ABOUT THE GAME

• Two of the PSAC's most potent lineups meet at Cooper Park in a key PSAC East doubleheader on Friday. Millersville is ranked 20th in the latest ABCA Division II poll, 17th in the NCBWA poll, and No. 2 in the NCBWA's Atlantic Region poll. Shippensburg, coming off a series win over Bloomsburg, is No. 6 in this week's NCBWA Atlantic Region poll. Millersville and Shippensburg rank No. 1 and No. 3 in the PSAC in runs scored. The Raiders lead the conference in triples (11) and total bases (371) and rank third in hitting with a .332 average. Millersville has scored 21 more runs than any other team in the conference despite playing two fewer games than the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams. Millersville's .447 team on-base percentage is second in the PSAC, and the lineup has drawn 14 more walks than the No. 2-ranked team.
• Four of Shippensburg's seven losses and each of the last three have come by one run. Millersville is riding an 11-game winning streak that dates back to March 10. The Marauders have outscored their opponents 96-37 during the streak. It is Millersville's longest winning streak since winning 12 in a row from March 8-April 1, 2022. Millersville has started 18-3 in back-to-back seasons.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Patience at the plate has been key for the Marauders. They average 6.3 walks per game. The national leader, Albany State, averages 6.8 per game. Once runners get on base, Millersville is aggressive in advancing. The Marauders rank seventh in Division II with 3.71 steals per game. Millersville is trending toward record-setting seasons in walks, steals and runs. The 2022 club averaged just 4.8 walks per game when it totaled 269. Last season, Millersville set a new school record with 164 steals, averaging 3.04 per game. The 2016 team averaged 8.5 runs per game when it scored a record 512. The 2025 Marauders average 9.5 runs per game.
• Matthew Williams hit two more home runs in last weekend's series against Shepherd and now leads the PSAC with nine, averaging 0.42 homers per game. He is seven behind the single-season school record, and while he is only a junior, he trails Cole Friese by three for Millersville's career record. Williams leads the PSAC in homers and RBIs (33) while also ranking second in runs (28) and third in OPS (1.269).
• Jeff Sabater is the PSAC leader in runs (30) and stolen bases (23). He has yet to be caught stealing in 2025, and he already ranks fifth in Millersville history with 80 career steals despite playing in just 75 games. Every other player ahead of him in the rankings played at least 125 games.
• Bren Taylor recorded two three-hit games and scored four runs last weekend against Shepherd, moving him into a tie for fifth with Mansfield's Greg Robertson (1994-97) in career hits with 284. He trails Chas McCormick '17 for first by just 22 hits. Taylor is sixth in runs, one behind West Chester's Joe Wendle (2009-12) and 20 behind West Chester's Nick Spisak (2007-10) for first.
• Jimmy Kirk may be the team's hottest hitter. His average dropped to .160 on March 8, but it has rocketed to .293 over the last 11 games. He is 13 for 33 with 11 RBIs since March 10.
• Millersville's starting pitching staff has rounded into form at the right time. Connor Blantz is the first Millersville pitcher in more than 25 years to strike out nine or more in four consecutive starts. He ranks second in the PSAC in strikeouts, fourth in batting average against (.194) and sixth in ERA (2.22). Conor Cook has struck out 20 batters in his last two starts, allowing just two runs, 10 hits and three walks in those 13 innings. Garet Blankenbiller struck out eight without issuing a walk in five shutout innings last weekend. Alex Kuehn, who missed more than a month, allowed two earned runs with 12 strikeouts and one walk in his last two starts, totaling 10 innings. 
   

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG

• The Raiders have 10 players with at least 12 starts hitting over .300. A.J. Wenrich recorded six hits and seven runs scored in the series against Bloomsburg and now leads the team with a .373 average. Wenrich leads the team with six home runs. Mason Morris went 8 for 12 against Bloomsburg and leads the team with a 1.123 OPS. Carter Abruthnot has started just 12 games but played all four games of last weekend's series, and he's hitting .355 with a .583 OBP. Gio Calamia is the team's top run-producer, driving in 21 in 23 games.
• While the Raiders can score runs in bunches, they can also pitch and play defense. Ship's 4.03 team ERA is fifth in the PSAC. They rank fourth in batting average against and second only to Millersville in strikeouts. The Raiders' .981 fielding percentage is second in the PSAC. Carter Hinds ranks second in the conference in assists.
• Millersville is familiar with starters J.T. Weaver and Jaxon Dalena. Weaver, who went to high school at nearby Manheim Township, has logged at least five innings in each of his six starts and has allowed one run or fewer in four starts. Dalena was a consensus All-Atlantic Region selection in 2024 after posting a 2.52 ERA and .189 batting average against with 78 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings. This season, he is 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA, .229 batting average against and 52 strikeouts in 37 innings.

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville had won seven consecutive games and 10 in a row at home before Shippensburg swept a doubleheader at Cooper Park on April 20, 2024 by scores of 5-2 and 5-0. Since losing three to start the 2017 four-game series, Millersville has gone 20-4 against the Raiders. Millersville swept the series in 2018, 2019 and 2023 and won the series in 2021 and 2022. 
• Five of the last seven and nine of the last 14 meetings have been decided by two runs or fewer. Last season, Millersville won a pair of 2-1 games at Shippensburg before the Raiders won two at Cooper Park. In the series opener, Cole Houser drove in Amani Jones with an RBI groundout in the eighth, and Carson Kulina pitched the full eight innings, outdueling Jaxon Dalena, who went seven and allowed one run on three hits. In game two, Millersville led 2-0 in the third inning, and Conor Cook struck out nine while allowing three hits in a complete game. J.T. Weaver pitched a complete game shutout for Ship in game three.