The offensive and defensive principles Breitbach and his staff have been putting in place during spring practices are beginning to take shape in the minds of his players. While the game is a scrimmage, it goes a long way in Breitbach’s ability to evaluate the talent he currently has on his roster. Saturday’s game represents a turning point for the Millersville football team. With plenty of action and festivities planned that bring excitement to the team’s renewal, the 2013 Spring Game is a can’t-miss event for all Marauder fans.

The offenses and defenses play compete with points going to either side. Scoring for the game goes as follows: the offense gets one point for each first down, three points per field goal made and six points per touchdown; the defense scores one point with a series stop, two points for forcing a three-and-out, three points for forcing a turnover and six points for a defensive touchdown. All PATs in the game count for the scoring side.

Mapped already is an itinerary for what Breitbach’s team will look like in pregame drills. Specialists take the field at 5:30 p.m., and 15 minutes later the specialists join the offensive and defensive linemen to take the field together and warm up. At 5:55 p.m., one of the big events of the evening takes place with the unveiling of the 2013 team captains during the team’s stretch period.

After the team goes through its stretches, Breitbach has his team going through a second warm up at 6:10 and five minutes later, the offense and defense walk through eight plays each. At 6:20, the offense and defense show solidarity as a team, leaving the field together to hit the locker rooms for one last talk from Breitbach before retaking the field at 6:25. Following the playing of the National Anthem, series one between the offense and defense starts the game at 6:30.

Millersville’s new head coach is looking for his team to run between 60 and 80 plays, giving him enough tape to evaluate his team.

Key players returning from last year’s team in action Saturday include linemen Lenny Sannelli, Luke Richmond and Kevin Bohl, quarterback Connor Casey, receiver Dominic Sanders, tight end Trent Petrovich and running back David Coates. Those seven players, plus others, will get a chance to see how quickly they can pick up an offense that averaged 33.5 points and 430.5 yards of offense per game for Breitbach at NCAA Division I FCS North Dakota last season.

Multiple holdovers from 2012 are poised to make an impact on defense and help get Breitbach’s up-tempo offense back onto the field quickly in hopes of lighting up the scoreboard. A versatile defensive scheme, Millersville will boast a 4-3 as its base defense and also run an unconventional 3-3-5 defense that utilizes three safeties across the formation.

Familiar faces on the defensive side of the ball include linemen Daniel Jones and Gilbert Ramos, linebackers Dean May, Reggie Slaton and Jordan Rigby and defensive backs Dan Miller, T.J. Richardson and David Rene. Experience from these players help give Breitbach’s offense a good look in its first attempt to move the ball.

As part of his plan to re-energize the program, Breitbach has also built fan involvement into halftime of the game. Kids, students, parents and Skully and the Marauder can all take part in the halftime festivities. Kids have the chance to “hit the pop up,” where pop ups are set up on the goal line and the participants throw from the 10-yard line. Ten selected youngsters will be split up into two teams of five and throw once each at the pop up targets.

Students can also get involved, and their activity is to punt the football through the goal posts from the 20-yard line. Just like the “hit the pop up” activity, 10 Millersville students are split up into two teams of five with one punt each. Each converted punt through the uprights nets the participant’s team three points.

The parents in attendance can also get involved with a roll of the football from the 25-yard line that must stop on the Millersville “M” at midfield. Four parents per side can score three points each if the rolled football stops on the logo that crosses the 50-yard line. The final halftime activity will be a Mascot Punt Return, where Skully and the Marauder get a chance to field a “punt” that is thrown by the coaches on the home sideline. Skully and the Marauder will face off, with each getting a point and a total of three tosses.

Both teams host West Chester for PSAC East doubleheaders, and shirts will be sold at both sites with proceeds benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. Fans at both games will receive a free bag of Herr’s chips, and Kunzler Hot Dogs will be sold for $1 at the baseball game.

Baseball and softball on Saturday will mark the third day of the academic year that the Millersville athletic department’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has hosted a Military Appreciation Day. Back in October, SAAC honored veterans and supported the Wounded Warrior Project for Millersville’s football game against East Stroudsburg. In December both the women’s and men’s basketball teams hosted a Military Appreciation Day as they took on Mercyhurst.

