WILMINGTON, Del. – A five-run rally by the hosts in the bottom of the eighth inning was the difference on Tuesday afternoon as the Shippensburg University baseball team dropped a 6-4 road decision to the nationally-ranked Wilmington (Del.) Wildcats.

Shippensburg (11-16) got its first run of the day in the third inning when senior AJ Czap scored on a groundout by junior Eric Herman. SU later took the lead on a RBI-double by junior Ben Miller.

Wilmington (22-2) entered Tuesday's game ranked No. 15 in Division II per the current edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assocation (NCBWA) poll. The Wildcat hitters were relatively silenced throughout the first seven innings by a group of Raider pitchers led by freshman Shawn Patterson.

Trailing 6-2 entering the top of the ninth, sophomore Sam Phillips doubled and moved to third on a flyout. Freshman Pat Kregeloh plated Phillips before junior Tyler Uphouse and senior Jesse Smith walked to load the bases. Sophomore Steve Sulcoski singled home Kregeloh after a pitching change, but the next two hitters struck out to end the game.

On Friday, Shippensburg will host West Chester in a doubleheader from Fairchild Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.