the final out.

Neff and Summerfield led Millersville with two hits apiece. Murphy took a no decision for the first time in six starts. He allowed three runs on four hits and struck out seven over five innings. Muscovitch scored the first win of his career by striking out two and allowing one hit over 1.2 innings. Fest gave up nine hits and allowed four runs for his first loss of the season.

Neither team's starting pitchers lasted long in the nightcap. Dylan Boisclair (2-1) couldn't make it out of the third, allowing five runs on four hits and four walks. Millersville turned to Logan Grant, but he last just a third of an inning. Reid Anderson gave up four runs on seven hits in relief, but he logged a career-high 4.2 innings and gave a pair of scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh. ESU's 11 runs were the most Millersville has allowed in a PSAC East game since 2010.

Marauder pitchers walked seven and hit two--the most free passes allowed since the 2014 season opener. ESU took full advantage. It scored three runs on one hit in the second and five runs on just three hits in the third.

But even after falling behind 7-1, Millersville had its opportunities. The Marauders had the bases loaded in the second but a double play ended the threat. They added three runs in the third to make the deficit a manageable, 7-4. But immediately, ESU scored three more in the top of the fourth to pull away again.

A bright spot for Millersville was Summerfield, who went 3-for-4 and had his first career double. He also drove in three runs and scored two. Dan Stoltzfus reached base three times with a single, double and a walk and also scored twice.

Milersville and East Stroudsburg resumes the series on Monday morning in Ephrata. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. Fans can listen live on MSBN.