For the baseball team, it is the second season in a row hosting a Military Appreciation Day. Last year against West Chester on Apr. 13, the Marauders wore camo hats and pitching coach Bob Preli, who served 30 years in the United States Coast Guard, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

It is also the second time the softball team is supporting the Wounded Warrior Project, but the first time since the 2010 season, when the team launched its “Going to Bat for Our Wounded Soldiers” initiative in conjunction with the Millersville ROTC.

You can find out more about the Wounded Warrior Project here.

Cooper Park, which will be now be known as “The Coop,” had new signage added to the press box and a plaque and banner in left-center field were unveiled.  Cooper’s name was branded on the park due to generous gifts he has given to the program.

Cooper played baseball and football at Millersville from 1964-67 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history. Cooper has had a very distinguished career since graduating from Millersville and is currently the senior distribution consultant and in-house counsel for Branca-Rampart Financial Services, Inc.  He is a long-time supporter of the University, serving as the vice-chair of the Soar to Greatness Capital Campaign, exhibiting commitment to the Honors college and student mentoring programs as well as supporting baseball scholarships.

“The gift provided to our program from Mr. and Mrs. Cooper was an act of tremendous kindness and philanthropy that will leave an everlasting impact on Millersville University and its baseball program,” said Millersville baseball head coach Jon Shehan. “Our program has a storied past, rich in tradition. Bennett Cooper’s generosity will help to ensure that the tradition of success is continued well into the future.

“Recruiting intelligent, talented prospects is the key to running a successful athletic program and this gift will momentously further our ability to do so,” said Shehan. “Mr. Cooper is a fantastic example of the type of person that Millersville University is capable of producing. He is incredibly successful and more importantly, as an alumnus, a role model for our current and future students. I speak for Marauder Baseball, its coaches and former coaches, alumni, players, and supporters when I say that we are very proud to have his name on our beautiful ballpark.”

Millersville has reclaimed its perch at the top of the PSAC East while the team that won the NCAA Division II Championship in 2012 has underperformed in 2013, going 18-18-1 with a 9-7 mark in PSAC East play. Conversely, the Black and Gold’s 30-12 overall record and 12-4 record in divisional games puts the arrow pointing up for the Marauders and down for the Golden Rams.

Most players would say that being the “underdog” and not garnering attention is where their respective teams want to be to open a year. Senior center fielder Jeff Heisey knows the feeling of being in the company of the PSAC’s elite, as well as the pitfalls of a season that didn’t meet expectations and would much prefer the distinction the Golden Rams held coming into this year, albeit without the results West Chester has seen through 37 games.

“We really think that having the target on our backs is a good thing,” Heisey said. “We like being up there and we like other teams being afraid of us. It’s better for us when teams have to chase us. We want it more than most teams especially in the PSAC, so coming out with that intensity every day, we just work hard in practice and that makes the games go slower for us.”

Even during the Golden Rams’ best year in program history (the national title was the team’s first), the Marauders found a way to take three of four meetings from their PSAC East rivals. That fact alone has to give Millersville an added mental edge; the holdovers from last year’s team know what it takes to beat a team that was pegged at the very top of the conference in the PSAC Baseball Preseason Poll.

The Black and Gold saw that poll and despite what Heisey says, it had to like where it placed to open the season. Millersville was ranked fifth in the PSAC East and was lying in the weeds, waiting to turn that poll on its ear. So the team went to work with head coach Jon Shehan’s “So what, one pitch” mantra, and the results have been eye-popping.

Millersville has turned the PSAC East into a two-horse race with Kutztown for the division’s top seed, winning 18 of its past 22 games. The Marauders also threaten to sweep the PSAC East season awards while West Chester is scuffling along.

The Golden Rams have won just two of their last 11 games heading into Friday, both of which came by one run apiece. The 11-game sample that has negatively impacted West Chester’s record came after it had won seven straight and nine out of 10 during a stretch from Mar. 20-30.

For the Marauders, Zach Stone is a bona fide PSAC East Player of the Year candidate. He leads the division in hitting at a robust .418 and is threatening for the conference’s illusive Triple Crown. He is second in the entire PSAC with five bombs and has driven in 37 runs, fourth in the league and six behind second-place teammate Heisey.

Stud hurler Chris Murphy looks like he may have already locked up the PSAC East Pitcher of the Year award, spinning a no-hitter and a perfect game already this year. The sophomore leads the PSAC in wins with 10 and is sixth in ERA at 1.61, which seems to shrink every time he toes the rubber. More than likely, Murphy will take the ball and the hill Saturday when the series shifts back to newly-named Cooper Park in game one of Saturday’s home doubleheader.

