CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Sometimes the game of baseball just has other plans. Issued the bunt sign with the game tied in the bottom of the ninth with no one out and pinch runner Zach Chowansky on first base, Pete Vaccaro fouled off the first attempt and then pulled back on an outside pitch. Millersville coach Jon Shehan then took off the sacrifice bunt and let the Marauder junior swing away. Vaccaro bluffed bunt then lashed a 1-1 fastball into the left-center field gap, scoring Chowansky all the way from first base, and giving Millersville a dramatic 3-2 walk-off win over West Virginia State in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional. 

It was a fortunate turn of events for a Millersville team that had seen two of its previous four losses come in extra innings. The Marauders won in walk-off fashion for the third time this season, and the game-winning RBI came off the bat of a first-year Marauder making his NCAA regional debut. It was Vaccaro's first collegiate walk-off hit. He had put down just one sacrifice bunt previously. 

"It was a fake steal, slash, supposed to hit the ball on the ground, and he did a great job, hitting the ball in the gap. It paid off," said Shehan. 

"I was trying to get the bunt down on the first pitch, but the pitcher had a lot of arm-side run. The slash helped me out because I could stay on that spin," said Vaccaro of his final at bat. "I got a pitch that was elevated. I tried to punch it through the left side but I got under it a little. It was a happy mistake."

Justin Taylor, who led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, entered the inning 0-for-3, and Vaccaro was 0-for-2. Taylor pulled a 2-2 pitch inside the right-field line to set the stage for Vaccaro. After being shut out in the PSAC Semifinal elimination game, Millersville spent the off week renewing an emphasis on manufacturing runs without relying on the long ball. Jimmy Losh drove in the game's first run in the second inning on a hit-and-run with Cole Friese on first base, and Vaccaro scored in the fifth from second base on a two-out hit from Bren Taylor. Millersville turned its runners lose, attempting three steals, successfully converting two. And with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and Eric Callahan on the third, Losh pushed a bunt down the third-base line. It looked as if the squeeze put Millersville in the lead, but Losh was ruled out at first on a bang-bang play. 

"We've been working a lot on having a dynamic offense in these situations, where they are making pitches and we have to find other ways to score runs when we can't hit homers and doubles," said Shehan. "We've been in enough regionals to know that some days you are just going to face good arms. You have to find ways to score runs and beat people when you don't have your best day at the plate. That's what we did today."

West Virginia State called on NCBWA and D2CCA All-Atlantic Region starting pitcher Ethan Lauchert for 4 2/3 innings and then went to top reliever Joe Bradley, whose 3 2/3 innings stand as his second-longest outing of the season. That duo had most recently won two games against Concord for the Mountain East Conference championship. Millersville, however, elected not to go with PSAC East Pitcher of the Year Jeff Taylor. Instead, Paul Wilson, who missed his scheduled PSAC Tournament start with an arm injury, got the nod Thursday. Hardly 100 percent, Willson still gave the Marauders four strong innings, giving up just one solo home run and striking out five, before a quartet of Marauder relievers combined for five outstanding innings of work. 

"That was probably the most gutsy performance of Paul's career," said Shehan. "Knowing what he's going through and the pain he's pitching through, he just wanted one more outing. Paul Wilson is a true Marauder. He's a great student and a great person in the community. He's battled through two significant injuries, and I'm really proud of him."

The bullpen, which walked 18 in 12 innings during the two PSAC Tournament defeats, gave a resurgent performance. Freshman Harry Prince retired the side after a leadoff walk in the fifth. Senior Aidan Welch entered with two on and one out in the sixth and quickly got two ground outs to end the threat. Kris Pirozzi pitched two shutout innings, getting some help from Bren Taylor, who made a leaping grab at the left-field wall with a runner on and two out in the seventh, and then registering a strikeout to strand two Yellow Jackets on base in the eighth. Wyatt Tyson, credited with the win, entered with a runner on in the ninth, and after Matt Harrison drew a full-count walk, Tyson got all-region performer Andrew Stone to fly out to left, preserving the 2-2 tie. 

"We know we have the capability out of the pen, it is just a matter of those guys believing in themselves and pitching to contact," said Shehan. "They are going to get swings and misses because their stuff is really good. But we are trying to minimize pitches. We did that pretty well today. The bullpen was fantastic."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville out-hit West Virginia State 9-8 and did not commit an error in the field while the Yellow Jackets committed two. 
• Bren Taylor, who entered the day without a hit in the previous four postseason games, went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Friese and Losh also went 2-for-4. Tyler Wright reached base twice via walk. 
• Wilson scattered four hits over four innings in the no decision. Prince, making the second appearance of his career, struck out two in 1 1/3. Pirozzi struck out three in 2 2/3. Tyson improved his record to 3-3. 
• West Virginia State's Lauchart and Bradley combined for just three strikeouts. Stone recorded nine assists from his second base position. 

QUOTABLE
•  "I'm just thankful I could back up (the team) today. They did a great job today. The arms pitched fantastic, we played great D. We played fundamentally right and got a little lucky at the end." - Pete Vaccaro. 

NOTES
• Millersville, making its eighth-straight NCAA regional appearance, won its first game for the first time since 2017. Since 2013, Millersville is 9-1 in regional games decided by one run or in extra innings. 
• Wilson made the first postseason start of his career Thursday. In three career postseason appearances, he has allowed two runs over seven innings while striking out nine. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville plays the winner of Thursday evening's Seton Hill-Bloomsburg match-up Friday at 3 p.m. A win on Friday puts Millersville in the regional championship round on Saturday.