Millersville Shuts Down Slippery Rock

Jordan Kuhns — MSBN Broadcaster

Johnstown, Pa. — A suicide squeeze and a four-hitter by junior Tim Mayza catapulted the Millersville Marauders to a 5-0 shutout win over Slippery Rock in round one of the PSAC Tournament on Thursday morning.

Mayza's tremendous effort was not entirely clean, but it was pretty flawless otherwise. He threw numerous first pitch balls, but he battled back and sped the game along nicely.

"It took a while to get comfortable," Mayza said. "[The umpire] wasn't allowing the belt high strike, but he was giving the outside strike."

His best feat was holding Will Kengor, the PSAC's batting champion, to 0-for-4, with four infield ground outs. Kengor came into the game batting .455.

"I knew coming in [Kengor] was their catalyst," Mayza continued, talking about his affinity to steal bases. "When he goes, they go."

"Tim did a fantastic job," head coach Jon Shehan said. "He threw a few lefty-lefty changeups to Kengor that he was probably not looking for there."

"Our goal isn't necessarily to throw the first pitch strike, but it's to be ahead after three pitches, and that's our focus."

The game had to be rescheduled last night due to a four hour lightning delay during the game between East Stroudsburg and Gannon. Heavy rains forced a reschedule to 8 a.m. from 6:30 p.m. the night prior. Thankfully, the delay did not stifle the Marauders' bats.

With runners on the corners, Jeff Heisey delivered a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to score Dan Johnson and give the Marauders the 1-0 lead. That lead would stand until the 7th inning when Mayza and Slippery Rock starter Lou Trivino dealt several 1-2-3 innings, speeding the game along. The game was only an hour old in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Millersville kept the offense going in the seventh. Kurt Seiders reached on an infield single, and then stole both second and third base. Tyler McDonald brought Seiders in on an RBI single, and then with the bases loaded, Jeremy Musser crushed a ball that went off the glove of shortstop Kengor and into left field. Two runs scored, and it extended the Marauder lead to 4-0.

Trivino's day was done after that, leading to the bullpen, which gave up another run. Tyler Orris was beaned by a pitch in the 8th, bringing in Dan Johnson with the bases loaded, capping the scoring for Millersville.

The defense was also in full bloom for Millersville. Evan King and Jeff Heisey both robbed Slippery Rock of two hits, including a diving catch by Heisey to end the ball game.

"That was one of the more complete games we've played all year," Shehan said. "We get a four-hitter out of Mayza, we make all the plays, we didn't walk many guys, and we offensively executed the game plan we had going in. I was really, really happy with our performance today."

Tad Barton will be on the mound for Millersville as they take on East Stroudsburg at 8 p.m. tonight from Point Stadium in Johnstown. Tune in at 7:30 p.m. for Marauders on Deck, brought to you by Homewood Suites by Hilton Lancaster.