In terms of the PSAC East Freshman of the Year, it looks like Shehan stole rookie Jeremy Musser right out from under another divisional foe’s nose. Millersville’s skipper plucked the outfielder from his hometown of Shippensburg. Musser boasts a .349 average and has been a big left-handed bat that a righty-heavy lineup needs.

Forget, though, about the Marauders’ potential end-of-season monopoly on PSAC awards because the team surely will. The team success is much more important to a group that leads the conference in nearly every major statistical category and hovers around fourth in many of the pitching stats. Where Millersville has excelled, West Chester has struggled.

The Golden Rams are 12^th of 14 teams in hitting, with just a .256 average as an offense. Unfortunately for the preseason favorites, their pitching has been only marginally better, ranking 11^th in team ERA with a 4.38 through 283.2 innings of work. As fate would have it, they have a chance to turn their season around against the only team that won more than two games against them last year.

West Chester has hit a bumpy road in 2013, and that much is certain. But Heisey, who has been a big veteran presence on a team with just four seniors, knows the Golden Rams can’t be counted out and can still present a great challenge to his team–a team with postseason aspirations that reach far beyond just the PSAC Tournament next month. “West Chester has always been the biggest series since I came in as a freshman,” Heisey said.

“Every guy on the team, even the freshmen know what it’s like. They know what West Chester is going to show them coming into this series,” Heisey continued. “To be able to go after pitchers like (Joe) Gunkel and some of their other returners is great because a bunch of guys have seen them for a lot of years now, so we can offer some advice for the freshmen and sophomores. We’re going to get after them, but stick to our approach of one pitch at a time and attack in that way.”

Another advantage Millersville can take from the weekend match-up is the chance to put the Golden Rams on the brink of not making the conference tournament altogether. That’s a chance Heisey would relish for more than just one reason, saying, “To be able to bury them and put them out of the PSAC Tournament would be a huge victory for us as a squad not only to get a couple wins this weekend, but also as a mental victory for us to give us that extra confidence heading into PSACs.”

This late in the season, it’s safe to say the Marauders have stolen the purple-and-gold colored bull’s eye, painted the purple circles black, and pasted that target squarely on their backs. Friday and Saturday, the Golden Rams will dig in their heels and take aim at it. Now it’s Millersville’s job to make them miss.

“We are thrilled to have Coach Breitbach and his family join the Millersville University community,” said Dr. Aminta Breaux, vice president of student affairs at Millersville. “We look forward to his leadership and moving our football program forward. And, we’re delighted that he is here in time for spring ball.”

Breitbach, who has coached at four collegiate levels, helped North Dakota transition from a Division II powerhouse into a Division I conference champion. In 2011, his offensive unit averaged better than 300 yards of total offense per game as North Dakota captured a share of the Great West Conference title with an 8-3 record. It was the first Division I Conference Championship in school history.  Breitbach was an integral part of a program that posted a 49-30 record, appeared in the NCAA Division II playoffs twice and was nationally-ranked in the AFCA Division I FCS Coaches Poll over a seven year span.

“I’m honored to become part of the Millersville University family,” said Breitbach. “I’m thankful for the faith shown in me by President John Anderson, Dr. Aminta Breaux, the selection committee, the coaches and the players who have chosen me to lead the Millersville University football program.  With the alumni and the community, we will all build this program together. I’m excited to get started.”

As North Dakota moved into the Big Sky Conference last season, Breitbach’s offense averaged 33.5 points and 430.5 yards of offense per game. His offense set school and Big Sky Conference records for yards passing in a game, as well as two school records for single game total offense. The unit finished in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense, passing offense and passing efficiency. In five seasons as the offensive coordinator, Breitbach’s six starting quarterbacks combined to throw for 94 touchdowns compared to just 45 interceptions. Seven of Breitbach’s players landed first team all-conference honors since making the leap to Division I FCS in 2008. Wide receiver Greg Hardin became North Dakota’s first FCS All-American in 2012 after piling up 1,145 yards and 14 touchdowns on 65 catches under Breitbach’s direction. His student-athletes also excelled in the classroom, with 11 earning the distinction of CoSIDA Academic All-America.

