Cary, N.C. - A first inning double steal by Tyler Orris and Chas McCormick set the tone for the Millersville lineup in Monday's 11-3 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament win over Cal Poly Pomona. The Marauders aggressively raced to a 4-0 lead after three innings, and starter Jim McDade pitched 7 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Dan Stoltzfus' three doubles and four RBIs led the offense to 13 hits and its most-ever runs scored in a NCAA Division II Championship game.

Cal Poly Pomona starter Max Bethel had not allowed a run in 22 1/3 NCAA Tournament innings, but the Marauders snapped that streak in the opening frame and kept scoring late despite a driving rain. Monday's offensive performance came on the heels of Saturday's opener in which the team scored only one run on a wild pitch and mustered just four hits. Orris and McCormick drew walks to start the first, and that was just what the Marauders needed to get rolling.

"(The offense) did a great job out of the gate, scoring a couple of runs," said Millersville Head Coach Jon Shehan. "The base running was outstanding. The double steal was gutsy at the beginning. Both guys did an excellent job executing that. That really set the tone for the game."

Orris and McCormick have combined for 65 steals on the season, and turning them loose on the base paths was key. With base runners in scoring position, Mitch Stoltzfus drove a 3-0 pitch into right field, sacrificing Orris home for the game's first run. Dan Stoltzfus followed with a sharply hit double down the right field line.

"We've got two excellent base runners," said Shehan. "They've stolen a lot of bags this year. When you struggle a little offensively, you have to get out of the gate and force something across. We were definitely trying to be a little more aggressive this evening."

"Getting runs in the first inning, we relax and our confidence goes up," said D. Stoltzfus. "When the confidence goes up hitting is a lot easier."

With a strike thrower like McDade (12-0) on the mound, almost any early lead is safe. McDade retired the first eight batters he faced and aside from a pair of two-out singles in the third, four of his first five innings were 1-2-3.

"When the offense puts up two runs in the first inning, it makes my job so much easier," said McDade.

"Give credit to Jim McDade," said Shehan. "He battled. Three strikeouts, he missed barrels, throws strikes, keeps guys off balance. It's what we've seen all year from him."

Orris tripled in a run in the second and David Summerfield singled home D. Stoltzfus in the third to build the lead to 4-0. The Stoltzfus cousins added RBI base hits in the seventh to grow the lead to 6-0. But Cal Poly Pomona, which had won its last three games in comeback fashion, mustered a two-out rally in the seventh. After the first two batters were retired, McDade walked one and the leadoff hitter reached on a bloop single. The inning, however, was extended on a dropped fly ball, and Chris Stratton made the Marauders pay for the miscue with a two-run double.

But Millersville answered. The Marauders pushed five runs home in the eighth. The big inning started when Aaron Taylor, who entered as a defensive replacement for an injured McCormick, ripped a triple off the left-center field wall, scoring two. D. Stoltzfus drove in a pair with his third double of the game. His 24th double set the program's single season record. He passed his head coach, who had held the record for a dozen years.

Orris reached base four times, drawing two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Every batter in the Marauder lineup reached base at least once. McDade joins Chris Murphy (2015) as the only two pitchers in Marauder history to post 12 wins without a loss. McDade improved to 3-0 in the 2016 postseason, and has allowed just five earned runs in 24 2/3 innings.

The victory marks the first time in three trips to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament that Millersville has won two games. The Marauders now have a two day break and take the field again Thursday. A win on Thursday would put the Marauders in the championship round.