Millersville opens the PSAC season against Lock Haven

Friday, March 20

Millersville, PA

2:00 PM

Millersville University

Lock Haven

Millersville opens the PSAC season against Lock Haven

3/19/2026 3:30:00 PM | Softball

By: Aidan Bishop, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Countdown to Gameday

Millersville Softball

Softball

vs Lock Haven

Mar 20, 2026 at 2:00 PM

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Hours

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COVERAGE LINKS

Live Video (GAME1) | Live Video (GAME2) (PSAC Network - Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku)
Live Stats (GAME1) | Live Stats (GAME2)

ABOUT THE GAME

PSAC East play opens Friday at Seaber Softball Stadium between the Millersville Marauders and the Lock Haven Bald Eagles. Both teams were selected in the bottom half of the preseason poll, with the Marauders at seventh and Lock Haven at eighth. Lock Haven has won six of the last 10 matchups, including a sweep in the final series last season. The last time Millersville recorded a sweep in the series was in 2024 at home with 8-4 and 16-13 victories.
Millersville enters Friday on a four-game winning streak following its sweep over Chestnut Hill on Wednesday. The Marauders hold a 10-6 overall record and are 7-1 at home. The pitching staff has limited opponents to four runs or fewer during this stretch, while the offense has produced an impressive 40 runs over those four games. The depth of the lineup is beginning to show as PSAC play approaches, with several players making key offensive contributions. Lock Haven has won four of its last six contests. The Bald Eagles split with Jefferson in their most recent series, a team the Marauders were swept by, and also took two games from Slippery Rock, which was picked first in the PSAC West preseason poll.
East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, and Shepherd are the early favorites in the PSAC East. All three teams began the season ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. The team to chase at this point is West Chester, which currently holds the fifth and final preseason spot for the PSAC Tournament. Millersville is projected two spots behind them and will look to surpass both West Chester and Bloomsburg to secure a postseason berth.

SB: Carly Vaughan goes yard to extend the Millersville lead! pic.twitter.com/acUnuimFi9
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) March 13, 2026

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

Millersville enters the 2026 season with a more experienced lineup after graduating only three players from last year's roster. It proved to be a long year in with a young lineup that got its first taste of PSAC softball. However, a lot of optimism has been shown in the opening months of the season, with a number of Marauders stepping up in their respective roles. Millersville has won four of its eight series this season, while splitting with Virginia State and IUP.
The offense has been Millersville’s biggest strength through the opening 16 games. Six Marauders enter Friday hitting above a .300 average at the plate, with three hitting above the .400 mark. Sophomore Lexi Pickett has led the charge in the first half of the season, holding a .605 batting average with 23 hits, five home runs, and 18 RBIs. She currently leads the PSAC in four different categories, including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and OPS.
Depth has been key to Millersville’s production, as other notable names in the Marauder lineup include Cecilia McBeth, Jocelyn Langer, Jiana Maniscalco, Jaylee Lose, Allyson Black, and Cameron Witte. McBeth has solidified herself in the two-hole spot with 21 hits as a freshman. Langer missed the opening two series of the year due to injury but has settled right back into the leadoff spot and is coming off a five-hit performance against Chestnut Hill on Wednesday. Maniscalco has had a strong first half of the season, sitting third on the team in hits with a solid .366 average at the plate. Lose is another freshman who has adapted quickly to the collegiate level, as she has 11 hits with four RBIs. Black has gotten hot as of late, racking up five hits in the past four games. Witte rounds out the group with 13 hits to her name, placing her fifth on the team in that category.
Pitching will be a critical factor for the Marauders this spring. Delaney Troxell has emerged as the game one starter for Millersville with her recent performances in the circle. She holds a 2.15 ERA through eight games and has a 6-2 overall record. Troxell leads the team in strikeouts with 34 and has held opponents to a .226 batting average.
Rebecca Opperman has taken on the role of the game two starter in her past two outings. With injuries sidelining Nicolina Pezzone and Jordyn Skarren, Opperman has settled in and claimed her first collegiate victory on Wednesday with a shutout performance. Peyton Bechard and Ava Nelson have also eaten up a significant number of innings, with the sophomores combining for 13 strikeouts.

SCOUTING LOCK HAVEN

The Bald Eagles finished one spot ahead of the Marauders in the 2025 PSAC East standings. They finished the year with a 15-27 overall record while going 9-23 in conference play. They have opened the 2026 season with an 8-6 record, winning three of their last four games against Slippery Rock and Jefferson.
Lock Haven returns two strong offensive bats in Blaire Balestrini and Maci Brodzina. Balestrini is the reigning PSAC East Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-PSAC East Second Team as an infielder. She had a .390 average during the conference season with 41 hits, 11 home runs, and 27 RBIs. Through her sophomore season, she leads the team in hits with 16 and boasts a .364 average. Alongside her is Brodzina, who holds a .341 average and sits second on the team with 15 hits. She finished behind Balestrini last season in conference play with a .297 average while collecting 27 hits as a utility player.
Joining the duo are Olivia LeMeau, Gianna Goodman, and Madison Melius. LeMeau currently leads the team with a .375 average and a 1.082 OPS. She has been the Bald Eagles' cleanup hitter while playing first base. Goodman has primarily played second base and serves as the team's leadoff hitter. She currently has a .326 average and will force the Millersville catchers to stay alert, as she has been successful on all six stolen base attempts. Melius sits lower in the lineup at third base but poses a threat in the latter half, recording 11 hits on the year.
Sophomore Taila Ross returns as the top pitcher for Lock Haven. During the 2025 conference season, she threw 82 innings with 79 strikeouts and a 6-10 record. Ross has had a strong start to her sophomore season with a 6-1 record and a 2.40 ERA. She has thrown 46.2 innings to start the year while limiting opponents to a .206 batting average and recording 65 strikeouts. Millersville found success against her in one matchup last season, collecting 10 hits and scoring six runs. Ross recorded eight strikeouts in that game but issued four hit-by-pitches. In her second appearance against the Marauders, she responded with a complete-game performance, striking out 11 while allowing just three hits in the win.
Keiva Middleton and Faith Persing have been the other two starters, rotating in game two action. Persing has taken over as the primary starter more recently, tossing 22 innings with a 5.96 ERA. Opponents are hitting .347 against her through seven appearances, as she sits at 2-3 on the season. Middleton has a similar line when pitching, currently holding an 8.49 ERA with 15 innings of work in the circle.

SERIES HISTORY

In 2025, Lock Haven took three of four games against Millersville after the Marauders did the same in 2024. The Marauders hold a 14-26 all-time record against Lock Haven and are 7-13 against them at home.
Millersville’s lone victory last season came in game one of the series, a 6-1 win. Now-senior Hailey Watlington led the way offensively with three hits while scoring one run. Nicolina Pezzone earned the win after pitching four innings with three strikeouts. However, Lock Haven responded by taking game two after Millersville jumped out to an early lead. It was a tightly contested game throughout all seven innings before the Bald Eagles secured the split. Games three and four also favored Lock Haven, as the Marauders managed just one run in game three before being shut out in the final game.