Kirk's walk-off home run puts Marauders in PSAC title game

Friday, May 8

Slippery Rock, PA

11:00 AM

Millersville University

35-16

East Stroudsburg

36-14

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
East Stroudsburg	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	7	1
Millersville	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	11	1

Photo by: Slippery Rock Sports Information

Kirk's walk-off home run puts Marauders in PSAC title game

5/8/2026 2:45:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - In a PSAC Tournament semifinal game between two Eastern Division rivals that knew each other so well, one flinch proved decisive. An East Stroudsburg miscommunication on a fly ball in the bottom of the ninth extended the inning, and Millersville's Jimmy Kirk needed just two pitches to hit a game-winning, two-run home run and send his team to its second straight PSAC title game, 3-2.

A lazy fly ball off the bat of Matthew Williams looked like the certain 27th out of the game. But as three Warriors converged in shallow right center field, second baseman Walker Zampella appeared to call off right fielder Troy Davis. The ball, however, was beyond his reach and dropped to the turf, allowing Williams sprinted into second base as the game-tying run. John Kochmansky's Warriors played 11 innings Thursday and used regular closer Cole Dymek for five innings. Kochmansky made a brief visit to the mound and stuck with veteran lefty Peyton Brannock, who to that point, had pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

Kirk had already produced two hits in the game, driving in the team's lone run in the fifth, but Brannock had struck him out in the seventh.

"We were fortunate that Matthew's fly ball fell in," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "Their pitching and defense was excellent today. (Ethan) Woods kept the ball down and put four pitches on the plate, and Brannock was outstanding. That said, (Millersville pitching coach Eli Nabholz) kept saying to me in the dugout that the big hit was going to come, and it did."

Kirk watched a called strike on the outside corner, and on the second offering, Brannock pulled a fastball inside. Kirk blistered the ball deep over the left field wall--a no-doubter and his team-leading 15th of the season.

BSB: Unbelievable! We'll see you in the PSAC Championship game! pic.twitter.com/3r0mgX7gec
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) May 8, 2026

"Jimmy got one of the few mistakes we saw today and didn't miss it," said Shehan. "He's a leader. He does the little things no one sees. He serves. He sets up practice daily. He takes freshmen to the cage with him every day. He's helped Gino Williams prepare to play first base in the future. He's the heart and soul of this team. He knows how to win. He's been there, and he's guiding our young guys through it."

Kirk became one of just three Marauders ever to hit 15 homers in a season. He's now driven in five runs and hit two homers in the PSAC Tournament, and hit eight homers in the last three weeks.

Before the good fortune on Williams' double, Millersville had been limited to nine singles. Woods and Brannock had issued just two free passes, and Millersville had stranded 10. Yet Millersville's pitching was equal to the task. Starter Matt Shamany and reliever Joe Morrissey teamed to hold ESU to seven hits and just one extra-base hit. Neither team stole a base.

BSB: Hit it where they ain't! Jimmy Kirk gets us on the board. pic.twitter.com/yF9RXYUdoJ
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) May 8, 2026

"In games like that you have to pitch, play defense, and get a big hit," said Shehan. "When two good teams play, it is hard to run and create havoc. East Stroudsburg is tough because we both run a lot and know how to hold runners. It becomes a station-to-station game that requires someone to get a big hit or make a defensive mistake. We made the mistake early but got the big hit late."

Millersville's early mistake led to East Stroudsburg's only two runs of the game. In the top of the first inning, Davis singled, and Zampella hit a roller between first and second. 'Ville's Donis Rodriguez made a diving, tried to throw to first from the ground but threw it wide of Kirk, allowing both runners to advance into scoring position. Cole Serfass followed with a single that scored both runners.

Shamany, however, retired the next two hitters, got out of a two-on jam in the second and retired six in a row in the fourth and fifth innings before allowing a leadoff single to Serfass in the top of the sixth and handing the ball to Morrissey. The All-PSAC East First Team reliever cruised through the next three innings but ran into trouble in the ninth. He allowed a leadoff double to Ryan Manning and walked Connor Reilly. ESU sacrificed the runners into scoring position, but Morrissey kept it a 2-1 game and set the stage for Kirk's heroics by fanning the next to hitters.

"I went out to visit Morrissey in the eighth and was going to bring in (Carlos) Caraballo," said Shehan. "He told me he wasn't coming out and said he would adjust his slider, which he was missing in the middle with. He did. He punched out the next two. That guy has been nails. I'm not sure what it takes to be an All-American reliever, but he's been special this year in my book. His year has been similar to the one Adam Zipko had in 2014.

BSB: Joe doing what Joe does! Two on, no outs, and he sits down three in a row to end the 8th. pic.twitter.com/Y0Hg8zhwMU
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) May 8, 2026

Shamany went five innings, allowed two unearned runs and walked one. Morrissey finished with one hit and two walks allowed and four strikeouts in four shutout frames. Morrissey is now 5-1 with five saves, a 1.02 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 44 innings.

Millersville makes its seventh PSAC title game appearance since 2014 on Saturday. The Marauders have won three times in that span, including last season and in 2022 at Slippery Rock. First pitch against the winner of IUP and West Chester is set for 1 p.m.