ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
• Millersville has swept two consecutive PSAC East series and is riding a 10-game winning streak entering Friday's doubleheader. The Marauders earned their highest rankings of the season this week, climbing to No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball Division II poll and No. 18 in the NCBWA Division II poll.
• Millersville's current winning streak is its second 10-game streak of the season. The 2015 and 2016 teams are the only other Marauder clubs with two such streaks in the same season. During the streak, Millersville has outscored opponents 70-24, posting a .323 team average compared to opponents' .225. Millersville's pitchers have struck out 74 while Millersville's hitters have struck out just 56 times. The Marauders are also 23-for-25 in stolen bases in the last 10 games while opponents have stolen just one base in the same span.
• Leading Millersville's offense has been center fielder and leadoff hitter
Cole Friese, who was named PSAC East Athlete of the Week on Monday. Friese has hit .514 (19-for-37) with a .561 OBP and 11 runs scored in the current winning streak. He is also 9-for-9 in stolen bases in that stretch. Friese has upped his season average to .418, which ranks fifth in the PSAC. He also ranks fifth in slugging, ninth in OBP, first in runs scored, first in hits, second in triples, third in home runs, third in steals and sixth in RBIs. Friese has reached base in all 31 games this season and owns a 14-game hitting streak.
• Shortstop
Eric Callahan has hit .419 with a .455 OBP during the winning streak. He has a hit in six consecutive games and has reached base in the last seven. Callahan has been solid in the field as well. From March 15-April 6 he went a stretch of 47 consecutive chances without an error. His .964 fielding percentage is best among PSAC shortstops and his 68 assists rank second in the league.
•
Jimmy Cain's offensive numbers are trending upward after a slow start. After totaling eight hits in his first 18 games, Cain has gone 9-for-24 (.375) in the last seven games. He also has three doubles and a homer in that span. Cain is one of three Marauders ranked in the PSAC's top 10 in walks drawn.
Dominic Hardaway leads the team with 20, which ranks him third in the league.
• After starting the season with three consecutive losses by its starting pitchers, the Marauders starters are 17-1.
Cordell Shannon (7-0),
Eli Nabholz (5-0) and
Drew Miller (4-0) have combined to win 16 decisions without a loss. Shannon has won seven consecutive starts. Over his last seven starts, Shannon has struck out 41 in 38 1/3 innings while walking 11. Opponents have hit .234 against him. Nabholz has struck out 37 and walked eight in his last 38 1/3 innings, posting a 2.82 ERA and .238 batting average against. Miller's opponents have hit just .217 against him and he owns a 3.19 ERA in his last seven starts.
• Shannon and Nabholz are in race for history. The career strikeout record--held by Chris Murphy and Matt Wagner at 235--is within reach for both pitchers this weekend. Shannon has 230 and Nabholz has 228. Shannon will become just the second pitcher in program history with 50 career starts on Saturday. With 2 2/3 innings, he will pass Murphy for second place in career innings pitched.
• Reliever
Christian Wingard has gotten the Marauders out of some jams, and while he has totaled just 5 2/3 innings in 10 appearances, he has given up two hits and struck out 12. He isn't just a lefty specialist, either. Lefties are hitting 1-for-10 against him, but righties are 1-for-11. With two outs in an inning, hitters are 0-for-8 against him.
SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. Mansfield (since 1957): 81-90
Series Streak: Mansfield, 1
Last Meeting: 2018 (L, 2-3)
Last Season Series: 3-1
Last 10 Meetings: 7-3
Jon Shehan vs. Mansfield: 30-14
• Millersville and Mansfield split the series in 2017 and Millersville took three of four in 2018. Two of Mansfield's last three wins in the series have come by one run. Mansfield's last win at Millersville was a 2-1 victory on April 1, 2017. Millersville is 2-2 over the last two seasons and 11-9 under
Jon Shehan at Mansfield. It's been a different story at home where the Marauders are 19-5 against the Mountaineers.
SCOUTING MANSFIELD
• Mansfield has lost eight in a row but does have wins over West Chester and East Stroudsburg. Offense is the big issue as Mansfield has scored more than five runs just twice all season. While Millersville leads the PSAC with a .308 team batting average, Mansfield ranks 16th out 16 teams with a .204 average. Millersville is averaging 8.03 runs per game while Mansfield is averaging 3.1 per game. Mansfield has hit just three home runs as a team.
• Evan McAndrew is the team's top starter. He leads the Mountaineers in starts (6) and had three of the team's five wins. He has a 3.18 ERA and a .225 batting average against, striking out 42 in 34 innings. He threw seven shutout innings against West Chester.
