Millersville, Pa. - Millersville baseball will enter the final day of the regular season with a chance to win the PSAC East. The Marauders swept Bloomsburg Friday at Cooper Park with a 9-1 win in game one and a 4-2 win in game two. The wins pushed Millersville to 18-8 in the PSAC East, keeping pace with West Chester which took two from Mansfield.
Eli Nabholz (8-3) nearly shut out the PSAC's top-hitting lineup in game one. The junior right-hander gave up just three hits and struck out seven in a complete game effort. A solo homer in the third was the only blemish. Nabholz has won five consecutive home starts--all by complete game. He has given up just 12 hits and one run over his last 28 innings at home.
Cordell Shannon (7-2) won his third consecutive start and has now held teams to fewer than four runs in eight consecutive starts. He surrendered just five three hits and two runs over five innings, striking out five.
Millersville has now won 14 consecutive games against Bloomsburg.
GAME 1
With Nabholz dealing, the Marauders didn't need much run support. But five of the first six Marauders to the plate recorded a hit.
Eric Callahan's two-run double over the left fielder, capped a five-run first inning.
Millersville's 15 hits were the second most in a PSAC East game this season. Kayor Kulina,
Jimmy Cain and Callahan all had three hits. Kulina, Callahan and Snyder all drove in two runs.
Cole Friese singled in the first and again in the sixth and scored both times he reached base.
GAME 2
The nation's leading hitter, Austin Edgette, doubled in two runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game and erase Millersville's lead. But the game wasn't tied for long.
Kulina led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to left center. With heads up base running, Kulina jetted to third on a fly ball to right.
Jimmy Cain then broke the tie with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Dominic Hardaway kept the inning rolling with a single and stolen base.
Bobby Dorta then slashed a single to right, scoring Hardaway from second.
Shannon, who gave up two runs on three hits and four walks, exited after the fifth, and Dorta,
Christian Wingard and
Mike Mock made the two-run lead hold up. Dorta struck out two in a shutout sixth. In the top of the seventh, Wingard got Edgette to fly out to center before handing the ball to Mock. Mock issued a pair of one-out walks but froze Kyle OFier with a curveball for the final out--stranding the tying run at first base.
Millersville's scoring started when Frise led off with a triple and scored on a Kulina ground out. Snyder drove in Friese with a sacrifice fly in the third.
Seven Marauders had at least one hit. Kulina went 2 for 3 with a run and RBI.
UP NEXT
Millersville travels to Bloomsburg on Saturday--the final day of the regular season. Because West Chester holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, Millersville needs one more win than West Chester on Saturday.
