Millersville baseball looks to continue fast start against Lock Haven

Millersville baseball looks to continue fast start against Lock Haven

3/29/2023 9:41:00 AM | Baseball

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

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ABOUT THE SERIES

Millersville is up to No. 11 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, and at 22-4, the Marauders are off to their best start since 2016. Millersville is 6-0 in PSAC East play for the second season in a row. In 2022, 2016 and 2013, Millersville began the PSAC East schedule with seven consecutive wins, but the program has never won its first eight division games. Lock Haven stands in the way of history in this weekend's three-game series that begins at Cooper Park on Friday. Lock Haven is 9-10 overall and 3-6 in the division. Two weeks ago, the Bald Eagles took two of three from West Chester, but they were swept by Kutztown in its most recent series. Lock Haven is 1-4 on the road against PSAC East teams while Millersville is 11-0 overall and 3-0 against the East at home.

Back-to-back Marauder ??! pic.twitter.com/NBxfd9oLqD
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) March 21, 2023

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

Millersville's pitching staff has been a nightmare for the opposition. The Marauders lead all of Division II in team ERA at 2.70 and also rank first in walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) at 1.08. Millersville's pitchers have surrendered just 157 hits in 216 1/3 innings, which also places them first in Division II in hits allowed per nine innings (6.53). The Marauders' trio of weekend starters--Carson Kulina, Ben Wichacky and Alex Mykut--have struck out 103 while walking just 31 in 105 1/3 innings. Kulina is 6-0 in seven appearances, boasting a batting average against of .177 (which leads the PSAC) while walking just seven in 32 innings. Kulina ranks ninth in Division II in ERA (1.12). He is one of just 10 pitchers in the nation with six or more wins without a loss.
Wilchacky is the team's workhorse, logging five-plus innings in five of his last six starts. He's pitched at least six innings in four of his seven starts and leads the team and ranks fifth in the PSAC in innings pitched. Wilchacky's .194 batting average against is fourth in the PSAC, and he ranks 22nd nationally in WHIP (0.93).
Mykut returned to the rotation after nearly two full seasons on the shelf because of injury. He's been dominant in his last three starts, striking out 20 while allowing just three earned runs and 12 hits over 17 2/3 innings.
The Marauders' bullpen has been dynamite as well. Kris Pirozzi owns a 0.63 WHIP and .115 batting average against in eight appearances, striking out 15 batters in eight innings. Harry Prince has fanned 15 in 13 1/3 innings while allowing four hits for an absurd .098 batting average against. Six relievers with at least six innings pitched own a batting average against under .200. Evan Rishell has not allowed an earned run since a five-inning outing against Pitt-Johnstown on Feb. 25. He boasts a 0.68 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, striking out 13 while allowing just nine hits.
Millersville's bats have put up numbers just as gaudy, scoring eight-plus runs in five-straight games. Bren Taylor (.512), Keegan Soltis (.505) an Jimmy Losh (.495) all rank in the top 15 in the PSAC in on base percentage. Taylor went 11-for-23 (.478) with four multi-hit games in his last five games. Losh is riding an eight-game hitting streak and has scored a run in eight of the last nine games. Thomas Caufield is also heating up after a slow start. Since March 4, Caufield has hit safely in nine of the last 10 games and is 15-for-34 (.441) in that stretch with seven of the hits going for extra bases.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Lock Haven has suffered five losses by two runs or fewer, including its last two games, which were 1-0 and 5-4 losses to Kutztown. Lock Haven ranks 13th in the PSAC in average (.273) and 17th out of 17 teams in OBP (.356). The Bald Eagles have drawn 78 walks in 19 games (4.1 per game). By comparison, Millersville averages 4.4 walks drawn, and the league leader, East Stroudsburg, averages 5.6. While Millersville is second in the PSAC in stolen bases with 78 in 87 attempts, Lock Haven has swiped 13 bases on 19 tries. Gavin Troutman and Justin Lichtenwalner share the team lead with four apiece.
Catcher Garrett Nepert is the team's top hitter with a .377 batting average, and he has hit safely in eight of the last 10 games.
Lock Haven is in the middle of the PSAC pack in team ERA, ranking eighth at 5.57. The .283 batting average against ranks 13th. Kevin Worek is seventh in the PSAC in innings pitched and wins (4). He also ranks eighth with 37 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY

Millersville has won seven of eight season series since Lock Haven moved to the PSAC East in 2014. The lone exception was in 2017 when Lock Haven won both games at home to split the four-game series. Millersville has won seven-straight home games against Lock Haven with the Bald Eagles' last winning at Cooper Park on April 28, 2018. Millersville is 17-1 all-time against Lock Haven at Cooper Park.
Millersville has a history of shutting down the Lock Haven lineup, having allowed more than two runs just three times in the last 12 meetings while also posting four shutouts. Millersville has shut out Lock Haven eight times since 2009 and allowed one run eight times. At the plate, Millersville has scored 10 or more runs eight times in the last 13 meetings.
Of the Marauders' projected starting pitching staff, only Ben Wilchacky has previously started against Lock Haven. Wilchacky's two career starts against the Bald Eagles are a mixed bag. Last season, he allowed two earned runs on three walks and six hits over 4 1/3 innings. In 2021, Wilchacky allowed two runs on two walks and two hits in 1 2/3 innings. Keegan Soltis enjoyed a big series at the plate in 2022, going 3-for-3 with three runs in game two and 2-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBIs in game one.