SLIPPERY ROCK –The East Stroudsburg University baseball team's gritty PSAC Tournament run came to an end as Millersville knocked off the Warriors, 9-2, in game one of the championship on Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park.
The Warriors, who captured the third runner-up finish in program history at the conference tournament, moved to 37-17 on the season while the Marauders (41-12) capture their first PSAC Tournament championship since 2015.
ESU entered the PSAC Tournament ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings which was released on Wednesday. The Warriors will now await word on an NCAA Tournament bid, with the announcement coming on Sunday night.
Redshirt senior CJ Peechatka (1-for-3) provided ESU's first run of the game on a solo home run, his ninth of the season, in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Jack Rothenhausler went 1-for-4 with an RBI while Anthony Torreullas finished 2-for-2 with a walk. Brock Kauffman and Jeremy Piatkiewicz each had a hit.
Notables
- Peechatka extended his team-high on-base streak to 26 games with the home run
- If today was his final game, Brainy Rojas scored 156 runs in his career to remain at fourth all-time in program history and still ranks second for stolen bases with 77
- Kauffman recorded his 218th career hit to remain at second all-time in school history and is now seven from breaking the school record of 224, set by Jacob DeBoer (2004-07)
- ESU was limited to zero stolen bases which kept their season total at 132, ranking second in the PSAC and sixth in all of NCAA Division II
- The Warriors move to to 17-18 all-time in the PSAC Tournament
How it Happened
Millersville took advantage of a leadoff walk in the top of the second inning to take the game's first lead at 1-0. With two outs and runners on first and second, Tyler Wright singled to center field to bring home Keegan Soltis.
The Marauders loaded the bases with two outs in the top of third inning, and on ESU's attempt to throw behind the runner at first, the ball sailed down the right field line to plate a pair and make the score 3-0.
ESU got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning as Peechatka delivered a one-out home run over the left field fence to cut the Warriors deficit to 3-1.
Millersville answered in a big way in the top of the fifth, using two hits and pair of hit by pitches to plate four runs, giving the Marauders a 7-1 lead.
Then with two outs in the top of the next frame, Millersville pushed their advantage to 9-1 on a two-run single from Jimmy Kirk.
The Warriors didn't go down without a fight in the bottom of the ninth inning as Rothenhausler doubled home a run to make the final score 9-2.
Up Next
The Warriors will now turn their attention to the 2022 DII baseball selection show, which will air live on Sunday, May 15 at 10 p.m. ET
