Game 1
Game 2

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Shippensburg University junior Matt Wright pitched an eight-inning complete game while striking out 12 and allowing just two hits as the Red Raiders split a PSAC Western Division doubleheader with Indiana (Pa.) Friday afternoon at Fairchild Field.

Shippensburg (25-16, 7-3 PSAC West) won game one 3-2 in eight innings before losing game two, 3-2. Friday's doubleheader marked the ninth and 10th one-run games of the year for the Red Raiders who have posted a 4-6 record in such contests.

Both Shippensburg and IUP (28-11, 7-3 PSAC West) entered this weekend's four-game series tied for first place atop the PSAC Western Division, one game ahead of California (Pa.) and two in front of Slippery Rock.

The Red Raiders are ranked third in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) North Atlantic Region Poll and are receiving 12 votes in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division II Poll.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks are fourth in the NCBWA poll.

The strikeouts for Wright gave him 98 for the season, one shy of his career-high of 99 set last season and only two short of making him just the third Red Raider in school history to total 100 for a single-season.

For his career, Wright now has 280 career strikeouts, moving him into fourth place on the all-time PSAC list past Mike McCardell, brother of Shippensburg freshman Steve McCardell, who totaled 278 at Kutztown from 2004-07. Only two players in PSAC history have reached 300 career strikeouts.

Wright was locked in a pitcher's duel with IUP's Dan Snyder who suffered just his second loss in seven starts this season. After each surrendered a first inning run, the two did not allow a run over the next six innings.

Jamie Smith led off the game with a triple to left center for the Crimson Hawks and then scored on a fielding error before Shippensburg senior Justin Garber led off the bottom of the first with a double to right center and scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Tyler Redick.

With the game tied at 1-1 heading into the top of the eighth, the Crimson Hawks threatened with two outs when Paul Bingham singled, stole second and advanced to third on a single by Shayne Busti. However, Wright would get T.J. Nichols to ground out and end the threat.

In the bottom of the eighth, Garber led off with a single to center before Shane Melhorn came on in relief of Snyder after starting the game in center. Red Raider junior Kyle Rhoades moved Garber into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before junior Tyler Redick singled through the left side of the infield to advance him to third.

However, in trying to field the ball, IUP left fielder Shawn Schwarz bobbled it, giving Garber the chance to score which he did to give Shippensburg its third extra-inning win in five extra-inning games this season.

Garber finished the game 3-for-4 and was the only Red Raider to total more than one hit. It was his team-leading 23rd multi-hit game of the year and gave him 66 for the season which is tops in the PSAC. He would add two more hits in game two and now has 251 for his career, just three shy of the school record of 254 held by Chad Stecker '05.

Redick was 1-for-3 with one RBI on a sacrifice fly while also accounting for the game-winning run that led to the error which scored Garber.

The second game also saw strong pitching from Red Raider junior Tim Freshour and IUP's Chris Twigg and Corey Betz.

Freshour totaled his seventh complete game in 10 starts this season, scattering five hits and allowing just one earned run while striking out five. The team leader in pitching wins with seven, he suffered his third loss of the year and the first in his last three starts. Two of his losses have come in games decided by just one run.

The Crimson Hawks broke open a scoreless game in the top of the fourth when Kyle Stryker hit an RBI-double with two outs that scored Busti to give them a 1-0 lead. They added two runs in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Matt Duda and a two-out double by Melhorn with two outs that scored Smith.

Melhorn's RBI-double proved to be the game-winning run after Shippensburg scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run single up the middle by Redick.

However, the Red Raiders missed the opportunity for a big inning as Redick's single came with no outs before Betz entered retired three of the next four batters he faced.

Again, Garber was the only Red Raider to total more than one hit as he went 2-for-3 with a run while Redick was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Garber, Rhoades and Redick totaled four of Shippensburg's six hits with Rhoades going 1-for-2 with one run.

Still tied for first place atop the PSAC Western Division, the Red Raiders and Crimson Hawks are scheduled to conclude their four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader at IUP's Owen Dougherty Field.