Box Score

CARY, N.C. – Despite a two-hit effort from junior Pat Kregeloh in 7.2 innings of work, the No. 17 Shippensburg University baseball team dropped a 1-0 pitcher's duel No. 11 Franklin Pierce on Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the NCAA Division II Baseball National Finals co-hosted by Town of Cary and Mount Olive College from Coleman Field at the USA Baseball National Training Complex at Thomas Brooks Park.

The Atlantic Region-champion Raiders (32-22) will play in an elimination game on Monday at 1 p.m. against Grand Valley State (Midwest Region champions).

Kregeloh fanned four in a 106-pitch effort and gave up just one run off an RBI single in the eighth inning. The right-hander didn't allow a runner to reach second until the seventh inning, retired 14 consecutive batters during one stretch in the middle of the game and after giving up a single in the first, didn't again allow a hit until Franklin Pierce's (37-17) game-winning RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning.

“I was really proud of the way we played,” SU head coach Matt Jones said. “I thought we battled their ace [Trevor Graham] well all day. We obviously couldn't get the big hit but [Kregeloh] kept us in the game and did a magnificent job. But unfortunately we came out on the wrong side of it.”

The East Region-champion Ravens were powered by a 122-pitch performance from Graham, the Daktronics First Team All-American and East Region Pitcher of the Year, who gave up seven hits and three walks but struck out the Raiders nine times.

Six Raiders recorded a hit against Graham, including two off the bat of senior catcher Tyler Shover.

Shippensburg nearly took control of the game in the fifth inning when they got to Graham with lead-off hits to left from senior right fielder Cody Kulp and sophomore second baseman Jimmy Spanos. Junior first baseman Dan Wimer then drew a full-count walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Graham then induced a lineout to second base, a looking strikeout and a foul out pop-up to first base to end the Raider threat.

“You're facing a guy who obviously had a huge season and he really buckled down and I thought he pitched great when he got to that point,” Jones said. “…At the end of the day, that's the inning we're gonna keep going back to, but we just ran into a good guy and he showed why he's such a good pitcher and he got really tough when he needed to and that's the way it goes sometimes.”

With one out in the eighth, a fly ball off the bat of FPU's John Razzino in foul territory down the right field line was lost in the sun by Kulp and fell to the turf. Razzino took advantage by drawing a full-count walk, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Justin Brock's single through the left side for the game's first and only run.

Kregeloh then exited the game and junior reliever Austin Bartley induced a flyout to shallow left field to end the eighth.

Spanos reached base as the potential tying run in the top of the ninth after getting hit by a pitch with one out, but a fly out to center and an unassisted groundout to first base ended the game and put SU one loss from the end of its impressive NCAA postseason run.

“Our mindset today is not to win a national championship, my philosophy, our philosophy is 'one more,'” Jones said. “We want to play one more game…we just want to try and come out and play one more day for our seniors.”

Added Jones: “The task at hand on Monday is to play on Wednesday.”