MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — With two outs in the bottom of the ninth,
Victoria Fuss came to the plate looking to drive home the winning run, which stood on second base in the person of
Jiana Maniscalco. The junior did just that, smashing a single up the middle as Maniscalco scampered home for the 4–3 Marauder victory. The walk off was part of a doubleheader split against the Bloomsburg Huskies, who won the second game 9–3.
"It was really exciting," Marauders head coach
Jen Probst said of the walk off. "I've been really pushing her to take the same swings and the same approach that I see her have in practice. Right there, I felt like she really locked in."
Fuss had a monster day against the Huskies. The middle infielder got on base three times in game one including a clutch two-run blast to left-centerfield in the sixth inning. It put the hosts up 3–2 heading into the seventh, but Bloomsburg freshman Maluani Frost put the first pitch she saw in the seventh inning over the fence to knot the game at three.
Delaney Troxell entered the game at that point and shut the visitors down over the final three frames to eventually earn the victory. Millersville's ninth inning rally was nearly foiled by a double play with nobody out, but Maniscalco came through with a two-out double over the right fielder's head to set the stage for Fuss.
"It was nice to see one go our way," Probst said postgame. "We've obviously put ourselves in that position many, many times already. But, you look through our entire conference–there are no easy wins. None of them are going to be handed to you, and I think our young team is starting to see that and get it."
It was all Bloomsburg in game two; the visitors scored two runs in the first, three in the third and three in the fourth to take a stranglehold on the game by its midway point. A bases-loaded double off the bat of
Hailey Watlington gave the Marauders a brief lead before the Huskies' third and fourth inning barrage.
"I know I'm frustrated," Probst said of the team's recent struggles. "I know they're frustrated with our lack of being aggressive in some of our plate approaches. However, I think that we have an opportunity with the upcoming week off to work on that both mentally and physically."
That week off comes at the right time for the Marauders, who've dropped seven of their last nine games against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents. Today's win snapped a five-game skid dating back to Saturday, March 22 against Mansfield. Millersville will look to bounce back next Friday, April 4 at No. 16 Kutztown. Game one is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
