MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (May 10) – The Vulcans opened play on Saturday afternoon with a 4-0 victory versus No. 6 Millersville before dropping an 8-3 contest against the host Marauders in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship at Cooper Park.

With the split, the California (PA) baseball team moves to 38-13 this season after posting a 4-2 mark at the league tournament with four games against nationally-ranked teams. The Vulcans also established the single-season school record for wins on Saturday, breaking the previous mark set in 2019. Cal was positioned fifth in the latest NCAA regional rankings prior to playing five games in the PSAC Tournament versus regionally-ranked teams. Meanwhile, the Marauders stand at 42-8 overall and secure an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament following its second conference title in the last four years.

Senior first baseman Santino Marra collected three hits on Saturday against Millersville. He climbed into a tie with Sam DiMatteo (2007-10) and Mick Fennell (2013-16) for second place in school history with 223 career hits, just one shy of the all-time record.

Senior left fielder Ryan Callahan and senior third baseman Payton Conte both eclipsed 50 RBI this season, marking only the third time (2009, 2010) in school history multiple players accomplished the feat in the same year. Callahan also surpassed 70 hits on Saturday to become only the 13th player to reach the milestone.

The Vulcans entered Saturday needing to earn a victory to force the if necessary game in the PSAC Tournament. Freshmen Coleman Fletcher and Colin Watson combined for a four-hit shutout against the Marauders, which entered the week as the league leader with 8.6 runs per game. Fletcher (2-0) earned the win while making only his second appearance since March 18, scattering three hits and three walks over 5.0 scoreless innings (71 pitches). Watson registered his first career save after working 4.0 shutout innings (52 pitches) and allowed just two base runners (single, walk).

Millersville opened the game with back-to-back base runners before stranding a runner at third. Fletcher forced the Marauders to leave runners on first and second in the second inning and strand another runner at second in the top of the third.

The Vulcans claimed the lead in the third inning by scoring four runs on four hits and one walk. Sophomore shortstop Caleb Collins reached on a leadoff single and sophomore catcher Kyle Rizzo followed with a walk. Senior right fielder James Salvatori later tallied an RBI single and Conte followed with an RBI double to left center. Cal then loaded the bases when Callahan reached on a hit by pitch before Marra laced a two-run single to center field.

Millersville and Cal both left a pair of runners on base in the fifth inning. Watson entered the game in the top of the sixth and retired the initial five batters he faced. He prevented the Marauders from advancing a base runner into scoring position over the last four innings.

Marra finished with two hits, two RBI and one walk, while sophomore center fielder Ikon Jones collected a pair of hits in the victory.

Following the game, Cal and Millersville were forced to play again due to the double-elimination format of the tournament. The teams used a combined 11 pitchers in the contest, as the Vulcans were playing their sixth game of the week and the Marauders were playing their fifth contest in the tournament.

Cal stranded runners on the corners in the top of the first before taking a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Jones led off with an infield single and Salvatori followed with a double. Conte then registered a sacrifice fly before Callahan delivered an RBI single. The Marauders countered with five runs on five singles in the fourth off junior Michael Valente, who was making his first relief appearance since the 2023 season.

Millersville left a pair of runners on base in the fifth inning before adding an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. The Marauders had runners on second and third before a line-out double play ended the inning. Cal cut the deficit to 6-3 in the top of seventh when Jones scored on a sacrifice fly by Conte.

In the bottom of the inning, the Marauders tallied a two-run single with two outs before leaving a pair of runners in scoring position. Cal later threatened in the eighth and ninth with bases-loaded situations in both innings.

Salvatori reached base in all five plate appearances (four hits, walk) and scored one run from the leadoff spot. Senior second baseman Nathan Meeks added a pair of hits and Jones posted one hit, two runs scored and one walk.

Senior starting pitcher Jackson Miller took a no-decision after working 3.0 scoreless innings (27 pitches). Valente (10-1) was saddled with loss after surrendering five runs (all earned) on five hits in 1.0 inning of relief.

Cal hit at a .340 clip over the six games in the PSAC Tournament hosted by Millersville. Salvatori led the team with a .478 average (11-for-23) and tied for the team lead with eight RBI. Jones paced the team with a .609 on-base percentage and scored seven runs, while Meeks collected 10 hits to finish with a .417 clip (10-for-24). The Vulcans used a combined 13 pitchers at the PSAC Tournament and compiled a 3.42 ERA, as only four pitchers allowed multiple runs.

The Vulcans are in contention to receive at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament after being slotted in the regional rankings in each of the previous two weeks. The at-large selections and pairing will be announced tomorrow, Sunday, May 11, on NCAA.com at 10:30 p.m. EST.