MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - After one day of the PSAC Tournament, the sixth-ranked Millersville Marauders are the only team from the East left standing, and they are thanks to the pitching performances of Conor Cook, Matt Shamany and Evan Rishell, who combined to blank Slippery Rock for a first round, 2-0 victory. 

It was Millersville's first postseason shutout since the first round of the 2022 PSAC Tournament, which it went on to win. Shamany (2-0) pitched a career-high four innings in relief, throwing 68 pitches while striking out six and allowing one hit and two walks. Rishell notched his sixth save of the season with 1 1/3 innings and two strikeouts. 

"(Shamany) went 50 pitches last week so we figured we could get 60 to 65 out of him today," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "It was really good. He was super competitive. He is the kid we saw before he had Tommy John. He wants the ball in the big spot. He's turned into that high-leverage reliever we've been looking for."

Cook, the starter, struggled with his control, walking six batters and scattering three hits in 3 2/3 innings, but he made pitches when he needed to, striking out eight. The Rock stranded 10 runners in the first four innings, leaving the bases loaded twice. 

"Cook didn't have the outing he wanted, but he made big pitches when he had to," said Shehan. "There was a lot of traffic that he had to pitch through tonight. He got some big swings and misses with guys in scoring position. At the end of the day, throwing up zeroes is all that matters."

Slippery Rock starter Nate Malak (6-3) was stellar early, holding Millersville to without a hit until the fifth, but with one out, Troy Chamberlin hit a hit fly to shallow left field. A pair of Slippery Rock fielders converged on the ball, but miscommunication caused the ball to drop in for Millersville's first hit. Millersville capitalized. Amani Jones battled back from an 0-2 count, worked a 12-pitch plate appearance and drew a walk, loading the bases. Donis Rodriguez drew a walk to break the scoreless to tie, and Jeff Sabater laced a single up the middle, bringing home Chamberlin. Slippery Rock did manage to cut down Jones at the plate and catch Sabater in run down, but the damage had been done. 

"It's all about the approach," said Shehan. "These guys are 100% bought in to getting on base. That's not your typical thing out of college student. They are selfless. At the end of the day, they play for each other. Amani's bat was a perfect example of that. It changed the game. Jeff came up and got a big hit."

Shamany stranded two more SRU runners in the sixth, worked a 1-2-3 seventh and struck out the first two hitters of the eighth before issuing a two-out walk. Rishell entered to face Gage Gillott, an All-PSAC West First Team selection, and struck him out on a change-up. The Rock started the ninth with a single, but Rishell mowed through the next three hitters, striking out Treston Nemeth to end it. 

Slippery Rock totaled five hits to Millersville's four and drew eight walks while Millersville drew four. The difference was Millersville putting the ball in play in timely moments while Slippery Rock batters struck out in half of their at-bats--16 in all. 

Jones drew two walks and was the only Marauder to reach base twice. The two runs tied for the fewest runs Millersville has scored in a win this season. 

"This place gets hard to score," said Shehan. "There was no air moving here tonight. We faced two really good arms. I give those guys a lot of credit. Those are two of the better pitching performances we've had to face this year." 

The Marauders have won six consecutive PSAC Tournament games over Slippery Rock and also improved to 24-2 at home this season. 

The four teams remaining--Millersville, IUP, Seton Hill and California--embark in a double elimination tournament Thursday. Millersville plays California, the PSAC West's No. 2 seed, at 1:30 p.m.