MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville head coach Jon Shehan said it all in four words as his Marauders celebrated a PSAC Championship and 9-2 victory over East Stroudsburg. "It's a great team," he said. 

The greatness of the team goes beyond 41 victories, a PSAC East title, the program's first conference tournament championship since 2015, batting averages and ERA's. The 2022 Millersville Marauders are a great team because of how players responded to championship moments--not just on championship Saturday in Slippery Rock--but throughout the season. 

"It's been a wild ride. These kids are so resilient," said Shehan. "There are so many stories behind the scenes that have created adversity for these guys and they kept battling through."

Embodying that resiliency was a pair of performances Saturday from grad student Luke Trainer and true freshman pitcher Sam Morris. Trainer, returning for his final season of eligibility, told Shehan before the season started that he wanted to win a championship. And after not catching for two months, circumstances put him behind the plate again. Trainer threw out a runner to end the second inning and then in the fifth inning, with the Marauders nursing a 3-1 lead, Trainer smacked an RBI triple to right field, sparking a four-run Millersville inning that blew the game wide open. Trainer went on to be named the tournament's MVP for his four-game performance in which he hit .500, drew six walks and drove in six runs. 

"You can't write it up any better," said Shehan of Trainer's virtouso performance. "He selflessly moved out from behind the plate and learned how to plate first base. He's done a fantastic job, and earlier in the week, he told me he did not feel good about going back behind the plate after all the work he'd put in at first. It felt foreign to him going behind the plate. So what a gutsy performance."
 

While Trainer had played 205 games in the Black and Gold, Morris had made just 15 career relief appearances when he got the call to make his first start in the PSAC title game. He'd never pitched more than three innings in a collegiate game and had not done so since April 2. But against East Stroudsburg, Morris pounded the strike zone, forced the Warriors to put the ball in play and let his defense work. He limited ESU to four hits and two walks, giving up just one solo home run in the fourth. His 5 1/3 innings were exactly what a tournament-weary pitching staff needed. 

"He just went out a dealt," said Shehan. "He's super competitive. All the credit goes to (pitching coach) Ryan Kramer on that one. That was his call. We knew he threw strikes and he's efficient. We thought he was the guy for the job with his ability to fill up the zone and put pressure on hitters which is what championship games are all about."

Millersville got its usual production from its four All-PSAC East selections at the top of the lineup, but what made the difference in the tournament, and especially on Sunday, were the contributions all through the lineup. Keegan Soltis reached base three times and scored three runs. Justin Taylor scored a run. Freshman Jimmy Kirk, playing because of the attrition at the catcher position, delivered two RBIs in the sixth and scored the backbreaking run in the fifth inning, hustling home from second base on one of three Jimmy Losh hits. Chase Simmons drove in a run from the No. 8 spot, and No. 9 hitter Tyler Wright went 2-for-4, and put Millersville's first run on the board with an RBI single in the second inning. 

"We knew how deep we were, but we didn't think we'd be this tested," said Shehan. "The lesson to be learned is that it can happen for anyone on any day. You look at the tournament that Justin Taylor put together. He got off to a start he'd never thought he'd get off to and he ends up being a hero in a game this week. It's a great team. That's what they are: a great team."

Millersville totaled 11 hits and drew eight walks against an ESU pitching staff that had been depleted by four games in the previous three days. The Warriors used seven pitchers while Millersville brought game one starter Ben Wilchacky back on two days rest for 1 2/3 innings. Colby Gromlich pitched into the ninth, and grad student Christian Wingard got the final two outs, including a strikeout that set off the celebration. 

NOTES
• Millersville's last two PSAC Championship wins have come against East Stroudsburg. Millersville won three of four against the Warriors in 2022. The first two wins were decided by one run each. Entering the game, East Stroudsburg had not allowed more than three runs in its previous five games and had allowed just eight total runs in its four PSAC Tournament games. 
• This marks the sixth PSAC Championship for Millersville all-time and the second in the expanded, eight-team format era. 
• Millersville has won 40-plus games for the sixth-time, and five of those seasons have come under the direction of Shehan. Millersville has also won nine-straight games. Millersville outscored its opponents a combined 30-7 in the four PSAC Tournament games. 

UP NEXT
• The conference tournament win gives Millersville an automatic berth into the NCAA Atlantic Regional. One of the top two seeds would give Millersville the opportunity to host one of two regionals. Regional play begins May 19.