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LANCASTER, Pa. - The Shippensburg University baseball team, the defending PSAC champion, will open defense of its title on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., when the Red Raiders play West Chester in game two of the 2008 PSAC Baseball Championship being held at Clipper Magazine Stadium, home of the Atlantic League's Lancaster Barnstormers.

Shippensburg (33-21, 14-6 PSAC West) is making its sixth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament and its 25th overall. The Red Raiders will be the top-seed from the Western Division after capturing their first outright Western Division championship in their four years since moving from the Eastern Division in 2005.

Joining Shippensburg from the West will be No. 2-seed Indiana (Pa.) and No. 3-seed Slippery Rock. Nearby Millersville earned the top-seed from East and will be joined by No. 2-seed Kutztown and No. 3-seed West Chester.

The Rock will take on Millersville at 4:00 p.m., on Wednesday while Kutztown and Indiana (Pa.) will meet Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m.

All seating for the tournament at Clipper Magazine Stadium will be general admission. The purchase of one $7 ticket will admit a fan to all games played that day. There will be no complimentary tickets and only PSAC passes will be honored. In addition, students from PSAC member institutions will be admitted FREE with their student ID.

Every Shippensburg game during the four-day tournament will be broadcast live by Shippensburg University student radio station WSYC 88.7 FM as well as on the internet through www.shipraiders.com.

Shippensburg has captured a total of 16 conference championships, including 10 tournament titles. The Red Raiders have advanced to six consecutive conference tournaments and 11 since 1994, winning championships in 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2007.

While 2008 marks the first outright Western Division title for the Red Raiders, the team did finish in a four-way tie for first in the West in 2005 as the Red Raiders, Clarion, California (Pa.) and Slippery Rock all finished with 12-8 conference records.

Since 1994, Shippensburg has won four divisional titles, claiming East championships in 1996 and 2004 and West crowns in 2005 and 2008.

Individually, the Red Raiders have had some strong performances this season, led by senior Justin Garber and junior Matt Wright.

A two-time All-PSAC Western Division First Team selection in 2006 and 2007, Garber is batting a team-high .441 with 86 hits, just five shy of the school record of 91 set by Chad Stecker '05 in 2004. Already the school's career hits leader with 269, Garber needs only 15 to tie Mansfield's Greg Robertson for the all-time PSAC record.

The 2007 PSAC Western Division Pitcher of the Year and 2006 Rookie of the Year, Wright needs just four more strikeouts to become only the third player in PSAC history to total 300 for a career. He already holds the school record with 296. Wright has totaled 112 strikeouts this season and needs just two more to break the school record of 113 set by Evan Englebrook '04 in 2004.

In addition, junior Tim Freshour has emerged as the team's solid number two starter this season, leading the team in ERA, wins, games started, complete games and innings pitched. He also has a team-best three shutouts and is second behind Wright in strikeouts with 40.

Sophomore Rick Shumway and junior Tyler Redick have joined Garber in helping Shippensburg emerge as one of the top offenses in the conference this season. The Red Raiders enter this week's conference tournament ranked second in the PSAC in runs and hits while placing third in RBIs.

After hitting .273 in 19 games at West Chester in 2006, Shumway is currently second on the team with a .390 average and 46 runs while leading the team with 19 stolen bases. He is also second on the team with a .532 slugging percentage and a .489 on-base percentage.

Meanwhile, Redick, an All-PSAC Western Division Second Team selection a year ago, is the only Red Raider to have appeared in all 54 of the team's games this season, all of which have been starts. He leads the team in at-bats with 204 and is hitting .374, ranking second on the team with 76 hits and 38 RBIs. Redick is also a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen bases.

Other players to watch for Shippensburg include junior Kasey Kuhns who leads the team in RBIs with 40, junior Kyle Rhoades who is hitting .340 while committing just three errors in 197 chances at second base and sophomore Ashton Taughinbaugh who is batting .413 in only 22 games, including .459 in 15 games during the month of April where he has totaled 17 of his 19 hits.

A Shippensburg win against the Golden Rams on Wednesday would pit the Red Raiders against the loser of Millersville and Slippery Rock at Noon on Thursday while a loss would drop the team to the consolation bracket where it would face the loser of Kutztown and Indiana (Pa.) in an elimination game Thursday at 3:00 p.m.

2008 PSAC Baseball Championship
Tournament Schedule

Wednesday, April 30
Game 1:  Millersville vs.  Slippery Rock - 4 PM
Game 2:  Shippensburg vs. West Chester - 7 PM

Thursday, May 1
Game 3:  Kutztown vs. Indiana (Pa.) - 9 AM
Game 4:  Winner Game 2 vs Loser Game 1 - Noon
Game 5:  Loser Game 2 vs Loser Game 3 - 3 PM
Game 6:  Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 1 - 6 PM

IF FOUR TEAMS REMAIN AFTER GAME 6, THE SCHEDULE WILL BE:

Friday, May 2
Game 7:  Winner Game 4 vs Winner Game 6 - Noon
Game 8:  Winner Game 5 vs Loser Game 6 - 3:30 PM
Game 9:  Loser Game 7 vs Winner Game 8 - 7 PM

Saturday, May 3
Game 10:  Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 9 - 1 PM
Game 11:  If necessary, rematch of Game 10 - 20 minutes later

IF FIVE TEAMS REMAIN AFTER GAME 6, THE SCHEDULE WILL BE:

Friday, May 2
Game 7:  Loser Game 4 vs Loser Game 6 - Noon
Game 8:  Winner Game 5 vs Winner Game 4 - 3:30 PM
Game 9:  Winner Game 6 vs Winner Game 7 - 7 PM

IF TWO TEAMS REMAIN AFTER GAME 9, THE SCHEDULE WILL BE:

Saturday, May 3
Game 10:  Winner Game 8 vs Winner Game 9 - 1 PM
Game 11:  If necessary, rematch of Game 10 - 20 minutes later

IF THREE TEAMS REMAIN AFTER GAME 9, THE SCHEDULE WILL BE:

Saturday, May 3
Game 10:  Winner Game 8 vs Loser Game 9 - 1 PM
Game 11:  Winner Game 9 vs Winner Game 10 - 4:30 PM