Game 1
Game 2

WASHINGTON, Pa. - Less than 24 hours after being swept at home by California (Pa.), the Shippensburg University baseball team kept its hopes for its first PSAC Western Division championship in four seasons alive by sweeping the Vulcans on the road at CONSOL Energy Park, 9-4 and 6-4 in nine innings.

The Red Raiders' sweep, combined with IUP's sweep over Slippery Rock on the road Saturday, put Shippensburg (29-20, 10-6 PSAC West) back into a second place tie with Indiana (Pa.), one game behind California (Pa.).

Meanwhile, Slippery Rock fell back into fourth place, one game behind the Red Raiders and Crimson Hawks and two behind the Vulcans.

With one weekend of divisional games remaining, Shippensburg begins a four-game series with Lock Haven on the road Friday while California (Pa.) heads to IUP.

The top three teams from each division advance to the 2008 PSAC Baseball Championship at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster which begins Wednesday, April 30.

Prior to moving to the Western Division in 2005, Shippensburg won two Eastern Division titles in 1996 and 2004. The Red Raiders' best finish in the West came in 2006 when they finished second behind California (Pa.).

In 2005, Shippensburg finished in a four-way tie for first, but earned the third seed for the conference tournament following the tie-breaker scenarios. Last year, the Red Raiders, who will move back to the East in 2009 with the addition of Gannon and Mercyhurst, finished third.

As for Saturday, the Red Raiders used timely hitting and strong pitching to win its seventh PSAC Western Division road game out of eight this season. Senior Justin Garber, junior Tyler Redick and sophomore Rick Shumway totaled nine of Shippensburg's 18 hits on the day while combining for eight runs and six RBIs.

On the mound, junior Jason Kelly totaled his first complete game of the season to earn his fifth victory in game one and freshman Shane Barrett and senior Brandon Geib limited the Vulcans to just three earned runs in game two.

Senior Kyle Warner picked up his first win of the season and his first since Apr. 27, 2005 at Bloomsburg while Redick earned his first career save in his fifth career appearance. In 42 career appearances, Warner has totaled a record of 2-3 with a team-high eight saves.

On Friday, Shippensburg hit .254 in losing both games and had a staff ERA of 5.14 as California (Pa.) outscored the Red Raiders 8-4. On Saturday, Shippensburg upped its average to .300 while lowering its ERA to 3.94 in sweeping two games.

In eight Western Division road games this season, the Red Raiders have posted a 7-1 record, scoring 52 runs and totaling 78 hits compared to a 3-5 mark, 35 runs and 63 hits at home.

After taking the opener, Shippensburg trailed 4-2 and was down to its last three outs before senior Eric Dezell hit a two-run double down the left field line that scored Shumway and junior Kasey Kuhns to tie the game and force extra innings.

After Warner worked his way out of runners on first and second with only one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Red Raiders were denied a chance to take a lead in the eighth after Shumway was thrown out at the plate on a single to right by freshman Steve McCardell.

Warner then retired three of the four Vulcans he faced in the eighth before Redick hit a two-out, RBI-double to right field that plated junior Sean Killian to give Shippensburg its first lead of the game. Garber then scored an insurance run on a wild pitch to increase the lead to two.

In the bottom of the ninth, Warner was replaced by Redick after hitting the first batter he faced. Redick then recorded the final three outs for the save after Warner picked up a hold.

Dezell finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs while Garber was 1-for-3 with a solo home run and three runs scored.

California (Pa.) starter Randy Sturgill held the Red Raiders to just two runs on two hits before leaving the game with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the seventh.

In Saturday's first game, Garber, Redick and Shumway each totaled two hits. Redick and Dezell both had two RBIs as seven of the nine Red Raiders in the lineup had at least one run batted in. In addition, eight players had at least one hit.

With the score tied at 1-1, Shippensburg plated three runs in the top of the third on three RBI singles. Redick added an RBI on a sacrifice foul out to third base that scored Dezell in the fourth before the Vulcans scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to pull within one, 5-4.

The Red Raiders put the game out of reach with four runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a solo home run from sophomore Kevin Scholly and a two-run single by Dezell.

In going the distance, Kelly scattered nine Vulcan hits and struck out four, holding California (Pa.) scoreless over the final three innings. By comparison, the Vulcans (25-13, 11-5 PSAC West) used five pitchers, including three in Shippensburg's four-run seventh.

Before Shippensburg goes for its first PSAC Western Division title next weekend, the Red Raiders will host a PSAC crossover against Kutztown on Tuesday at Fairchild Field beginning at 3:00 p.m.