Marauders roll past Mansfield to get within one game of PSAC East title

Thursday, May 5

Millersville, PA

12:00 PM

Millersville University

35-12, 16-6

Mansfield

22-23, 11-11

Millersville

Mansfield

Marauders roll past Mansfield to get within one game of PSAC East title

5/5/2022 5:20:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville entered the final series of the regular season with a shot at a third-straight PSAC East title, and after Thursday's 13-1 and 17-0 blowout wins over Mansfield, that chance remains.

Millersville (36-12, 17-6), West Chester and Shippensburg started Thursday in a three-way tie for first in the East, and after Millersville's sweep, and Shippensburg's come-from-behind 10-9 win over West Chester, the Marauders are a win away from the division crown. Millersville can clinch its ninth PSAC East title in the last 15 years with a win on Saturday or a West Chester loss. Mansfield needed to gain two games on East Stroudsburg for the final PSAC Tournament spot, and Thursday's two losses eliminated the Mountaineers from contention.

All season, Millersville has counted on its first four hitters on the lineup, and they starred again Thursday. Jimmy Losh, Bren Taylor, Thomas Caufield and Luke Trainer combined to score 18 runs and total 21 RBIs in the doubleheader. Taylor, the reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Week, kept up his hot hitting, going 6-for-9 with six RBIs and five runs scored in the two games. Caufield reached base four times in the opener and followed that by going 3-for-5 in the nightcap, hitting a grand slam in the eighth inning.

Millersville has now scored 13 or more runs in four of the last six games including three in a row.

GAME ONE
• Millersville, playing as the road team at home because of the change in schedule, was largely held in check over the first five innings and led 3-1 entering the top of the sixth. After back-to-back singles to start the frame, Mansfield retired two in a row and had a chance to escape without any damage. But Losh delivered a single, bringing both runners home. Taylor followed with an RBI single of his own, and after a Caufield walk, Trainer singled to the opposite field, driving in two more runs.
• The Marauders extended their 8-1 lead in the top of the seventh with another five-run inning. Taylor smacked a bases-loaded double, Caufield singled in Taylor, and Trainer doubled home Caufield.
• Taylor went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, three runs and two steals. Caufield walked three times, singled, scored twice and swiped three bases. Justin Taylor went 3-for-4 with a double and scored twice.
• Ben Wilchacky (8-1) earned a win for his second consecutive start, striking out six and allowing one run on three hits over four innings. He struck out the side in the fourth. Nate Young and Jeff Taylor combined for three scoreless innings in relief.

GAME TWO
• It was all Marauders from the start as they scored five runs in the first inning, and Conor Cook never let the Mountaineers retaliate. Cook (4-3) tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just four singles while striking out six.
• Caufield went 3-for-5 with a triple and a home run, which boosted his single-season tally to 13 and moved him to within two of the Millersville single-season record. Bren Taylor produced three hits for the second game in a row, giving him 15 hits in his last five games. Eleven different Marauders reached base, and eight scored at least one run.

UP NEXT
• Millersville and Mansfield are schedule to play the regular season finale Saturday at Corning Community College (N.Y.). If there is inclement weather, the game will be played Sunday at Cooper Park.