MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (May 9) – The California (PA) baseball team registered a 3-1 victory over Seton Hill on Friday night at Cooper Park to advance to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship for the first time since 2010.

With the win, the Vulcans improve to 37-12 overall and will face No. 6 Millersville tomorrow, Saturday, May 10, at 2 p.m. Additionally, Cal tied the school record for wins in a season previously set during the 2019 campaign. The Vulcans will have to defeat the host Marauders twice to capture the conference title, as Millersville advanced from the winner's bracket. Meanwhile, Seton Hill falls to 37-15 this season and will likely earn at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament after being seeded fourth in the latest regional rankings.

Cal utilized five different pitchers that combined to scatter just four hits in the victory. Freshman Ben Barr made his second career start and worked a season-high 4.1 scoreless innings (64 pitches) on Friday. Junior Luke Treloar (2-1) was credited with the victory after allowing one run (earned) over 1.2 innings of relief. Fellow junior Jake Kramer worked 2.0 scoreless innings of relief to break his own single-season school record established last year. He now has 11 saves this spring and extended his all-time conference record to 27 saves.

The Vulcans took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when sophomore center fielder Ikon Jones scored from second on a two-out RBI single by senior third baseman Payton Conte. Cal then stranded runners on first and second in both the fourth and fifth innings. Barr struck out the leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth before issuing a walk. Treloar then entered the game and forced Seton Hill to leave a pair of runners on base.

The Griffins tied the score in the sixth inning with a solo homer by right fielder Max Mandler, 1-1. Cal responded with a pair of runs on three hits in the seventh to claim a 3-1 advantage. Sophomore catcher Kyle Rizzo started the inning with a double and advanced to third on a bunt single by Jones. The Vulcans reclaimed the lead on a sacrifice bunt by senior right fielder James Salvatori before Conte delivered an RBI single.

Seton Hill threatened to counter in the bottom of the seventh when the first three batters of the inning reached base safely on a single, walk and throwing error. Sophomore Ryan Sluk then registered back-to-back strikeouts with the bases loaded before a fielder's choice ended the inning. In the eighth, the Griffins brought the tying run to the plate against Kramer following a two-out single before a line-out halted the inning.

Cal mounted a two-out threat in the ninth with Jones and Salvatori collecting back-to-back singles before a ground-out ended the inning. Kramer then retired the Griffins in order in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a called third strike to seal the victory.

Conte tallied three hits and two RBI, while Jones finished with two hits and two runs scored.

The Vulcans will face the nationally-ranked Marauders tomorrow for the second time this week. Millersville advanced to the PSAC Championship following a 5-2 victory over Seton Hill in 13 innings on Friday afternoon.