SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team opened its home schedule on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon from Fairchild Field with a doubleheader sweep of PSAC Western Division opponent Clarion, winning its opener 5-2 before taking the nightcap, 12-0.

Shippensburg (5-10) got solid pitching performances in both games. Junior Nick Umberger threw six solid innings in the opener, allowing two earned runs and scattering eight hits while striking out four. Sophomore Tom Bush pitched five shutout innings in Game 2, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out two. Both men earned their second victories of the year.

SU took a 2-0 lead in the first game with a sacrifice fly in the second inning by sophomore Steve Sulcoski and an RBI-double in the third by junior Ben Miller. After the Golden Eagles scored twice in the fourth inning to tie the score, the Raiders answered with three runs in the fifth inning that proved to be the difference.

The bottom of the fifth inning began innocently enough with a single up the middle by junior Eric Herman. Herman's single led to legs churning on the base paths, as SU used some aggressive base running to steal five bases in the inning.

Herman stole second and third base before sophomore Sam Phillips walked and promptly stole second base. After a strikeout, senior Jesse Smith plated Herman on an RBI-single to shortstop and Phillips scored on the same play due to a throwing error. Smith proceeded to steal second base and third base before trotting the final 90 feet home on an RBI-single to right by junior Tyler Uphouse.

Umberger allowed back-to-back singles to start the seventh inning before sophomore Josh Scott came in to shut the door for his second save in as many games. Scott induced a groundout on a fielder's choice; picked off a runner and then yielded an innocent groundout on which he covered the first-base bag.

The Raiders scored 10 runs on 10 hits in the second inning of the nightcap. Among the run-producing plays was a two-run triple by Smith, a two-run single by senior Kris Kullman and a two-run single by Phillips, who also had an RBI-double in his first at-bat of the inning. SU sent 15 men to the plate in the second, including freshman Pat Kregeloh, who singled twice and scored two runs in the frame.

Phillips was 3-for-5 in the nightcap with three RBIs and two runs. Sulcoski had two hits and an RBI. Sophomore Zack Piper pinch hit in the fourth inning and stayed in to play right field – he was 2-for-2 with an RBI.

On Sunday, Shippensburg will finish the three-game series with a 1 p.m. first pitch from Fairchild Field.