MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Just a day after some seventh-inning heroics earned the Millersville University baseball team a win at Shepherd University, the Marauders rallied again to win late in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader versus Shippensburg.

Down 3-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, Millersville was able to load the bases with two outs on Shippensburg reliever Austin Labarre after he relinquished two singles and hit Jimmy Losh with a pitch. Labarre was replaced by Noah Nabholz out of the bullpen, but his first pitch hit Bren Taylor to force in a run and make it 3-2. Luke Trainer then drew a walk to tie the game at three, and—just two pitches later—Losh was able to rush home on a Nabholz wild pitch to make it a walk-off win, 4-3, and secure the sweep after the Marauders also won game one 8-0.
 
The Marauders got standout pitching performances from a number of arms, beginning with game one starter Conor Cook. The true freshman tossed a complete game shutout, scattering four hits, one walk, and striking out eight to earn his first win of the season (and collegiate career.) Game two starter Ben Wilchacky struck out the side to begin the game and went four innings, allowing just two earned runs. Christian Wingard was throwing smoke out of the bullpen in game two, striking out four of the six batters he faced to earn his first victory of the season.
 
The Marauder bats have been generating quite a bit of power lately, with home runs today from Bren Taylor, Justin Taylor, and Luke Trainer. The team has hit nine home runs in the last five games and 20 total for the entire season.
 
With today's pair of victories, Millersville has defeated Shippensburg in 10 straight ballgames and 11 of the past 12. The Ville now prepares for a critical four-game series with West Chester University this weekend.
 
GAME ONE (MILLERSVILLE 8, SHIPPENSBURG 0)
• Conor Cook only needed a small bit of run support, but the Marauder bats provided more than enough. Justin Taylor put Millersville on the board in the second inning with an RBI double to plate Mark Miller, while in the third inning Luke Trainer and Eric Callahan both hit RBI singles to extend the lead to 4-0.
• Justin Taylor, who got the start at first base in both games, again came through at the plate with a home run in the fourth inning (his second of the season) that gave his team a five-run lead. Bren Taylor also continued to produce and followed it up with a solo shot of his own to right field in the fifth and also drove in two more runs with a single up the middle in the sixth inning. Bren (3-4, three RBIs, two runs scored) and Justin (2-3, two RBIs, one run scored) were the only Marauders with a multi-hit game one.
 
GAME TWO (MILLERSVILLE 4, SHIPPENSBURG 3)
• Shippensburg starting pitcher Kiernan Higgins did well against the Marauder lineup, throwing six innings of one-run baseball, striking out six, and only surrendering four hits. Justin Byler gave the Raiders the lead in the second inning with a single through the left side to score Justin Darden for a 1-0 advantage.
• The top of the fourth was also an adventure. Jimmy Losh made two incredible plays in the field to keep the game as close as it was, the first of which was a catch in foul territory down the right field line that saw him sprint backwards at an angle and make the diving catch for the first out of the inning. A Joe Barbera RBI double and a wacky rundown on a Jackson LoBianco ground ball brought home two more Shippensburg runs, but Losh's second web gem happened with a ball hit up the middle that Losh somehow ranged to his right for, dove, popped back up, and fired the ball to first base to end the inning and keep the game 3-0.
• The comeback effort for the Marauders began in the fourth inning, with a leadoff home run from Luke Trainer that was absolutely crushed to dead centerfield to cut the Shippensburg lead to two runs.
• The aforementioned seventh inning sequence to give the Marauders the walk-off victory only included two hits: Justin Taylor and Tyler Wright both singled, while the rest of the lineup was patient and took advantage of two hit batters, a walk, and a wild pitch to complete the comeback.

REACTION FROM COACH JON SHEHAN
•On today's effort: "Wow! Our pitching was so good today. It's a tale of two different teams; last week we're scrambling to throw strikes and we had a lot of talks this week about how to fix it. Jeff Taylor had a gutsy performance yesterday to set everybody up going into today and I think the pitchers have started to believe in the last 48 hours or so. The attitude has done a full 180 in just a couple of days so it's a lot of fun to see. Tyson and Wingard had two great outings as well so it was a good day on the bump."
•On young pitchers Conor Cook and Ben Wilchacky: "Cook was so good today and set the tone. I think it bled into Wilchacky going in and striking out the side to begin game two. His stuff is good, we've been telling him that, it's just a matter of him believing in himself and I think it's starting to click for Ben."
•On the wild finish: "You make things happen. You put together some good at-bats and you just never know what can happen at the end of a ballgame—put a lot of pressure on the pitcher, make them throw strikes, or we'll load the bases."

NOTES
• Sophomore Justin Taylor is on a tear since being inserted back into the starting lineup on April 10. He has responded by going 6-for-11 with four RBIs, two home runs, four runs scored, a double, and has improved his batting average to .409.
• Luke Trainer's home run was his second of the season and he had not homered since the first game of the season on March 6 (when he also hit for the cycle.)
• Conor Cook's complete game shutout was the team's second of the season. Alex Mykut blanked Lock Haven back on March 20 for the other.

UP NEXT
• Millersville battles PSAC East rival West Chester in a four-game series this weekend. The Marauders hit the road for the series-opening doubleheader on Friday, April 16 beginning at 12 p.m. and will host games three and four of the series on Saturday, April 17 at Cooper Park (first pitch also at 12 p.m.)