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SAUGET, Ill. - Central Missouri's Danny Potje threw his first complete game in his 13th start this season, as he scattered 11 hits while striking out eight as the No. 7-ranked Mules handed Shippensburg a season-ending 5-1 loss at the Division II Baseball Championship Wednesday night.
The loss was just the sixth in the last 18 games for the Red Raiders (39-26) who finished the season only one win shy of just the second 40-win season in school history. The only Shippensburg team to have won 40 games was in 2004 when it went 43-12 and won a PSAC Eastern Division championship, conference title and advanced to the North Atlantic Region Championship.
This year, the Red Raiders won a PSAC Western Division title and a North Atlantic region championship en route to its fourth Division II World Series appearance in school history and first since 1996.
In just two seasons at Shippensburg, head coach Matt Jones has led the team to 67 wins, a conference title, division title, regional title and Division II World Series appearance.
"Not many people thought that we would be here, and look at what we accomplished," said Jones. "You have to achieve goals to get to a certain point and you have to experience it. We came out here to play hard and make a presence."
Wednesday's loss marked the final game in the careers of seniors Eric Dezell, Justin Garber, Brandon Geib and Kyle Warner. It also signified the possible end of the three-year career of junior Matt Wright who is expected to be a coveted draft pick in next month's MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Garber finished the game 3-for-5 with a solo home run in the top of the ninth in his final at-bat as a Red Raider which ended a shutout bid for Potje.
With three hits, Garber ends his career as the all-time hits leader in PSAC history with 288 while also setting a new school, single-season record with 105. He also finishes his career with a .396 batting average, setting a new school career record, breaking the old mark of .385 set by Jeff Teeter from 1986-89.
"It has been a great team and a great group of people to play with." Garber said.
For Warner, he totaled an inning-and-two-thirds of relief in his final game, striking out three and allowing just two hits while Dezell went 1-for-4 in his 64th game of the year which is one shy of the PSAC record of 65 set by junior Tyler Redick this season.
"Last year, we won the conference championship," said Dezell. "This year, we won the regional championship and not many people expected us to do either. We're competing with the best and it is a great feeling having achieved what we have."
In addition to setting a new PSAC record with 65 games played, Redick also sets a new conference mark with 252 at-bats and is second behind Garber with 98 hits. He will enter his final season at Shippensburg next year with 215 career hits, 73 behind Garber's all-time PSAC record.
For the seniors, they will leave Shippensburg having made four consecutive PSAC Baseball Championship appearances, back-to-back NCAA North Atlantic Region Championship appearances and a Division II World Series berth. They have won two PSAC Western Division titles, a conference championship, a regional championship and have won 133 games in four seasons.
"They're good students and good people," said Jones. "We are going to have to find a way to replace their leadership, talent and work ethic. It will be difficult to replace their impact."
