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MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY BASEBALL TEAM CLINCHES PLAYOFF SPOT; TAKES FIRST PLACE WITH WINS OVER EAST STROUDSBURG

April 25 – The Millersville University baseball team has made the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs for the first time since 2000.

The Marauders (22-22, 12-6 PSAC East) swept a home doubleheader against East Stroudsburg on Friday afternoon by scores of 7-4 and 3-0 to overtake West Chester for first place in the PSAC East.

The Golden Rams (38-10, 11-7 PSAC East) split a doubleheader with Kutztown this afternoon.

Millersville, which has won 16 of its last 18 games, would clinch its first division title since 2000 with two wins in a season-ending doubleheader at East Stroudsburg tomorrow.

The Marauders wasted no time taking the lead in Game 1. In the bottom of the first, Derek Kline (fr. Cleona, Pa./ Shippensburg, Pa.) blasted his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot over that soared over the fence in left center field. Kline went 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBI in the doubleheader.

The Warriors (19-27, 6-12 PSAC East) came right back with two runs in the top of the second, but Millersville took the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning when Corey Phelan (so. Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) doubled home Kent Gerdes (so. Lititz, Pa./Mansfield Univ.). Phelan would score later in the inning after an error by the ESU short stop.

In the third with the bases loaded, MU's Ryan McCormick (fr. West Chester, Pa./West Chester Henderson) laid a beautiful bunt down the first base line that scored Miles Gallagher (so. Lancaster, Pa./Univ. of Pittsburgh). That made the score 5-2.

The Marauders added two runs in the fourth, which offset the two runs driven by Mike Bortz's double for ESU in the fifth.

Ryan Stauffer (so. Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest HS) scattered nine hits in a complete-game effort that notched him his team-best sixth win.

In Game 2, Millersville hurler Brett Rhoads (sr. Landisville, Pa./Hempfield HS) dominated by allowing just two hits to record the complete-game shutout victory on Senior Day.

The Marauders scored all three runs in the third inning with Cody Wile (jr. Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor HS), who is batting .378 on the season, getting a huge two-RBI double.

Enrique Arroyo (sr. Bensalem, Pa./Dominican Univ. ) went 2-for-3 in Game 2.

The four-day PSAC baseball playoffs begin Wednesday, April 30 at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster .