MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Millersville Marauders simply were not going to be denied--not on the final day of the regular season when a win would clinch a third-straight PSAC Eastern Division championship. The Marauders fell behind homestanding Mansfield by multiple runs twice, but twice the Marauders rallied, scored nine runs in the final two innings and came away with a 12-5 victory. 

Millersville (37-12, 18-6 PSAC East) has now won nine PSAC East titles in Coach Jon Shehan's 15 years at the helm, including eight of the last 11. The Marauders now take a No. 1 seed into the PSAC Tournament, which starts Wednesday, May 11 at Slippery Rock. 

Less than two weeks ago, the Marauders' title hopes looked shaky. They had just lost four-straight PSAC East games for the first time in a decade. But the team responded by winning the last five regular-season games by a combined score of 74-16. 

"We talked the day before that Bloomsburg series and explained how big it was," said Shehan. "It was a big series. The amount of adversity that this team has faced with injuries and things that haven't been publicized has been great. It's impacted everyone of us. It can either knock you down and out or you can get back up. I told them, 'I really think this team has a chance to win a championship.' They could have rolled over after that (loss) against Bloomsburg at home, but they showed up and have been at it ever since."

Mansfield (22-25, 11-13) entered the weekend series in a must-win mode, sitting just two games out of playoff position. But the Marauders eliminated Mansfield from contention on Thursday and polished off the sweep Sunday at Shaute Field. With West Chester winning at Shippensburg earlier Sunday, the Marauders also faced a must-win scenario and trailed 5-3 after Asaaf Lowengart's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. 

Mansfield starter Hunter DePrimo (2-6) had held his own against Millersville's potent lineup for seven innings, but in the eighth, it unraveled. Millersville's Tyler Wright and Jimmy Losh started the inning with back-to-back singles, and Bren Taylor's chopper to second base was misplayed, pushing one run across. Thomas Caufield drew a walk to load the bases, and Luke Trainer hit a shot up the middle that deflected off the glove of the second baseman, bringing two more runs home and giving Millersville a 6-5 lead. Keegan Soltis was robbed of extra bases on a brilliant diving grab by right fielder Jake Haas, but it was enough to score Caufield for Millersville's fourth run of the inning. 

The top half of Millersville's lineup could be held in check for only so long. Taylor, Caufield, Trainer and Soltis combined for 10 RBIs, eight hits and eight runs. 

"It's one thing to have one player of the year type guy, but it's another to have four. I struggled with the nominations because we have four who deserve it. It's Murderers' Row in the PSAC. We haven't had an offense like this in 2016. They can all beat you in a number of ways, and they are dynamic." 

Despite a two-run lead for the Marauders, the game was hardly decided. Mansfield put two runners on with one out against reliever Nate Young in the eighth, but Young bounced back with back-to-back strikeouts, ending the threat. And in the ninth, Caufield took away all the late-game drama by drilling a grand slam--his second in as many games and his 14th homer of the season. 

Three innings earlier, with Millersville trailing 3-2, Caufield surprised the Mansfield defense with a well-placed, two-out bunt down the third line that brought home Bren Taylor and tied the game. 

"(The bunt decision) was all Caufield," said Shehan. "He's got great instincts. He wasn't seeing the ball well against DePrimo. DePrimo is a great pitcher--a really, really good pitcher, but it was a perfect bunt." 

On the mound, freshman Evan Rishell (3-1) bounced back from a rocky start to give the Marauders five strong innings and keep his team in the game while the offense found its swing. After giving up two in the first, Rishell allowed just one unearned run over the next four innings. He scattered six hits and walked one while striking out five. It was a heady outing from a rookie who just three weeks ago was starting non-conference mid-week games--not division-clinching series finales. 

"This outing was a reflection of who he is," said Shehan. "He gave up a couple hits and runs early but goes into battle mode and made pitches. He kept us in it. He was upset we took him out, but he was getting up there in pitches, and we hope he'll have to throw an important game for us in few days. In high school, he pitched into the state tournament and against some really good pitchers. He's been in pressure situations before and didn't shy away from it."

Nate Young (6-0), Millersville's bullpen ace all season, was impressive yet again, striking out five in two shutout innings of work, earning his sixth save in as many decisions. 

Trainer led the Marauders with three hits while also driving in three and scoring two runs. Caufield plated five with a homer and a single. Bren Taylor scored all four times he reached base, singles and tripled, giving him six-straight games with at least two hits. 

NOTES
• Taylor's four-run game boosted his season total to 71, which is a Millersville record. He also recorded his 75th hit of the season Sunday, which moves him into a four-way tie for 10th on Millersville's single-season leaderboard. 
• Sunday's performance moved Caufield into a tie for single-season home runs with Matt Knox (2000) at 14, and he jumped to fourth in single-season RBIs with 69. Both Caufield and Trainer now have 20 doubles, which ties with Mike August (2011) for third-most in a season. Trainer jumped ahead of Chas McCormick (2015) for fifth on the single-season RBIs list with 60. 
• Trainer (.425) and Taylor (.417) both carry .400 averages into the postseason and are bidding to join just 20 others in Millersville history to hit over .400 in a season. The last time a Marauder hit .400 was in 2016. 

UP NEXT
• This year's PSAC Tournament features four elimination games on day one. The four winners advance to a four-team double-elimination bracket. Play begins Wednesday. Millersville plays at 1 p.m., against Cal U.