ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville baseball, ranked No. 6 in the NCBWA Division II Poll and first in the NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll, returns to Cooper Park on Friday for a doubleheader against Mansfield. The Marauders opened PSAC East play with a four-game series sweep of Bloomsburg. Millersville is one of three PSAC East teams to start its division slate with a sweep. Mansfield started the PSAC East with a split against Shippensburg. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• With 33 runs in the series against Bloomsburg and 51 runs in their last six games, Millersville continues to score runs in bunches. They've out-scored opponents 141-71. They've scored runs not just by banging out hits. The Marauders are averaging 5.2 walks and over 1.0 hit batsmen per game. Millersville was hit with eight pitches in the Bloomsburg series. Matthew Williams, with a .444 average, is one of four Marauders hitting over .400, and seven Marauder regulars boast on-base percentages of .396 or higher. Mark McNelly has 13 walks to nine strikeouts, Sam Morris has seven walks to five strikeouts, and Amani Jones has 11 walks to 10 strikeouts. Once on base, the Marauders are aggressive on the base paths with 59 stolen bases in 70 attempts. That total leads the PSAC, and Jeff Sabater's 17 steals are tops among all PSAC players. The top-five in hits are all Marauders, with Williams' 28 leading the way. McNelly leads the PSAC in RBIs with 24, and Williams is second with 18. 
• Alex Mykut and Carson Kulina are a combined 7-0 in 10 starts. Mykut ranks second in the PSAC in ERA (1.17), opponent batting average (.152) and innings pitched (30 2/3), and first in strikeouts (40). Mykut has logged back-to-back complete games, striking out 19 while allowing two runs and eight hits. He's pitched at least five innings and has not allowed more than a run in his five starts. Kulina has been outstanding since his Opening Day start. Over his last four starts, Kulina has totaled 22 innings with 24 strikeouts, four walks and four runs allowed. 
   

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• Mansfield split its series with Shippensburg last weekend, winning a game at home and one on the road. The pitching has been solid. The Mountaineers have held opponents to four runs or fewer in eight of 13 games. Mansfield pitchers have struck out seven or more batters in eight games. They have fanned 10 or more four times, including 21 in nine innings against St. Thomas Aquinas. Austin Lewis has logged 19 2/3 innings with 28 strikeouts to seven walks over four appearances. 
• The bats have not quite been as productive with a .242 team batting average. Only three regulars are hitting better than .255. Jacob Houtz leads the way with a .375 batting average and .490 OBP. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville is 43-15 against Mansfield under the direction of Jon Shehan. The Marauders have won seven in a row, 13 of the last 14, and 31 of the last 35. Of Mansfield's four wins in that stretch, three have been by one run, and its most recent win--May 2, 2021--was in extra innings. Millersville has limited Mansfield to fewer than five runs in 11 of the last 14 games. 
• Last season, Millersville recorded a three-game series sweep, holding the Mountaineers to one run in each of the first two games before a 13-6 road win to close the series. Ben Wilchacky pitched 6 2/3 in the first game, and in game two, Alex Mykut started and gave up one hit over 4 2/3 and Carson Kulina got the win with 4 1/3 shutout innings.