ABOUT THE SERIES

• With two series and eight games remaining on the PSAC East slate, Millersville sits three games behind East Stroudsburg and one in front of West Chester. The Marauders can clinch their 13th consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance with two wins over Shepherd. The Rams dropped three of four to West Chester last weekend and need a big weekend to gain ground on Shippensburg for the PSAC East's fourth playoff spot. 
• After losing two at home to Shippensburg on Saturday, Millersville fell out of the top spot in the NCBWA Atlantic Region poll for the first time all season. East Stroudsburg took over the No. 1 ranking while the Marauders dropped to No. 2. It was only the third time since 2014 that Millersville lost both games of a doubleheader at home, and the Marauders had won 14 in a row at home before the loss. Millersville is still 15-3 at Cooper Park. Despite the strong winning percentage, Millersville has been far better on the road on offense. Millersville has scored three runs or fewer in eight of the 18 home games and is hitting .306 with 5.3 runs per game compared to .325 with 8.4 runs per game in the 24 road and neutral site games. Cooper Park has also been a tough place to hit for Millersville's opponents as Millersville's pitchers have produced a 2.00 ERA and .208 batting average against at home while posting a 4.55 ERA and .254 batting average against away from home. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Since scoring 14 runs in game three of the Lock Haven series, Millersville has scored 19 runs over the last nine PSAC East games (2.1 per game). It is a testament to the team's pitching that it has managed to go 5-4 in that stretch. The staff provided five complete games and held the opponent to three runs or fewer six times. In those nine games, the Marauders hit .242, .255 with runners on base, and .228 with runners in scoring position. Leadoff hitters haven't been much more successful, reaching base in 18 of 61 opportunities (.295). Millersville averaged 1.2 extra-base hits per game in those nine games, and without base runners, stolen bases dropped off dramatically, averaging 1.3 per game. For comparison, Millersville hit .334 with a .372 average with runners in scoring position, 2.8 extra-base hits, and 3.5 steals per game in the other 33 games this season. 
• Despite the recent slump, the Marauders still rank second in the PSAC in batting average, third in on-base percentage, second in home runs, and second in runs scored. Matthew Williams leads the conference with 13 doubles, and Jeff Sabater is first in hits (55) and stolen bases (44). Sabater is eight steals shy of tying the all-time PSAC record. He continues to lead Division II, but his lead has shrunk to one as Christian Brothers' Royal Hobson has swiped 43 in 45 games. They are the only two players in the nation--regardless of division--with at least 40 stolen bases. 
• Millersville is a solid defensive club, ranking second in the PSAC in field percentage at .974. That's on pace to be Millersville's best fielding percentage since the 2011 club set the school record at .979. Of the 245 teams in Division II, only 42 teams are fielding at .970 or better.
•  Despite giving up more than one run in a game for the first time all season, Alex Mykut still ranks No. 3 in Division II in ERA. The first three spots in the national rankings are held by PSAC pitchers. Millersville ranks sixth nationally in team ERA, third in strikeouts per nine (10.5), eighth in hits allowed per nine and 12th in WHIP. At least three PSAC teams rank in the top 12 of each of those categories. 
• After allowing five runs in 2 2/3 innings to No. 1 Tampa in the season opener, Carson Kulina boasts a 1.50 ERA over his last 10 starts spanning 60 innings pitched. Kulina owns a team-best 1.15 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 39 innings in six starts against the PSAC East. 
   

SCOUTING THE RAMS

• Shepherd may rank 13th in the PSAC in batting average, but its lineup is dangerous as it has hit a PSAC-leading 47 homers. It tends to be all or nothing for the Rams as they also lead the PSAC with 323 strikeouts. Sam Daggers (9), Idris Carter (8) and Connor Dewees (7) all rank in the PSAC's top 10 in home runs. While Cooper Park is pitcher-friendly, Shepherd's home park is extremely hitter-friendly. The Rams have hit 26 of their home runs in 14 home games and the other 21 in 22 road games. Shepherd's pitchers have allowed two or more home runs nine times, and six of those games were played at home. Shepherd's 7.48 team ERA and .297 batting average against rank 14th in the PSAC.

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville has won eight in a row over Shepherd, sweeping the last two season series. The Rams. Millersville has scored five or more runs in nine consecutive games against Shepherd and totaled 45 runs in the three games in 2023, including 20 in the series opener in Shepherdstown. That 20-13 final score on April 21, 2023, represented the most runs in a Millersville game since 2016. Millersville won 16-2 in game two and 9-6 in game three. Cole Houser hit two home runs in the series finale and Keegan Soltis had six hits in the first two games. While Millersville has put up runs on the Rams in recent years, Shepherd has scored its fair share of runs as well, averaging 6.3 runs per game in the last 12 games against Millersville.