SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - In a day of upsets at the PSAC Tournament, IUP pulled off the biggest, eliminating Millersville, the defending champs, No. 1 seed and ninth-ranked team in the nation, 8-1.
IUP (24-27) played its way into the tournament field in the season's final weekend, and that sense of urgency carried over into Wednesday's elimination round. Millersville (40-8) lost for just the second time in a month's worth of baseball, and it is Millersville's first opening round loss since 2012, ending an incredible streak of eight-straight first-round victories.
"We just didn't play well tonight," said Millersville head coach
Jon Shehan. "We didn't execute. We didn't throw pick-offs to second base, didn't field bunts, didn't field PFP's, didn't throw strikes. That's what it comes down to."
IUP's All-PSAC West starter Jeremiah Williams used an effective pitch mix to keep the Marauders off-balance. He did not allow a single leadoff hitter to reach base, limiting Millersville's opportunities to rally after falling behind 2-0 in the first. Williams pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings, striking out five and scattering five hits and two walks.
"He mixed three pitches and located his fastball," said Shehan. "Pretty much everything we didn't do, he did really well."
The Marauders staff, the Division II leader in WHIP, was uncharacteristically not as sharp. After striking out the game's first batter on three pitches, Millersville starter
Alex Mykut struggled with his command. He walked the next two batters on eight pitches and fell behind Andrew Sicinski 2-0. Sicinski the singled inn the game's first run, and Torrey Roper followed with an RBI single.
"After there was a cross-up in the first inning Alex never really put it back together," said Shehan. "He made some quality pitches, but overall he just couldn't get in rhythm."
IUP broke the game open in the fourth inning. After a bloop single and a bang-bang play at first ruled an infield single on a bunt, Millersville called
Colby Gromlich from the pen. He hit the first batter to load the bases, and a single from Harrison Pontoli added two to the IUP lead. A walk followed, reloading the bases. Sicinski hit a chopper to the mound that Gromlich fielded, but his throw home was errant, allowing two more runs to score. IUP finished the inning with five runs on four hits.
IUP's advantage could have been far greater as it left the bases loaded three times in the game. IUP's pitchers pounded the zone, issuing just two walks and played error-free in the field through 7 2/3 innings. Sean Furlong entered the tournament with a 9.12 ERA, but he pitched two effective innings and exited in the eighth with two runners on base.
Millersville's lineup never found its rhythm at the plate. The Marauders put at least one baserunner on in seven of nine innings but put runners in scoring position just three times. In the bottom of the fourth,
Cole Houser singled with one out, and
Keegan Soltis drew a two-out walk, but that was all the Marauders could get against Williams. In the sixth, Morris doubled off the center field wall, pushing Houser to third, but Furlong struck out Soltis to end the inning. Soltis drove in Millersville's lone run, plating Morris with a two-out single in the eighth.
UP NEXT
• While its PSAC Tournament is over, Millersville's season is not. The Marauders were ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings released Wednesday and is all but assured of its 10th-consecutive regional bid. A No. 1 or No. 2 seed would allow Millersville to a super regional at Cooper Park from May 18-20. The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday, May 14 at 11 p.m.
