WILSON, N.C. – The Millersville Marauders baseball team continued its strong start and swept its first doubleheader of the 2020 season on Sunday, taking two games from the Barton College Bulldogs by scores of 4-2 and 10-4. Eric Callahan and Jimmy Losh led the way offensively at the top of the lineup in both games. Callahan finished the day with four total hits, a double, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Losh added five hits, two runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base.
 
Jimmy Cain and Darin Miller both left the ballpark with home runs in game two. Cain connected on a three-run homer in the seventh to break the game open and Miller followed it up with a solo shot to center field in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
 
The Ville's overall record improves to 5-2 and the team now enjoys a sixteen-day break with no games on the schedule after two lengthy road trips to begin the campaign.
 
GAME ONE (MILLERSVILLE 4, BARTON COLLEGE 2)
• Millersville wasted no time putting up a run on the scoreboard. Eric Callahan doubled down the left field line in the first inning, stole third base, and came home after a Luke Trainer sacrifice fly to right center to make it 1-0.
• Barton got to Marauders' starter Jeff Taylor in the third inning, scoring a run after a Andres Machado single and a Noah Almond double. That would be the only run Taylor would give up, though, finishing with four-and-two-thirds innings pitched and six strikeouts.
• Jimmy Losh had another banner day at the dish. The sophomore went 3-3 in the game, including a single up the middle to led off the sixth inning. He came home and scored when Jimmy Cain pulled a double to left to make it a 2-1 game.
• Freshman third baseman Darin Miller also made some noise in the sixth, coming up with a clutch two-out, two-run single through the left side that scored Cain and Manning Brookens.
• Andrew Mayhew came on in relief of Taylor and was awarded his first win of the season. Paul Wilson came on to toss two innings and earn his first save of 2020.
 
GAME TWO (MILLERSVILLE 10, BARTON COLLEGE 4)
• Sophomore Alex Mykut started the game for Millersville and delivered three solid innings, giving up an earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out five.
• The Marauders gave Mykut a lead in the top of the third inning. Eric Callahan reached first base on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and was driven in by the red-hot Jimmy Losh, who deposited a 2-1 pitch into right center to collect his eleventh hit of 2020.
• Millersville secured a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fourth inning. Cole Friese led off the frame with a walk and advanced to third after a Luke Trainer single. Trainer advanced to second and Jimmy Cain made it to first on a fielder's choice that was mishandled by the Barton defense. The Marauders did what they needed to do to get the runners home, as senior Manning Brookens connected on a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Friese to score and Trainer to get to third base. Darin Miller was next up and made it back-to-back sacrifice flies, as his line shot out to centerfield was deep enough to score Trainer and make it a 3-1 ballgame.
• Barton did pull a run back in the bottom of the fourth after a pair of singles, a walk, and a passed ball allowed Brayden Olson to score. Christian Wingard relieved Mykut and got a pop-out, a strikeout and a line-out to end the threat.
• Freshman Kris Pirozzi was the third pitcher used by Millersville and went two-and-a-third scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
• The Millersville bats once again baffled Barton in the top of the sixth. Luke Trainer led off the inning with a single down the right field line and got a free pass to second base after Jimmy Cain was hit by a pitch. Manning Brookens laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners and Darin Miller connected on a sacrifice fly to score Trainer for the second time in the game. The next batter, Nick Mancuso, socked a 0-2 pitch to left field to drive in Cain and give the Ville a 5-1 advantage.
• Balls began to carry out of the park late in the game. In the top of the seventh, Jimmy Cain drove a ball deep to left center with two men on that cleared the fence for a three-run home run and an 8-1 lead. Darin Miller followed that up with a solo homer to center field in the top of the eighth. Tyler Wright added an RBI single to plate Bren Taylor in the same inning to push the lead to 10-1.
 
POST-GAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JON SHEHAN
• On the team's improved execution: "I think we were six out of seven with situational hitting. Things like getting bunts down, moving runners over, and sacrifice flies: we executed them all well. It was just a good day."
 
• On the breakout day for freshman Darin Miller and other Marauders: "It was great to see Darin Miller drive in so many runs in from the seven hole. It's so fun to see the young guys start to click and it gets the rest of the team excited. Eric Callahan got off to a slow start but he turned it on today. He got to be himself and played great defense. Jimmy Cain's home run really took some pressure off of the pitching staff in game two. That was a big swing."

• On what the focus will be moving forward: "We're still a bit inconsistent on the mound, but overall we've seen what we wanted to see to begin the season. I thought we played defense today like I thought we had the capability to do all season. Today was a lot of fun but we need to get a lot of at bats in and tighten down our mental game. That'll be the focus during the break."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
• With his five RBIs today, Darin Miller is now tied with Luke Trainer for the team lead with seven. Jimmy Cain drove in four runs on the day, increasing his season total to five. Manning Brookens (six) has the team's second-highest RBI total.
• Jimmy Losh's 5-for-6 day at the plate improves his batting average to a team-high .480 among players with more than two at-bats.
• Eric Callahan stole two bases on four attempts between both halves of the doubleheader, increasing his season total to four steals.
• Trainer and Nick Mancuso both finished game two with two hits apiece. Trainer scored two runs and is now batting .364 for the season, second only to Losh on the team.
• Jimmy Cain's home run in game two was his first of the season and ninth of his career. Darin Miller's home run was the first of the season and the first of his Millersville career.
• The Marauders did not commit an error in either of today's games.
 
NOTES
• Millerville's 5-2 record equals the team's best seven-game start since the 2016 season. In that year the Marauders began the season 6-1 and the team also got off to a 5-2 start in the 2017 season.
• Millersville pitchers combined to strike out 19 Barton batters between both of today's games.
• The Marauders have scored 41 total runs in just seven games this season.

 
UP NEXT
• The Marauders have a lengthy break until their next doubleheader, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26 beginning at 12 p.m. at Cooper Park in Millersville against Felician University.