SALISBURY, N.C. – A six-run third inning for Catawba proved to be the difference on Sunday afternoon as the Shippensburg University baseball team could not stymie the Indian bats in the final game of this weekend's three-game series, dropping an 11-5 decision to the hosts.

Shippensburg took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run double by freshman first baseman Pat Kregeloh that plated senior Jesse Smith and junior Tyler Uphouse. SU has scored first in each of its last five games.

Catawba answered with six runs in the bottom of the third inning that were charged to junior southpaw Ted Williams. The backbreaker was a bases-loaded double with two outs off the bat of Chris Dula that came against sophomore reliever Josh Scott.

SU began a comeback in its next at-bat, scoring three runs in the top of the fourth. Smith and Uphouse began the inning with singles before senior Kris Kullman plated a run with a sacrifice fly. With two outs, junior Eric Herman and senior AJ Czap delivered successive RBI-singles that cut the score to 6-5.

Scott retired the side in order in back-to-back innings before Catawba extended its lead with two more runs in the sixth. Freshmen Nate Kester and Shawn Patterson combined with junior Jimmy Miller to pitch the final two innings. A three-run shot in the seventh by Catawba's Garrett Furr was the last of the scoring.

On Friday, Shippensburg begins a three-game set with South Carolina-Aiken, a squad ranked No. 30 in Division II. The Raiders and the Pacers will play a single game on three straight days. Friday's contest begins at 4 p.m. while the first pitch on both Saturday and Sunday is slated for 1 p.m.