MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Millersville Marauders' sizzling start to the 2020 season continued Saturday afternoon in the home opener at Cooper Park, as the team swept two games from visiting Nyack College (by scores of 14-5 and 13-0) to increase the team's early-season winning streak to five games and overall record to 7-2.
 
Junior Jeff Taylor was an imposing figure on the mound in game two, striking out twelve batters and tossing five innings of no-hit baseball to win his first career game as a Marauder. Nyack's Seth Crummer led off the top of the sixth inning with a double to left field to break up the potential no-hitter. Taylor has struck out a team-high 23 opposing batters so far in 2020.
 
Freshman Darin Miller, sophomore Jimmy Losh, and junior Luke Trainer were once again standouts at the plate. Miller broke open game one with a monster three-run home run to left field in the fourth inning that gave the Marauders a comfortable six-run lead. On the day he tallied three hits (including a triple), three runs scored, and four RBIs.
 
Losh continues to lead the Marauders in batting average, hitting at a .484 clip. On the day, the sophomore slugger collected three hits, scored five runs, and knocked in three RBIs.
 
Trainer leads the team in RBIs with 12 after bringing home five runners between the two games and adding a pair of doubles. His on-base percentage of .441 is tied for second-highest on the team with Jimmy Cain and they trail only Losh's total (.556).
 
 
GAME ONE (MILLERSVILLE 14, NYACK 5)
• Nyack College got on the scoreboard first in the second inning thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Migdiel Burgos. Brandon Rivera followed that up with an RBI single to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
• The Marauders struck back in the bottom of the third inning. A Jimmy Losh walk and Cole Friese single got things started, then Jimmy Cain reached on an error to load the bases. Luke Trainer drew an RBI walk of his own for the Ville's first run, and Jimmy Cain scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2.
• Millersville's bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth. Nick Mancuso's leadoff walk was followed up by a Losh single, and a double steal advanced both to third and second base, respectively. Friese walked to load the bases and Cain again reached on an error that allowed Mancuso to score to make it a 3-2 game. Trainer got hold of one deep to right field and doubled in Friese and Losh to increase the lead to three runs, then Darin Miller cranked the ball high in the sky to left field, clearing the fence for a three-run homer (his second of the season) to make it an 8-2 game.
• Millersville added three runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a Nyack error and a passed ball, then added another trio of runs in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of two RBI groundouts by Bren Taylor and Losh and an RBI triple by Tyler Wright.
• Nyack's Jonathan Santiago socked a 3-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to make the game 14-5 but Millersville reliever Bobby Dorta was able to get the final three outs to end the game.
• Millersville starting pitcher Drew Miller earned his first win of the season after throwing four innings, surrendering two earned runs, and striking out seven batters. Gavilan Fogarty-Harnish pitched two innings of scoreless baseball and struck out three in relief of Miller.
 
GAME TWO (MILLERSVILLE 13, NYACK 0)
• Jeff Taylor's performance on the mound was the story of game two, as he baffled Nyack batters through five innings. Taylor, a Penn State University transfer, hit the second batter of the game with a pitch. It was the only baserunner he would allow until the top of the sixth inning when his no-hit bid was broken up by Nyack's Seth Crummer.
• Offensively, the Marauders wasted no time giving Taylor a lead. Jimmy Losh scored on an error in the bottom of the first inning, and a Luke Trainer RBI double to the gap in left center drove in Jimmy Cain and Cole Friese to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
• Jimmy Losh began the scoring in the second inning with a one-out RBI double to left field that scored Justin Taylor. Three RBI singles scattered across the next two innings gave Millersville even more breathing room. Cole Friese drove in Losh and Eric Callahan later in the second, Bren Taylor singled to center field to plate Darin Miller, and Losh went opposite field to bring Manning Brookens in for an 8-0 lead after three innings.
• The Marauders rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning after two strikeouts to begin the frame. Some of Millersville's younger players were able to come off the bench and produce in key moments, as Cole Miller doubled on the first pitch he saw, allowing Jimmy Cain to score. Next up was Darin Miller, who singled and drove in Cole. Chase Simmons entered the game and singled to center field, and everyone came home on a Justin Taylor double to left field that made the game 12-0. A Bren Taylor RBI single made it 13-0 and capped another impressive offensive performance for the Black and Gold.
• Alex Mykut relieved Taylor in the sixth and allowed only one hit, no walks, and struck out four Nyack Warriors.
 
POST-GAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JON SHEHAN
• On Jeff Taylor's game two pitching performance: "Everything was working for him—the breaking ball, the two-seamer, and his changeup was really good. That's his pitch. He's extremely consistent, calm, and acts like a veteran out there on the mound. We really like what we see and it looks like we've got a bonafide conference starter."

• On the value of young players able to rotate in and earn at-bats: " The freshman class is good, they can swing the bats really well. There's a lot of jobs that are still open, including the corner outfield positions. There's been quite a few guys in different positions. It's been great to rotate those guys through and see who's going to win a job."

• On third baseman Darin Miller and his early-season exploits: "You don't want to set the ceiling too high but we really like him. He's mature and has good at-bats. We're excited about his potential career and we came in this fall having two really good freshman third basemen. That's a tough position to recruit. I think Justin Taylor will end up on the field somewhere, but it's been a lot of fun to watch Darin."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
• Jimmy Losh stole three bases between both games of the doubleheader and Cole Friese stole two.
• Freshman Justin Taylor had a solid game two out of the eight spot in the lineup, finishing 2-3 with a walk, a double, two runs scored, and two RBI.
• Tyler Wright, Nick Mancuso, and Darin Miller all hit their first triples of the season.
 
NOTES
• Darin Miller's home run was the second of the season for the freshman, a team-high mark.
• Luke Trainer, Cole Friese, Jimmy Cain, Jimmy Losh, and Eric Callahan have started all nine of Millersville's games in 2020.
• Millersville pitchers combined to strike out 27 Nyack batters between both of today's games.
• The Marauders have scored 68 total runs in nine games this season (an average of 7.5 per game.)
 
UP NEXT
• The Marauders' homestand continues on Wednesday, Feb. 26 with a doubleheader against Felician University, scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at Cooper Park in Millersville.