SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Ninth-ranked Millersville scored just four runs in Friday's doubleheader at Shippensburg, but that was more than enough with
Carson Kulina and
Conor Cook on the mound. The Marauders' two starting pitchers both threw complete games as Millersville edged Shippensburg 2-1 in both games.
Game one extended into extra innings, and Kulina (8-1) went the distance in 102 pitches, striking out five while scattering five hits and two walks. The only run he allowed was unearned. Cook (7-1) struck out nine Raiders, walked one and allowed just three hits.
Millersville managed four hits in the opener.
Hunter Stevens erased a 1-0 deficit in the top of the fifth with a solo home run. With runs at a premium, Shippensburg got aggressive on the base paths in the bottom of the seventh, and Millersville's defense saved the game. With a runner on second base, Brady Harbach hit a deep fly to center. The rangey
Jeff Sabater tracked the fly and made a sliding grab. The runner, tagging from second, was waved home, and the Sabater to
Amani Jones to
Keegan Soltis relay was on time.
While Kulina worked into extra innings, Shippensburg ace Jaxon Dalena exited after the seventh, and the Marauders manufactured a run against reliever Ethan Miller (2-2). Jones started the inning with a double and promptly swiped third base. With one out,
Cole Houser hit a chopper to second base, scoring Jones. Gio Calamia momentarily kept the Raiders' hopes alive in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out double, but Kulina ended the game with a swing-and-miss strikeout.
Five of Stevens' 15 hits on the season have been home runs.
The Marauders had no trouble getting on base in game two, totaling 10 hits and drawing four walks, but they stranded 11.
Sam Morris' RBI single in the first, and Soltis' RBI single in the third produced Millersville's only runs. Cook, however, retired the first six Raiders, and after giving up a run in the third, he faced just one over the minimum and allowed one hit the rest of the way.
Jeff Sabater recorded three hits and stole two bases. Morris went 2 for 2 with a run and RBI.
Kulina's complete game was his fourth of the season, and Cook now has two.
UP NEXT
Millersville and Shippensburg conclude the series Saturday at Cooper Park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
