MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Jimmy Losh hit the second pitch of the bottom of the first inning for a triple, and the No. 20-ranked Millersville Marauders were off and running. Millersville built a five-run lead behind a strong start from Conor Cook, and Sam Morris navigated a pair of jams in the final two innings to preserve a 5-4 victory over the visiting Shepherd Rams. 

Millersville (27-8, 11-2 PSAC East) won its 12th-straight game at Cooper Park, improving to 14-1 at home. Cook (3-2) had served as Millersville's game three starter in the last three division series, but the Marauders' staff flipped the rotation this week, and the strategy paid off. Cook took a shutout into the eighth and of the four runs credited to his line through 7 1/3 innings, three were unearned, and three came across the plate with him out of the game. It was his longest outing of the season, and his seven strikeouts were a season high. 

The Marauders and Rams both totaled six hits, but Millersville executed brilliantly with runners on third base, getting a sacrifice fly in the first from Bren Taylor, and Chase Simmons squeezed home a run in the second and drew a full-count, bases-loaded walk in the sixth. That run proved to be the difference in the one-run game. 

Losh, the reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Week, extended his on-base streak to 19 games. Justin Taylor also tripled in a run in the second inning. Trainer drove in a run with an RBI single in the sixth, and Bren Taylor led the team with two hits. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS
• Millersville took a 5-0 lead into the eighth, and after a leadoff single, the Marauders failed to convert a surefire double-play. Ryan Haddaway, who led Shepherd with three hits, singled in his team's first run, and Cook issued his third walk of the game, loading the bases. That put rookie Sam Morris in a save situation with one out and the bases loaded. The Rams drew within one after a hit batsman, a sacrifice fly and a double from Joey Schwartz, but Morris ended the inning with a fly-out. In the ninth, the Rams put the go-ahead run on base when Haddaway recorded his third hit, but Morris nailed down his fourth save of the season with a pair of strikeouts.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH JON SHEHAN
• On starting Cook in game one of the series: "He's a fly ball guy. Wind was blowing in today and we have a big park. Shepherd's park is smaller, and it is the same at Bloomsburg where we play in two weeks, so we wanted to get our ground ball guys on Saturday for better match-ups. All three guys are throwing the ball really well right now so it was a comfortable move to make. 
• On Morris pitching out of trouble: "He's super mature and super confident. He throws a lot of strikes. Hitting the kid is rare for him. But he has ice cold veins, and there hasn't been a point this year where we haven't thought maybe we shouldn't have brought him in. Almost immediately we thought he had poise and was ready to go in big spots."
• On Losh in the leadoff spot: "There's been some professional baseball guys sniffing around some other guys in our lineup, but Jimmy Losh is one of the best hitters in this league, in this region, and maybe in the country in Division II. He is really tough from both sides of the plate, and I'm glad he's on our team."

UP NEXT
• Millersville travels to Shepherd Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.