MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - A looping fly ball into foul ground in shallow left field doesn't score many runners, but many runners aren't Bren Taylor. Taylor's base running on Sam Morris' seventh-inning sacrifice fly broke a 3-3 tie, and Millersville poured on three more runs in the eighth to beat California (Pa.) 7-3, advancing in the PSAC Tournament. 

Situational hitting, base running and Alex Kuehn's knack for pitching the Vulcans into inning-ending double plays were the difference. Cal produced 13 hits, but in the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, Kuehn halted potential Vulcan rallies with double plays. Kuehn, who worked 6 2/3 innings, did not strike out a batter, but he also did not walk a batter, letting his defense work behind him. 

"No strikeouts, but one of our absolutes is four pitches on the plate or out," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "He did that today. He was pretty efficient--87 pitches through almost seven innings. He's going to sink the ball, the change-up and cutter were really good. He pitched to his strength all day."

Millersville, however, executed brilliantly with runners in scoring position. The Marauders put a runner on third base six times and plated the runner five times.

"We were 8 for 8 with situational hitting today, and that's just the guys buying in to doing it for their teammates," said Shehan. "They put a master class together today."

Matthew Williams put Millersville on the board with a solo home run in the first inning--his 14th of the season.

"(The home run) was huge," said Shehan. "It helps with the butterflies, it helps Kuehn go out and be himself."

Taylor, the PSAC's all-time hits and runs leader, delivered the quintessential Taylor game, going 3 for 4 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI. He also made a diving catch in left field in the top of the eighth. 

Taylor helped the Marauders back into the lead late in the game. Cal erased a 3-0 deficit, tying the game on James Salvatori's RBI single in the seventh. But Taylor immediately started the bottom of the inning with a double into right-center and moved to third on Jimmy Kirk's well-placed sacrifice bunt. Morris popped the first pitch from Beau Bigam down the left field line, and Taylor, recognizing that Cal's Ryan Callahan was able to leave his feet to make a sliding grab, tagged at third base and sprinted home before Callahan could gather himself and make a throw to the plate. 

"He came into the cage yesterday and said, 'I've figured it out,' said Shehan. "He made an adjustment, and now the rest of the PSAC will have to watch out." 

Millersville pulled away in the eighth. Donis Rodriguez followed Amani Jones' lead-off double with an RBI single. Two batters later, Williams lined a single to right, scoring Rodriguez. Taylor then added more insurance with a sacrifice fly that scored Sabater. 

The extra runs proved key as Cal threatened against Gavin Lill in the ninth. Cal produced back-to-back two-out singles, and Lill hit Ikon Jones to load the bases, but Lill closed out the win by getting Salvatori to fly out to center. 

Millersville is now 7-1 all-time against the Vulcans in PSAC Tournament play and have won seven consecutive home postseason games. The Marauders meet a familiar postseason foe Friday at 3 p.m. in the winners' bracket. Seton Hill, the PSAC West champs, and Millersville have in 16 postseason games since 2011 with the Griffins holding a 10-6 edge. Millersville is 2-1 against Seton Hill in PSAC Tournament games. The teams have no met in the conference tournament since 2019.