Breitbach piloted a high-powered offense at Division III Wisconsin-Stevens Point prior to joining the North Dakota coaching staff. His offenses averaged over 415 yards and 30 points per game in three seasons. Seven of his players were named to the All-WIAC First Team. The 2003 club posted an 8-2 record and finished the season ranked No. 12 nationally. The offense led the nation in regular season touchdown passes and ranked first in the conference in five offensive categories. His quarterback was named WIAC Player of the Year and was a team captain at the Division III Aztec Bowl.

From 1999-2002, Breitbach was the special teams coordinator, receivers and running backs coach at Lewis & Clark College. He also served two stints as an assistant at his alma mater Montana-Western, coordinating the offense and coaching quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and linebackers. Montana-Western was a NAIA National semifinalist in 1994.

Breitbach earned a bachelor’s of science degree in business education from Montana-Western in 1994, and received a master’s of science degree in education administration from Portland State in 2002.  As a student-athlete, Breitbach played two seasons at Dickinson State and two at Montana-Western, where he served as a team captain during his senior season.

Breitbach and his wife, Kara, have three children: Alaina (10), Jenna (7) and Trent (4).

Millersville, Pa. – The Millersville women’s track and field team does not have many opportunities to compete at home throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons, but this Saturday the team is hosting the Millersville Metrics for a chance to showcase its talents in front of a home crowd.

“This is a special chance for our athletes to compete in front of their friends and family,” commented head track and field coach Andy Young. “For our team to perform at home provides added comfort and that helps our athletes reach their full potential in each and every event.”

For many of the Marauders it is their first competition of the outdoor season. After a five week layoff following the end of the indoor season, only a few athletes made the trip to Raleigh, N.C., for the Raleigh Relays.

“For a lot of our athletes, this is their opportunity to get their racing edge back after having a few weeks off,” continued Young. “For those that did compete last week at Raleigh, we want to see them sharper and more complete in their performances.”

Without a true home cross country course or an indoor track and with 12 of the 23 athletes being freshmen on this year’s  outdoor team, the Millersville Metrics will be the first opportunity to compete at home for the majority of the Marauders. One of those athletes performing for the first time on the comfort of her own track is first-year student-athlete Erin Madison.

Madison was the lone All-PSAC performer for Millersville at the 2013 Indoor PSAC Championships. The Pocono Mountain East graduate placed second in the 400-meter hurdles and according to Young, she has the ability to set the school record in the outdoor event on Saturday.

“As a coaching staff, we are really excited to see Madison compete at the Metrics,” said Young. “She has been training really hard and this is her best event. I think she may be able to get close to the school record in her first race of the outdoor season.”

If Madison can perform to her full potential this weekend and grab a first place finish in any of her events, it will mark the sixth straight year that the Marauders have had at least one first place finisher at the Millersville Metrics.

The Marauders also have the special opportunity of hosting the PSAC Outdoor Championships again this year. With the most important event of the track and field season occuring at its home facility, Millersville can use this Saturday as a dress-rehersal for the conference championships later this spring.

“This is a great chance to get our young team ready and comfortable for the conference championships,” added Young. “The Metrics is a team-scored event this year and it puts our team in the right mindset to compete and compete hard for everyone on the team. We want to use this as a stepping stone for the rest of the season and especially the PSAC Championships in May.”

That  first step begins this Saturday at 9 a.m., and for seniors Sarah Mulvey, Sarah Fink, and Mallory Austin, it will be their second-to-last chance to compete on the track on which they have spent so many hours training.

The Nanticoke native has starred to this point in 2013, posting a 10-3 record in 12 starts. But the record, which is already two victories more than her entire freshman season total of eight, is most definitely not the biggest standout statistic. For those eye-popping numbers, a fan could look to her sparkling 0.95 ERA over 73.2 innings, which is fourth-best in the PSAC and better than any other pitcher from the PSAC East.

Again, even the infant-sized ERA doesn’t do justice to just how good Bertoni has been in the circle this season. One of the best indicators of how much of an impact she has had on this team’s turnaround is her 11 complete games, tops in the conference. Even more impressive is that, of those 11 complete games, six have come in shutout fashion, sixth-best in the country among Division II pitchers.

