Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg University baseball team received a pair of solid starts from southpaw pitchers on Saturday afternoon from Fairchild Field and the Raider bats came through for 12 runs to key a crucial doubleheader sweep of PSAC East rival Kutztown by scores of 9-2 and 3-2.

Shippensburg (22-27, 11-9 PSAC East) held onto third place in the PSAC Eastern Division and enters the final week of the season three games ahead of East Stroudsburg, Millersville and Mansfield. The top four teams from each division qualify for the postseason tournament.

The Raiders have now won at least two games in all five of its divisional series this season and got back on track this weekend by sticking to fundamentals and executing flawlessly in all facets of the game.

In the opening inning of Game 1, Shippensburg plated three runs and never looked back. Junior Rick Shumway, who went 4-for-4 in the opener, doubled on the first pitch he saw and was advanced to third after a successful sacrifice by senior Tyler Redick. Sophomore Steve McCardell followed with a single to right field that opened the scoring.

The highlight of the day came with two outs, as senior Kasey Kuhns faced KU hurler Ryan Cassidy. After working the count full, Kuhns continued to battle and fouled off pitch after pitch. His patience never wained, and the 12-pitch at-bat culminated with a towering shot over the left-center field fence that gave SU a 3-1 lead.

The Raiders continued to bring excellent approaches to the plate, scoring runs in each of the first five innings of the game. Senior Sean Killian homered on the first pitch of the second inning, junior Kevin Scholly hit a sacrifice fly in the third and freshman Cody Kulp belted an RBI-double with two outs in the fourth that bumped the lead to 6-2.

Three insurance runs came across the plate in the bottom of the fifth. Killian singled home freshman Ben Miller, and senior Kyle Rhoades doubled to place two runners in scoring position. Shumway capped off his perfect performance in the opener with a two-run double that closed the scoring.

The run support was more than enough for senior Tim Freshour, who needed just 74 pitches for his fourth complete game and seventh victory of the season. He allowed just two runs on seven hits and did not walk a batter, striking out four in the contest.

Winning teams can always use a little bit of fortune, and the Raiders took full advantage during the second game to take a 3-0 lead. In the second, Kulp led off with a walk and proceeded to steal second base. Two batters later, the freshman scored on a throwing error by Golden Bear freshman third baseman Shayne Houck that got SU on the scoreboard.

A bizarre bottom of the third inning gave the Raiders two more runs despite not hitting the ball out of the infield, and the unearned tallies proved to be the difference in the game. Shumway led off with a bunt single and advanced to second as Houck's throw went up the line. Redick then laid down a sacrifice bunt, but he ultimately reached second base and Shumway scored after Houck again botched the throw to first.

Next up to the plate was McCardell, who hit a nubber just past the mound that was fielded by KU starting pitcher Adam Maini. In his progression toward the bag, Maini's throw to first base went straight into the ground and rolled up the line, allowing McCardell to reach and Redick to score from second base.   

Freshman Ryan Rehman threw a gem in Game 2, holding the Golden Bears scoreless on just two hits through the first five innings. He was chased in the sixth inning after a walk and an RBI-double, but sophomore Kody Kibler entered and slammed the door shut over the final two innings en route to his first career save.

Overall on the afternoon, Shumway had five hits in seven at-bats with three runs, while Killian went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs. Kulp, Kuhns and Miller each had multiple hits in the opening game while Redick as perfect on all three of his sacrifice attempts.

Shippensburg will conclude the regular season  on Thursday and Friday with a four-game series against division leader No. 11 West Chester. The Raiders will travel to Serpico Field on Thursday and face the Golden Rams at 1 p.m. in a doubleheader that will be broadcast by WSYC-FM (88.7). Senior Day will be held on Friday from Fairchild Field.