ABOUT THE SERIES

• A three-game series sweep of Shippensburg last weekend Millersville two games up in the PSAC East standings at 13-2 with nine league games remaining. The Marauders have won five in a row and are 14-1 at home. This weekend's opponent, Shepherd, is 11-10 on the road, 8-5 at home but just 4-10 over their last 14 PSAC East games. 
• The PSAC East is a battle each week as seven of the nine teams boast records above .500, and Shippensburg is just one game under. That is in stark contrast to the PSAC West where only four teams are above .500 and only Seton Hill and Mercyhurst are above .500 in division play. 
• Both Millersville and Shepherd are coming off high-scoring non-conference games. On Tuesday, Millersville totaled 12 runs against Wilmington. On Wednesday, Shepherd took a doubleheader from W.Va. Wesleyan by a combined score of 27-2. 
• Millersville moved back up to No. 1 in the most recent NCBWA Atlantic Region poll and subsequently jumped back into the top 10 in the NCBWA Division II poll at No. 8. The Collegiate Baseball Poll has the Marauders at No. 13. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville continues to lead the nation in ERA (2.89) and is the only team in Division II with a sub-3.00 ERA. The Marauders are also eighth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio, first in hits allowed per nine innings (7.15) and WHIP (1.17). It's been a balanced effort as 10 pitchers have totaled 10 or more innings, 12 pitchers have at least one win, eight have at least two, and Ben Wilchacky and Carson Kulina lead the team with six apiece. Both Wilchacky and Mykut are coming off of starts in which they pitched just three innings. Kulina has pitched at least four innings in seven-straight starts and has gone six in back-to-back starts. While Shepherd is the PSAC's top home run hitting team, Kulina has not allowed a home run in 48 innings. Wilchacky has surrendered just four in 51 innings. As a team, Millersville has given up 20 home runs--the sixth fewest in the PSAC. 
• Evan Rishell has emerged into one of the conference's top relievers in his sophomore season. He's made 15 appearances totaling 21 2/3 innings, and he's given up just 14 hits compared to 16 strikeouts. Rishell has allowed just two earned runs all season. 
• At the plate, Bren Taylor is on an other-worldly run over the last three weeks. After going 0-for-5 against Lock Haven on April 2, Taylor responded by hitting .548 (17-for-31) over his last eight games. He's riding an eight-game hitting streak. He's also drawn five walks in that stretch as he's reached base at least twice in each of those eight games. The recent surge has boosted Taylor's average to .431 and his OBP to .514. He ranks second in the PSAC to Bloomsburg's Eli Riley (.461) in average and third to Pitt-Johnstown's Dylan Broderick (.539) in those categories. David Summerfield (2015) is the only player in Millersville history to hit over. 430 with at least 150 at bats. Taylor, with 144 at bats, should hit the 150 mark this weekend. 
• Jimmy Losh is also sneaking up on .400. He's hit safely in each of the last six games, raising his average to .393. Losh his hitting a team-best .410 against the PSAC East. 
• Chase Simmons is quietly putting together a career season as well. The centerfielder is hitting .355 with a .447 OBP in 10 games against PSAC East competition. His 1.124 OPS and five extra-base hits also lead the team in division play. 
• Millersville is one stolen base shy of 100 for the season, having been caught stealing just 13 times. Millersville stole 90 bases in all of 2022 and having a shot at the school record, which the 2016 club set with 136 steals. 
   

SCOUTING THE RAMS

• The Rams can hit and can hit for power. Opposing pitchers have an 8.13 ERA, and the Rams have scored eight or more runs 20 times already in 2023. Shepherd is 16-0 when scoring nine or more runs but 9-16 when scoring eight or fewer. Shepherd is third in the PSAC in team batting average (.314) and have scored 62 more runs than any other team in the PSAC. The Rams' 58 homers leads the league by 23, and the 302 RBIs are 65 more than second-place Millersville. Shepherd also leads the PSAC with a .428 OBP, out-pacing East Stroudsburg by 13 points. 
• Seven players with at least 20 starts are hitting over .300 and five boast on an OBP over .450. Ross Muhlhall (11) and Cole Daugherty (10) rank first and third in the PSAC in homers, and Shepherd is the only team with two players with double-digit homers. Daugherty leads the PSAC in runs and OPS. Mulhall is the RBI leader with 49, and teammate Sam Daggers is second with 43. Rams occupy four of the top 10 spots in OPS. 
• Pitching is another matter. Shepherd's 6.37 ERA is 15th out of 17 teams and nearly four full runs higher than Millersville's. Shepherd's pitchers have walked 156 batters (third-most in the PSAC) and the .294 batting average against also ranks 15th. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville has won five in a row over Shepherd, scoring nine or more runs in three of those games. Shepherd has averaged just over four runs per game in the last five. Shepherd's last wins over Millersville was a doubleheader sweep at Cooper Park on April 10, 2021. Shepherd won the opener 8-6 and game two 8-4. Despite the losses, Jimmy Losh totaled five hits in that doubleheader. Millersville got the last laugh in 2021, however, as it knocked the Rams out of the PSAC Tournament in the first round, winning by an 11-4 score at Cooper Park. In 2022, Millersville won its nine-inning game at home 5-4 behind two hits from Bren Taylor and 7 1/3 innings from Conor Cook. The following day, Nate Young threw four shutout innings in relief for a 9-6 win, and Millersville broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the ninth in game two on RBI hits from Luke Trainer and Keegan Soltis. The Marauders went on to win, 6-5.