MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Freshman pitcher Matt Seibert, a 2022 Warwick High School graduate, gave his Millersville Marauders exactly what they needed in Tuesday’s 5-0 win over Wilmington at Cooper Park. Making just his second start, Seibert earned his first career win by tossing the first nine-inning complete game by any Marauder since 2017.

Interestingly his catcher was his brother, who also attended Warwick and drove in 3 RBIs to help Matt win his first college game at Millersville.

Millersville is enjoying one of it’s best seasons. They are 16-2 and in first place in the Eastern Section of the PSAC league.

After the weekend’s long, offense-filled series against Shepherd and with the final six games of the PSAC East schedule looming, Millersville’s bullpen was in dire need of rest. Eight ‘Ville relievers had combined for 11 2/3 innings in the previous four games.

“There was a point after such a long, tiring weekend with two long games to start and a tough one to finish, we were praying for rain today,” said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. “Our pitching staff could really use a day off, and Matt was absolutely enormous today to keep guys who have been beat up with the number of appearances off the field.”

The crafty left-hander frustrated and picked apart the Wilmington lineup all game by painting all edges of the zone. While he finished with just six swing and misses and one strikeout (which ended the top of the eighth), 60 of his 88 pitches were strikes. Seibert effectively kept the ball down the zone and the sink on his fastball-slider-change-up repertoire continually left the Wildcats pounding weakly-hit grounders into the infield turf. Seventeen of the 27 outs came on ground balls.

“Going back to 2007, Matt is Ryan Stauffer comp,” said Shehan. “He can throw a change-up and a breaking ball for strikes, and he’s rarely up in the zone. He mixes three pitches really well, and all of them move. He fields his position well, he’s a competitor, and he knows what he’s good at. He doesn’t try to do what he isn’t good at. He’s not a strikeout guy. He just tries to miss barrels.”

Seibert became the first Marauder to pitch a nine-inning complete game since Cordell Shannon’s two-hit shutout of Shippensburg in the 2017 NCAA Atlantic Regional.

After Erik Grady started the game with a leadoff single, Seibert retired the next 14 Wildcats, and Grady was the only Wilmington hitter to reach scoring position all game. All four hits Seibert surrendered were singles, and he did not walk or hit a batter.

“We knew how deep this team was.,” said Shehan. “Today was Matt’s turn. It’s big this time of the year.”

Making Seibert’s performance all the more special was that his battery mate was his older brother, John Seibert. John not only threw out a runner for the final out of the seventh inning, he also smacked a bases-clearing, three-run double in the top of the first that staked Matt to an early lead.

Millersville scored 45 runs in the Shepherd series and 12 against Wilmington one week prior but managed just four hits Tuesday. A Wilmington error in the first inning opened the door for Millersville to score four unearned runs–all with two outs. The Marauders then went hitless for six innings. Millersville, however, took advantage of the few chances Wilmington offered. Cole Houser was hit by a pitch with one out in the eighth, and then swiped second base–only his sixth steal of the season. The Wilmington infield employed a heavy pull-side shift against freshman first baseman and the Seiberts’ high school teammate Matthew Williams. The right-handed-hitting Williams went to the opposite field, spinning a cue shot inside the first base bag, pushing Houser home from second.

“There’s a point where you have to tip your cap,” said Shehan. “Wilmington pitched really well in the middle innings. But it opened up with Houser, giving us a free base. Houser was able to steal a bag. He did a really good job getting an extra step on his lead and getting a good job. It was a little risky. We knew it would be bang-bang. Matthew hit some balls hard (and didn’t get a hit). He didn’t hit that one hard, but that’s how the game works sometimes.”

With a five-run lead, Williams worked quickly through a 1-2-3 ninth.