Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Down to its final two outs on Saturday afternoon, the Shippensburg University baseball team had eight consecutive batters reach base to transform a two-run deficit into a remarkable come-from-behind victory over Atlantic No. 2 seed Winston-Salem State, 7-4, at Gene Hooks Field.

Shippensburg (30-21) scored five times in the ninth with none of the runs scoring on a ball hit out of the infield. With one out, sophomore Jimmy Spanos singled through the left side, freshman Mike Marcinko singled off the pitcher's mound and senior Kyle Hollingsworth came off the bench and hit a clean single into right-center field that loaded the bases.

The three singles chased WSSU starter Scott Wells, who mystified the Raider bats for most of the day and allowed just two runs on seven hits entering the ninth inning. Wells struck out five and walked just one in a 121-pitch effort.

After the pitching change, junior Michael Douglas swung at the first pitch and sent it 345 feet foul down the left-field line. On the next pitch, he dropped down a bunt up the third-base line that scored Spanos and made the score 4-3. With the bases still loaded, the Rams opted to bring another pitcher out of the bullpen to face junior Cal Hogan.

In a similar fashion to Douglas's at-bat, Hogan put a big swing on the first pitch but missed. On the second pitch, Hogan dropped down another bunt up the third-base line that resulted in a play at the plate. The pitcher fielded the bunt and scooped a throw toward home, but the toss hit the oncoming Marcinko and skidded far enough away from home plate for hard-charging pinch runner Austin Allison to also score and give SU a 5-4 lead.

Senior Tyler Shover was then issued an intentional walk, allowing junior Pat Kregeloh to come to the plate with the bases loaded and still only one out. Kregeloh sent a cue shot off the end of the bat toward first base, but a nonchalant defensive effort by Aaron Jones allowed Douglas to be safe at home on a fielder's choice and extend the lead to 5-3.

Two batters later, senior Cody Kulp drew a bases-loaded walk to pad the lead further and cap off the frenzied rally. After two of the first three batters reached in the ninth, junior Austin Bartley entered and induced a fielder's choice grounder and got a strikeout to end the game.

SU's winning pitcher was freshman Rich Michaud, who threw 4.1 splendid innings of relief and allowed just one run on four hits. Michaud entered in the fifth, pitched into the ninth and also picked off two runners along the way.

Winston-Salem State was ferocious at the plate all day, cranking out three runs on eight hits in four innings off junior Shawn Patterson. The Raiders only runs prior to the ninth inning came on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly by senior David McKolosky and an eighth-inning double down the left-field line by Kregeloh.

The win gives Shippensburg one more day at the regional tournament and a chance to reach the College World Series for the first time since 2008. The Raiders will face Seton Hill at a time to be determined. An 80 percent chance of rain is in the forecast for Sunday.