Game 1
Game 2

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Junior Kyle Rhoades totaled three hits, including two in game two, to lead the Shippensburg University baseball team offensively as it opened PSAC Western Division play with back-to-back losses to Slippery Rock Saturday afternoon at Fairchild Field, 3-1 and 6-0.

The losses snapped a four-game win streak for the Red Raiders (16-13, 0-2 PSAC West) who were shutout for only the fourth time in 29 games this season.

The Rock (12-5, 2-0 PSAC West), who also swept both games at Fairchild Field a year ago, used stellar pitching performances from Chris Squeglia and Rich Hocanson to limit the Red Raiders to just one run on six hits while striking out 13 between them. Rhoades totaled half of Shippensburg's hits, going 3-for-7.

The only other Red Raiders to get a hit on Saturday were senior Justin Garber, sophomore Kevin Scholly and junior Kasey Kuhns as each had one.

In game one, Squeglia won a battle against one of the top pitchers in not only the PSAC, but also the North Atlantic Region and Division II as well. He out-dueled 2007 PSAC Western Division Pitcher of the Year and NCBWA North Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year, junior Matt Wright of Shippensburg.

In picking up his first complete game of the season, Squeglia totaled eight strikeouts while scattering three hits, two of which came in the first inning when he allowed a sacrifice fly for the Red Raiders' only run of the game.

However, Slippery Rock tied the game in the top of the second when Matt Adams led off with a solo home run to right, just two at-bats after a sacrifice fly by Scholly scored Garber to give Shippensburg a 1-0 lead.

From that point, neither team would threaten again thanks to the stellar pitching of Wright and Squeglia. Of the duo's 18 combined strikeouts, 10 came from Wright who reached double digits in strikeouts for the fifth time in seven starts this season, including fourth-straight.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Red Raiders had runners at first and second with just one out before Squeglia got junior pinch-hitter Tim Freshour to strike out looking and junior Sean Killian to fly out to left to force extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, The Rock's Rich Michalek led off with a single to right before Scott Bender doubled to right to give the visitors their first lead of the game, 2-1. Bender would later score on a sacrifice fly to left by M.J. Parsons to provide the final margin of victory after Squeglia retired Shippensburg 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

Bender finished the game 3-for-4 with one RBI.

The loss was the second in three extra-inning games for the Red Raiders this season after
they lost 3-2 at No. 2 Mount Olive on February 16 and scored three in the bottom of the ninth to beat Post, 11-10 on March 8.

Slippery Rock scored five of its six runs in game two in the first two innings against Shippensburg junior Thomas Ashman who was making his first appearance at Fairchild Field since Apr. 21, 2006 in game two of a doubleheader against The Rock.

On Saturday, Ashman surrendered five runs on eight hits in one-and-two-thirds while facing 14 batters. Slippery Rock did most of its damage in the first, totaling four runs on six hits, including a two-run single up the middle by Dan Hudeck to put The Rock in front, 4-0.

Parsons drove in the final two runs with an RBI-single in the second and an RBI-double in the fourth while Hocanson remained perfect in four starts this season, improving his record to 3-0 after allowing just three hits and striking out five.

Two of Shippensburg's three hits came from Rhoades who went 2-for-3. The only other Red Raider to get a hit was Kuhns who hit a single to left with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

Slippery Rock and Shippensburg, which were picked to finish second and third in the PSAC Western Division Preseason Coaches' Poll behind two-time defending division champion California (Pa.), will wrap up their four-game series on Sunday with two games at The Rock's Jack Critchfield Park. First pitch is at 1:00 p.m.

Last season, the Red Raiders won their conference-leading 16th PSAC title at "The Jack" on May 5, 2007 and won two of its three games on the field, including one of two in the regular-season.