RELEASE DATE: 4/17/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mounties sweep Millersville in slugfest to keep PSAC baseball playoff hopes alive – Stinger and Miller combine to drive in ten runs in opener – Battisti hits walk-off double to win nightcap

Game One Boxscore
Game Two Boxscore

MANSFIELD – Chris Miller hit a grand-slam and Cody Stinger added a three run home run in the opener and Stinger hit a two-run home run with two outs in the seventh of the nightcap to extend the game to extra innings to lead Mansfield to a crucial 15-13, 7-6 sweep over Millersville in a PSAC East doubleheader at Shaute Field Friday afternoon.

The sweep puts Mansfield into a tie with Millersville for fifth place in the PSAC East and just a game out of fourth place and the final playoff spot.

The opener defined slugfest with both teams combining for 28 runs on 29 hits and four lead changes.

Millersville scored twice in the first and once in each the second and third innings to take a 4-1 leading into the bottom of the third. Mansfield scored four times in the bottom of the inning on a grand slam by Miller

After Millersville tied the game with a run in the top of the fourth Mansfield retook the lead with six runs, three of them coming on Stinger’s fifth home run of the season, in the bottom of the inning.

But Millersville came right back with six runs of its own in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 11-11. Mansfield answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning highlighted by a two-run single by Miller to take a 15-11 lead.

Millersville cut the lead to 15-13 with a pair of runs in the sixth but Tyler Noel, the Mountaineer fifth pitcher in the game, managed to shut the Marauders down in the seventh and pick up his third save of the season.

Chris Miller went 3-4 with a home run and six RBI’s in the game while Stinger was 1-1 with four RBI. Kevin Miller went 3-4. Trevor Tellip picked up his second win of the season in relief.

In the nightcap, Millersville held a 2-0 lead until Mansfield got three runs in the bottom of the second with two of those runs coming off a double from Tony Battisti.

The score remained 3-2 until the top of the sixth when Millersville erupted for three runs, two of them scoring on a single by Adam Boyd.

Mansfield closed the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Nate Grove but Millersville would extend the lead to 6-4 on a solo home run by Andrew Dochterman in the top of the seventh.

Mansfield had a runner on with two outs and a two-strike count of Stinger before he blasted a shot to straight-away center field to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

Reliever Bernard Johnson retired Millersville in order in the top of the eighth and Battisti doubled in Drew Bair for the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the inning to pull out the win.

Battisti was 2-4 with two doubles and three RBI while Stinger and Grove also had two hits and two RBI. B Johnson was credited with the win, his second of the season.

Both team meet again on Saturday at Millersville.

GAME ONE

Millersville          211         162         0              13-15-1
Mansfield            104         640         x              15-14-1

Millersville (21-19, 7-10 PSAC East): Kyyle Belanchik, Keith Bires (4), Michael Mesvekas (4) (L, 0-1), Andrew Clemens (5) and Miles Gallagher
2b – Derek Kline               HR – Keith Spencer (1), Scott Slembacker (5)
RBI – Kline 3, Gallagher 2, Cody Wile 2, Andrew Dochterman 2, Keith Spencer

Mansfield (18-25, 6-11 PSAC East): Chris Zelko, Joe Will (4), Bernard Johnson (5), Trevor Tellip (6) (W, 2-1) and Tony Battisti
2b – Matt Young, Nate Grove     HR – Cody Stinger (5), Chris Miller (5)
RBI – Miller 6, Stinger 4, Matt Young, Chris Coleman, Grove

GAME TWO

Millersville          110         003         10           6-10-1
Mansfield            030         001         021         7-12-2

Millersville (21-10, 7-11 PSAC East): Jason Long, Andrew Clemens (6) (L, 0-2) and Gallagher
2b – Kerek Kline               HR – Andrew Dochterman
RBI – Adam Boyd 2, Lance Miller 2, Miles Gallagher, Dochterman

Mansfield (19-25, 7-11 PSAC East): Jordan Garcia, Tyler Noew (5), Trevor Tellip (6), Bernard Johnson (8) (W, 2-2) and Tony Battisti
2b – Mike Hartz, Battisti 2             HR – Cody Stinger (6)
RBI – Battisti 3, Stinger 2, Nate Grove 2,