Clutch relay preserves wins; Millersville advances in PSAC Tournament

Thursday, May 12

Slippery Rock, PA

10:00 AM

Millersville University

39-12

Slippery Rock

33-15

Millersville

Slippery Rock

Clutch relay preserves wins; Millersville advances in PSAC Tournament

5/12/2022 1:38:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Justin Taylor hit two home runs

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Tyler Wright started playing right field just over a month ago, but with the Millersville Marauders leading Slippery Rock 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he played Josh Spishock's double off the wall like a veteran. And the Tyler Wright to Jimmy Losh to Cole Houser relay cut down the game-tying run at the plate, pushing Millersville on to the PSAC Tournament semifinals.

Slippery Rock's Eddie Morris drew a four-pitch walk with two outs to put the tying run on first base. Spishock then lined the first offering from 'Ville reliever Colby Gromlich down the right field line. Wright raced to his left, and angled his body into throwing position as he barehanded the ricochet off the base of the wall. Losh, the cut-off man, fired a one-hopper to Houser who applied the tag to a sliding Morris for the game's 27th out.

"Perfectly executed fundamentals. That's what winning this time of year is all about," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "Jimmy Losh is a stud on that, and you have another middle infielder in right who executed it perfectly and the tag was outstanding."

Millersville (39-12) did not play a clean game, committing an error that led directly to a game-tying run in the fifth, and they also made three outs on the base paths. But Justin Taylor, who was making just his 18th start of the season, drilled two home runs and finished day 3-for-4, bouncing back in a big way after stranding five runners vs. Cal U in the first round.

"Early in the year he was struggling, and I just reminded him that he was going to get his shot," said Shehan. "He's been playing great defense at third base, and that's why he was in the lineup. On the bus ride over this morning I looked over at Jimmy Cain and said, 'the last time a guy had a horrible day like JT did yesterday it was Chase (Simmons), and he came back and hit a home run the next day. So we are sticking with JT today.' And he hits two."

Shortstop Thomas Caufield, the recently named NCBWA Atlantic Region Player of the Week, went 3-for-3, drove in the Marauders first run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first, and then broke a 2-2 tie in the third inning with a double that scored Bren Taylor. Taylor's first homer gave Millersville a 4-2 lead in the fourth, and his sixth-inning solo shot put Millersville on top for good.

Slippery Rock (33-15) entered the game with the PSAC's top offense and a .340 team average, and Shehan and the Millersville staff took a gamble, going with freshman left-hander Evan Rishell, who had made just two starts against PSAC foes. The Rock showed its offensive abilities by grinding out at bats early, forcing Rishell to throw 29 pitches in the first inning. The Marauder rookie battled, stranding the bases loaded, but in the second The Rock started to find their swing against Rishell, scoring two runs on three hits.

Quickly, Millersville went to the bullpen, and seniors Kris Pirozzi (2-0) and Nate Young delivered. Pirozzi threw a season-high 68 pitches, striking out five over 3 2/3 innings to get the win. Young tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings before handing the ball to Colby Gromlich for his first save.

"We kind of rolled the dice to give Conor Cook an extra day's rest to have him ready to rock and roll for game three. Pirozzi came in and did a fantastic job. He showed senior leadership. He's the guy we wanted in there."

NOTES
• Bren Taylor recorded two hits, giving him at least two hits in each of the last eight games.
• Millersville is now 8-2 all-time against Slippery Rock in the PSAC Tournament, winning all eight match-ups since the 1982 championship best-of-three series.

UP NEXT
• Millersville moves on to the championship semifinals and awaits the winner of Thursday's East Stroudsburg-Mercyhurst game. First pitch for Friday's game is at 11 a.m. Friday's winner advances to Saturday's championship round. The loser plays an elimination game at 3 p.m.