All this dominance on Bertoni’s part comes on the heels of a freshman year where she put forth an 8-15 record with a 4.32 ERA. But there were always the flashes that the second-year pitcher had this type of pitching capability hidden deep within. One could point to the no-hitter she threw at Philadelphia in just her 10^th career start, or the durability of starting 24 of the team’s 48 games and tossing 150.0 innings, a record for innings pitched in one season in the program’s history.

“I think, as for most players that come to play at this level, it took her freshman year for Sarah to truly understand what the Division II college game is all about, especially in such a tough conference as the PSAC,” said Bertoni’s head coach, Kathy Cummings.

But as key as that development was, it was what Bertoni did in the offseason that caught Cummings’ eye and made her head coach realize that this was the year for her prized pitching recruit. “Sarah is extremely self-motivated and came back with the goal of learning from the past to raise the level of her game, improve as an all-around pitcher and player and help our program go in a positive direction.”

Moving the program in a positive direction is going to require leadership, that intangible quality that coaches lust over and know that, if a player possesses it, he or she is worth building around for the future. Figuratively speaking, Cummings knows she has hit a home run with Bertoni in the leadership department especially this season, a season during which Bertoni as just a sophomore, is the most experienced pitcher on staff.

“Sarah is a team player and has definitely stepped up in a leadership role with the pitching staff, starting back in the fall,” Cummings explained. “She has been able to help by relaying her knowledge and experience from last year to help prepare especially the younger pitchers for what to expect. With her and the other two returning pitchers, helping them to adjust, I definitely feel they have helped the freshmen pitchers with the transition to the higher level.”

Bertoni wasn’t always an outward leader, though. Before, the Greater Nanticoke High School star was more shy, more reserved, more interested in leading by example with her talents. But as one win turns to another and the wins start to mount for Marauder Softball, Cummings has noticed a difference in her staff ace, saying, “Although I have seen her be a positive leader by example, lately I’ve seen her become more of a vocal team leader especially since the beginning of the spring season.”

That competitive fire burns in Bertoni to win every start, but most important for her is gaining her teammates’ trust. “It’s an amazing feeling to know that I’m helping my team advance and put us in a much better position than last season,” Bertoni said. “I want my team to be confident with me on the mound and know that they can trust me no matter what situation I’m put in.”

The numbers certainly speak for themselves but Bertoni, who now brims with confidence following her scorching start to the year, knows that she and her teammates have a bond that will push them through to the end of the season. That bond is important when she steps into the chalked circle, because she knows that on any given day, it could be the offense that picks her up, or it could be her turn to lift her teammates to victory.

An example of that point is the run support Bertoni has received so far this season. In her six complete game shutouts, only one of those wins has come by more than three runs. The offense has scored just 17 runs in her six shutouts, for an average of just 2.8 runs of support per game. On the flip side, in the five complete-game starts where Bertoni has not dazzled hitters and has allowed at least one run, she has been given a nice cushion, as the bats have woken up to the tune of 39 runs, or 7.8 per outing.

Being the consummate leader and teammate that she has matured into, Bertoni does what any other player does when asked about the run support and help she gets in the field: deflects credit. “Our defense has been our strong point and as long as we don’t let down, no team can stop us.” That last statement is a powerful one, but one the sophomore believes in and stands by.

Cummings echoes her star pitcher’s sentiments about the team success being indicative of Bertoni’s success. “Although there is no doubt that Sarah has a lot to do with the way our season is going, I think it’s extremely important to make sure we point out that our young team has been excelling in many areas of our game to help create the success we have had to this point,” Cummings said. “Our batting has improved, we are doing a great job of scoring our runners, our fielding is very solid and we have created opportunities on the bases for our team.”

Important to Bertoni as a leader too is picking her teammates up in a time of need. Even though the offense, which has been resurgent in batting .307 as a team a year after hitting just .227, has been good, it will have its down days, and that’s when Bertoni needs to lift her level of play. She talked about the mentality of pitching in a close game, something that she understands this year much better than she did a year ago as a rookie.

“There is always a lot of pressure on the pitcher when it’s a close game because you don’t want any runners to score or even get on base, and everyone is expecting you to hit all your spots and make the ball move,” said Bertoni. “When it’s a tight score, I think it makes me focus more and have a stronger drive to strike the batters out or get a weak ground ball off of them.”

