ABOUT THE GAME

• After 24 games and six series, the PSAC East title comes down to the final weekend. No. 9 Millersville holds a one-game lead over No. 16 East Stroudsburg, and for the third time in as many seasons, the rivals are both nationally ranked entering the series. East Stroudsburg, the defending PSAC East champs, ended Millersville's run of four in a row (2019-23). Millersville can clinch its 16th division championship and 11th in Jon Shehan's 17 seasons with two wins. East Stroudsburg needs at least three wins in the series, and the Warriors have not taken a four-game series from the Marauders since a sweep in 2010. The series could also determine hosting rights for the NCAA Atlantic Regional. While the NCAA's first official rankings will be released on Wednesday, inkblotsports.com unofficially has Millersville with the region's No. 1 RPI and East Stroudsburg at No. 4. 
• This season's series is unique as it starts Thursday at 10:30 a.m., not at ESU's Creekview Park, but at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pa., the home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The teams are featured in the IronPigs' “College Showcase.” The two teams then close the series on Friday under the lights at Cooper Park with game times at 4 and 6 p.m. East Stroudsburg is 8-4 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites, but they haven't played a neutral game since Feb. 14. Millersville is 21-2 at home and has not played at neutral site game. Millersville is 3-1 in games starting at 4 p.m. or later. 
• Millersville and East Stroudsburg are the top-scoring teams in the PSAC. Millersville leads the conference with 8.5 runs per game, and East Stroudsburg checks in at 7.4. The teams are also one-two in on-base percentage. Millersville is first at .443. Millersville is second in the PSAC in hitting with a .322 average, second only to Cal U's .335. ESU tops the conference in walks (244) with Millersville ranking second (219). ESU is first in steals (117), and Millersville is second (114). On the mound, Millersville has a better batting average against (.252 to ESU's .260), has struck out more batters (327 to 294) and walked fewer (139 to 157), but East Stroudsburg ranks second in ERA at 3.71 while Millersville is sixth at 4.46. ESU also has an advantage with its defense, leading the PSAC with a .983 field percentage while Millersville's .970 is fifth. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Bren Taylor went 3 for 12 in the series against West Chester, but his RBI hit in game four was the 306th of his career, moving him into a tie with Chas McCormick ‘17 for the most in PSAC history. He is one of three hitters in PSAC history with 300 hits. He scored six runs in the series, and while he already has Millersville’s career runs record, he is two runs from breaking Nick Spisak (West Chester, 2007-10) PSAC career record. Taylor has been dynamite against the PSAC East, hitting .408 with a .522 slugging percentage, 23 RBIs and 23 runs in 24 games. 
• Jeff Sabater brings a seven-game hitting streak into the series. He went 8 for 13 with seven runs against West Chester, boosting his season average to .366 and his OBP to a team-leading .503. Sabater ranks third in the PSAC in OBP. He's also first in runs (50) and stolen bases (34). 
• Amani Jones has a hit in nine of the last 10 games, and his coming off a 3 for 4 performance in game four of the West Chester series. Since April 13, Jones is hitting .571 with 18 RBIs. 
• Matthew Williams hit his team-high 12th home run in game one of the West Chester series. He is now tied for fourth in the PSAC in homers. It was the 29th homer of his career, moving him into a tie with Cole Friese ‘21 for the Millersville record. Millersville ranks third in the PSAC in RBIs with 48. He is the first Marauder to record 40 or more RBIs in each of his first three seasons, and he joins McCormick and Luke Trainer ’22 as the only Marauders with three seasons of 40-plus RBIs. 
• Great Blankenbiller is 5-0 with a 2.51 ERA and .184 batting average against in six starts against the PSAC East. Conor Cook is also 5-0 with two complete games in his six PSAC East starts. Connor Blantz has 48 strikeouts in six PSAC East starts, and he ranks second in the PSAC with 82 on the season. Alex Kuehn has pitched 14 1/3 innings in his last two starts, allowing just three earned runs and a walk compared to seven strikeouts. Millersville's bullpen has combined for 13 saves with Gavin Lill leading the way with six. Evan Rishell's five saves make Millersville one of two teams (Slippery Rock) with two pitchers in the PSAC's top 10 in saves. 
   

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• Since splitting the opening PSAC East series with West Chester, East Stroudsburg has won the last five series and is coming off a four-game series sweep of Kutztown in which it allowed just four total runs. East Stroudsburg has six shutouts. The Warriors' four starters, Ryan Dewees, Peyton Brannock, Ethan Woods and Gavin Sopko are a combined 21-4. While Woods has just two outings longer than five innings, he allowed one hit in 6 1/3 shutout innings against Kutztown last weekend, and he boasts a 1.31 ERA, .99 WHIP and .171 batting average against in 41 1/3 innings. Caden Parker is among the best closers in the region, nailing down eight saves while posting a 0.95 ERA and .188 batting average against in 19 innings. 
• At the plate, Dennis Pierce is the PSAC's home run leader with 15. He leads the team with a .391 average, .828 slugging percentage, and .500 OBP. He is second in the PSAC in on-base + slugging (OPS). Jack Rothenhausler is the PSAC leader in doubles (17) and RBIs (58). He's also been hit by a league-leading 15 pitches. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Last year, East Stroudsburg entered the series 16-0 in division play, and Millersville entered 15-1. The Warriors had won 27 consecutive games before Millersville swept both games at Cooper Park by scores of 2-1 and 5-0. ESU went on to win the PSAC East and host the NCAA Atlantic Regional. In 2023, Millersville and East Stroudsburg provided the PSAC with its first regular-season meeting between two top-10 teams in eight years. While ESU earned its first series win since 2010, Millersville won the PSAC East. 
• East Stroudsburg has won five of the last eight games and seven of the last 13, dating back to the final match-up of 2021. 
• Millersville won eight consecutive season series before East Stroudsburg won two of three in 2023. The teams split in 2024, with both teams winning two at home. Pitching and defense are at a premium in the series, as the losing team has been limited to one or fewer runs in six of the last seven games. In 2024, Brent Francisco pitched a three-hitter in game one. In game two, Ryan Dewees held Millersville to two runs in five innings while the Warriors scored five runs in the first inning off of Conor Cook. At The Coop, Alex Mykut allowed one run in a complete-game effort, and Millersville's only offense was a two-run homer from Hunter Stevens in the third. In the series finale, three Millersville pitchers combined to pitch a shutout. Sam Morris hit a home run and drove in two in the 5-0 win.