ABOUT THE SERIES

• Millersville enters the weekend PSAC East series against Kutztown with 15 consecutive wins over the Golden Bears--a streak that dates back to 2019. The Marauders have started 18-4 for the second consecutive season, and they can top the 2023 club's program record for most consecutive wins to start a PSAC East schedule. The 2024 Marauders start the series 8-0, and last year's club set the mark by opening 9-0. Millersville ranks No. 2 in the ABCA and D2 Baseball Insider polls and No. 6 in the NCBWA poll. The Marauders have held the No. 1 ranking in the NCBWA's Atlantic Region poll since the preseason and claimed all 11 first-place votes this week. 
• However, the Marauders are coming off a 14-4 loss at Wilmington on Wednesday. Before that game, Millersville had won 10 in a row, outscoring opponents 93-15. Millersville had not allowed more than three runs since March 1. Millersville committed four errors for the first time since Feb. 6, 2023, hit a season-high four batters and threw a season-high six wild pitches. Kutztown, meanwhile, has found traction after starting the season 3-11. The Golden Bears have won four of their last six. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• No hitter in the PSAC is swinging a hotter bat than Keegan Soltis. On March 8, Soltis' average dipped to .184, but since then, he's had a hit in seven consecutive games, lifting his average to .339. Soltis has gone 13 for his last 21, scoring 10 runs and driving in 10. He was named the PSAC East Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday. While the hits did not drop for Soltis early in the season, he still found a way to get on base. He's reached base in 17 of 21 games and boasts the PSAC's sixth-best on-base percentage (.513). 
• Five Marauders rank among the PSAC's top six in total hits, and Jeff Sabater's .417 batting average ranks seventh while Mark McNelly's .412 mark ranks ninth. McNelly also leads the PSAC in RBIs (26) and runs (27) while ranking second in home runs (4). Matthew Williams is the PSAC leader in hits (33), doubles (10), and home runs (5) and ranks second in runs (23) and RBIs (25). McNelly is riding a 12-game hitting streak and has nine multi-hit games this season. Incredibly, McNelly has reached base in all 21 games and has scored a run in 20 of 21 games. He's scored at least one run in 19 consecutive games. Williams has at least one hit in 19 of 22 games and has 11 multi-hit games. 
• Jeff Sabater has an eight-game hitting streak, and he is stealing bases at a record-setting pace. He ranks fifth in Division II averaging one steal per game. His 22 steals rank third in the nation and leads the PSAC nine. Since 1970, a Marauder has stolen more than 22 bases in a season just 11 times. Ernest McCoy's record of 40 stolen bases has stood since 1987 but will be in jeopardy if Sabater keeps up his current pace. 
• The starting pitching trio of Carson Kulina, Alex Mykut and Conor Cook has been stellar. Kulina is the reigning PSAC East Pitcher of the Week, and that's an award that Mykut has already won twice. The trio is a combined 12-0. Cook has allowed just nine hits with a 3.12 ERA in his last four appearances spanning 17 1/3 innings. Kulina has logged at least five innings in five consecutive starts, and he has not allowed more than one run in his last four starts. Last week against Mansfield, Kulina recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts. It's early, but Mykut is positioning himself for a run at the PSAC East Pitcher of the Year award. He's pitched at least five innings while not allowing more than a run in all six of his starts. He's struck out at least nine in four consecutive appearances. Mykut ranks 10th nationally in ERA (1.23) while logging more innings than all but one other pitcher ranked in the top 14. Only Tampa's Skylar Gonzalez has a better ERA (0.73) with as many innings (37) pitched. Mykut's 5.15 hits allowed per nine rank 19th in Division II, and his 12.03 strikeouts per nine rank 33rd. 
   

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS

• While Kutztown is hitting just .260 as a team, the lineup has some dangerous hitters. Six regulars are hitting over .300, and that group is led by Michael Burns, who is hitting .393 with a .455 OBP. Kutztown ranks sixth in the PSAC in runs scored, but they've hit just 10 home runs while Millersville, the PSAC leader, has hit 22. Kutztown isn't much of a threat on the base paths, having stolen just seven bags in seven attempts. 
• On the mound, Kutztown's 7.81 ERA ranks 15th out of 17 PSAC teams. The staff has allowed a PSAC-high 15 homers and ranks 16th in batting average against (.319). 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville is currently enjoying an historic run of success against Kutztown, winning 15 in a row and sweeping four consecutive season series. Kutztown has not won a series against Millersville since 2007. Since Jon Shehan's arrival in 2008, the Marauders have won 11 series and split four. Kutztown's last win at Cooper Park was in 2018 by a 3-2 score, using a Bo Rottet RBI single in the seventh to take the lead. Millersville has done a remarkable job in limiting Kutztown's runs over the last 15 years. Over the last 56 games, Millersville has held Kutztown to three runs or fewer 44 times. Millersville has held Kutztown to four runs or fewer in 16 consecutive games. Meanwhile, the Marauders have scored seven or more runs in 10 of the last 12 games. Last season, Millersville outscored Kutztown 25-9. While the Marauders scored an 8-4 win in the series finale, the game went into the 11th inning. Millersville scored five runs in the top of the 11th. 
• In last season's series opener, Carson Kulina allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings. Alex Mykut worked 6 2/3 in game three, allowing just one unearned run while striking out six.