Cummings attributes Bertoni’s mental makeup to her ability to pitch even better when the lights shine brighter, as the game winds into the seventh inning with the score at 1-0. “She is definitely mentally tough and keeps her composure when the pressure is on her shoulders. Her understanding that she has to stick with what works and not try to do too much regardless of how our team is playing and what the score is has really helped her to keep our team in a position to win games,” Cummings said.

Even with the great start, there is still work to be done in what Cummings earlier dubbed as one of the tougher conferences in the nation. But for a team that has never qualified for the PSAC Tournament, Bertoni believes this is the year. She said that the team made a pact, a commitment to each other at the beginning of this season that last year’s 18-30 (6-10 PSAC East) record was behind all of them.

Interestingly enough, Bertoni’s goal to make the PSAC Tournament is one she wants to fulfill not only for her and the team’s sake, but for Cummings’ sake as well. “I not only want to make the playoffs for myself and my team, but especially for (Coach Cummings),” Bertoni explained. “She has made a lot of changes this year to make us better, has done everything she can to help us, and now it’s our turn to return the favor.”

But when asked if the team has a real and legitimate shot to make noise in the conference, Bertoni exploded as if she were hurling a fastball toward home plate, saying, “We are most definitely able to contend in the PSAC! We have so much potential on this team, and have surprised a lot of people this year and will continue to do so. It would be such an accomplishment to qualify for the PSAC Tournament.” As she said it, you could almost feel not only the optimism in her tone, but also the belief behind the words resonating.

Confident, indeed.

The brutality of a PSAC East schedule generally precludes teams prominently featuring freshmen from contending. Last year’s champion West Chester started seven seniors. When the Marauders won the PSAC East and reached the NCAA Division II Championship in 2011, six regular starters were upperclassmen and not a single true freshman started a game in the field. The last time Millersville had two freshmen in its daily lineup was 2010. Jeff Heisey, now a four-year starter in the outfield, was one of those freshmen, and he hit .245. The team went 22-25, posting the fewest wins of Coach Jon Shehan’s five-year tenure.

Orris and Musser aren’t your average freshmen, though. In addition to holding 3.0 grand point averages, the duo won their starting roles following position battles with more experienced players. Orris is hitting .291 while playing shortstop—one of the most defensively taxing positions in the game. Musser, playing in left field, ranks 14^th in the PSAC in hitting with a hefty .373 average and has taken on a new position after playing in center for the majority of his high school career.

Orris began his Marauder career by reaching base in 15 consecutive games, and that stretch included a nine-game hitting streak. Musser went 11-for-22 over his first seven appearances and hasn’t relinquished the starting role despite sharing the outfield with a four-year starter in Heisey, a Division I transfer in Mark Stuckey and an All-PSAC East First Team selection in Kurt Seiders.

When Shehan, Nolan Neiman and Bob Preli recruited both players, they made it clear there would be opportunities for early playing time. But it was made crystal clear that nothing was guaranteed.

“Back when they were recruiting me they did tell me there was a chance I could get into the starting lineup, but I knew coming in I had to work really hard,” said Orris. “I had to do everything in my power to win the job.”

“They told me there was a possibility there would be a spot in the outfield for me,” said Musser. “Stuckey came in and won the center field job but that’s baseball. I played well enough in the fall that I was in a position to start.”

Early success is rare for true freshmen. Both Orris and Musser agree there was a sizeable learning curve. The speed of the collegiate game and the day-to-day competition—especially the pitching—is drastically better than the high school game. The key is the confidence that the player has possess, and also the confidence that the coaches and teammates have in that player.

“My confidence has actually improved as the season has gone on,” said Orris. “From the beginning of the season to now it has kept growing. Knowing that the pitching staff and my teammates have confidence in me helps a lot.”

Like Orris, Musser stated that the more playing time he’s received, the more comfortable he has become. That has translated into play on the field. Orris had a rocky start in the field, committing seven errors in his first eight games. But since March 2, he’s committed just one miscue in his last 72 chances.  Musser has looked more comfortable in left and on the base paths, making a diving catch against Bloomsburg and swiping four bases in a three-game stretch two weeks ago. He’s kept the hitting as well, producing seven multi-hit games.

Millersville baseball has produced three PSAC East Rookies of the Year. Ryan Brink, a Millersville Hall of Fame member, and Matt Knox, a MLB Draft pick, were catalysts on the 1998 team that won the PSAC Championship and reached the NCAA Division II Championship. Derek Kline won the award in 2008 and became Millersville’s all-time hits leader and a star on two PSAC East Championship teams. The 2012 Marauders boast two rookie of the year candidates, and if history is any indication, the present and future are bright for Millersville baseball.

These three players have left lasting legacies on the programs they helped rebuild, in the case of Obade, or carry on the tradition of success, in the cases of Mosley and Newman. While these players can never be replaced or forgotten, both men’s head coach Fred Thompson and women’s head coach Mary Fleig will have big shoes to fill, both literally and figuratively come next season, when Obade, Mosley and Newman no longer grace the Pucillo Gymnasium hardwood.

Obade in 2012-13 was named as the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-PSAC East First Team. Both were career-firsts for Obade after averaging a double-double of 11.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. More important to the Marauders than his scoring and rebounding is what the 6-9 post presence gave the team on the other end of the floor. The 6-foot-9 center spearheaded a defensive effort night-in and night-out that yielded fifth-best opponent’s scoring average in the conference and tops in the PSAC East division at 65.5 points per game.

The Charleroi native’s 75 blocks on the year were not only the most on the team, but the most in the entire PSAC by a landslide. As Obade went to work down low swatting 2.5 shots per game, no other player in the conference was within 30 blocks of him for the season. The next-closest player was Slippery Rock’s Luiz Santos, who finished with just 43 blocks on the season, good for a 1.4 per game average. The 75 rejections set a new Millersville record for blocks in a season.

The rebounding total of 11.1 per game and the 14 double-doubles also made Obade the conference leader in both categories. He ranked fifth nationally in rebounds per game, eighth in blocks per game and tied-for-ninth in double-doubles on the year.

Just two years removed from averaging only 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, the ultra-efficient Obade (58.1 percent shooting from the field this season) led the Marauders back to prominence in the PSAC with a 19-10 record and a trip back to the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2007-08. The senior’s hard work took Millersville to a turnaround season that came after a four-year period during which the team totaled just 37 wins against 68 losses.

For Mosley and Newman, however, their stories are the polar opposites of Obade’s, which by no means discredits what the two standout Marauder women accomplished during their five years under Fleig’s watch. Both took home significant hardware for their career feats and will go down as the most prolific scoring tandem in program history.

Mosley, who on Thursday was named to the Daktronics All-Atlantic Region First Team for the first time in her career, is arguably the best post player to ever step onto Millersville’s campus. In her final season, the 6-2 forward was named as the PSAC East Athlete of the Week a whopping six times (giving her 11 such awards for her career), pegged as an All-PSAC East First Teamer for the third consecutive season, and garnered the PSAC East Athlete of the Year award for the first time in her career. As a sophomore, Mosley also took home All-Atlantic Region Second Team accolades, proving that her career had longevity and consistency.

All of the praise heaped on the York native was duly deserved. She led the team in scoring (15.1 points), rebounding (9.6) and blocks (2.3) per game for the third consecutive year, and ranked second on the team in field goal percentage at 47 percent. Those totals rank her second in points and rebounds and third in blocks and field goal percentage in the PSAC.

For her career, the Central York High School product leaves the program ranking fifth in points (1,421), but now holds the school’s record for both rebounds (1,020) and blocks (247). During the course of her final season, she became just the second woman in team history to ascend into the top five in each of the respective categories. The only other player who can lay claim to that feat is Shelly Bowie.

Playing alongside Mosley for the past four years was Newman who, despite Mosley’s award collection, may have been an even rarer gem for Fleig to find on the recruiting trails around five years ago. Despite being listed at just 5-7, the North Hills native defied her size and gave Millersville the type of all-around play it won’t soon replace.

This season, while quarterbacking the Marauders to the fifth-highest scoring offense in the conference, Newman did a little bit of everything; including taking home a second consecutive All-PSAC East First Team nod. It was the third All-PSAC mention of her career, as she grabbed Second Team honors following her second season.

The Upper Dublin High School star ranked first on the team in assists (4.8), steals (3.7) and minutes (34.2) per game, second in points (11.9) and blocks per game (1.1) and 3-pointers made (38) and third in boards (6.1). Newman’s versatility knew no bounds; she led the PSAC in steals per game, ranked third in assists and minutes played, 12^th in scoring and blocks and 16^th in rebounding and 3-pointers made.

For as great as Mosley was, Newman’s made an indelible stamp in the team’s record books, ranking fourth all-time in points scored (1,428), second in assists (507), third in steals (399), 10^th in blocks (106) and tied-for-11^th in rebounds (608). If you’ve ever heard the term “Five-Tool Player” used in baseball circles to describe players that can contribute everywhere, meet Newman, who defines it for basketball purposes.

She is the only player to rank in the top five of points, assists and steals, only player to rank in the top 10 of points, assists, steals and blocks, and only player in program history to go for 1,000-500-500 in points, rebounds and assists, respectively.

What Mosley and Newman did for Fleig from 2009-13 was more important, as they kept a string of success going, delivering four more seasons in a string of 17 straight where the head coach’s teams have qualified for the PSAC Tournament. The pairing cemented their tandem legacy as the highest-scoring duo of classmates to ever graduate in the same year, combining for 2,849 points, 40 more than the next-closest combination. Over their four years together, Mosley and Newman’s teams were 84-32, 53-19 in PSAC play and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Who knows when Marauder basketball teams will see the likes of Obade, Mosley and Newman graduate in the same year? Thompson and Fleig don’t, but for their sake, and for the sake of their future teams, here’s betting they sure hope it is soon.

The men’s team finished the fall with a 2-1 record, being blanked in its opener with La Salle by an 8-0 score. The Marauder men recovered, winning their final two matches, 7-1 over Fairmont State and 6-3 over Harford Community College, before taking the winter break.

Millersville’s men return their No. 1 player, Jody Sambrick Jr. Sambrick went 3-2 in singles play during the fall part of the schedule. At the PSAC Individual Championships on Sept. 18, the Lampeter-Strasburg High School product was the only player to win a match, advancing to the second round after topping Ben Nance from Kutztown, 6-4, 6-0. Sambrick, however, would bow out after that win, dropping his next match to Robert Rizea of Mercyhurst, 6-2, 6-3.

Two other key returners for the men’s team are Kevin Tran and Dylan Ryan. Both players went 2-1 as singles players during the fall, with Tran playing two matches as the team’s No.4 and Ryan playing two matches as the No. 5 player. Tran, who teamed with Tucker Mertz in doubles play, finished the fall with a 2-1 record as part of a pairing with Mertz, while Ryan paired with Niko Mucci. That doubles team had a perfect 2-0 record as the third doubles pairing.

The women’s team enters the spring after a fall season during which the team claimed a 2-2 mark. After falling in its season-opener, a 7-1 defeat to La Salle, the Marauder women blanked Harford Community College, 9-0. Goldey-Beacom then shut out Millersville, 9-0, before the Marauders finished their fall with a 7-2 win over Georgian Court.

Melissa Plowman, the women’s team’s No. 1 player, had just a 2-4 singles and a 2-3 doubles record during the fall season, but did win the team’s only match at the PSAC Individual Championships on Sept. 18, dropping Lauren Zezenski of Clarion, 6-1, 6-0. Plowman dropped her second round match to Michelle Perez of Bloomsburg, falling by scores of, 6-3, 6-0. Plowman was an All-PSAC East selection as a junior.

Elizabeth Wagner, Alexandra Heller and Maggie Karr all won a pair of matches in singles play during the fall. Wagner sported a singles record of 2-3, but was 2-2 in duals from the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Heller was 2-2 as the No. 4 player in the team’s order and Karr grabbed a perfect 2-0 record from the No. 6 spot. The sixth position in the lineup was the most successful for the Millersville women during the fall, as Karr combined with Tori Davis (1-0) and Jess Taleff (1-2, 0-1 as the No. 6 player) to post a 3-1 record from the No. 6 players.

In doubles, Plowman and her partner Kelsey Waite were 2-3. The combination of Heller and Wagner also produced a 2-2 record during the fall, playing in the second spot. Again, the final spot in the lineup for the Marauders was the best, producing a 3-1 record with the combos of Taleff/Davis (1-0), Karr/Taleff (1-0) and Taleff/Nicole Daacke (0-1).

The men’s team plays 12 matches during the spring, while the women’s team plays in 14 matches. Five of the men’s 12 matches are against PSAC opponents, and six of the 14 matches the women’s team plays come against conference competition. It all leads up to the PSAC Team Championships, which begin on Apr. 16 for the women, Apr. 19 for the men.