The Shippensburg University baseball team got a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning Tuesday night from freshman Dustin LaBonte and a two-out, two-run single from freshman Dalton Hoiles to salvage a split with Slippery Rock in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park. SU won Game 2, 10-9 in 10 innings, after dropping Game 1, 12-2.
 
Shippensburg (19-19) and Slippery Rock (20-15) finished a long day of baseball just short of 10 p.m., as junior reliever Thomas Swartz struck out a pair of batters with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning for his first collegiate save. The Rock trailed 10-7 entering the bottom of the 10th inning but got a one-out, two-run double off Swartz and then drew two walks to set up the exciting conclusion.
 
Game 2 was prolonged in large part to some quality relief work by SU sophomore Josh Kutchey and SRU's Geoff Sanner. Kutchey got the final out of the sixth inning for the Raiders and worked 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three. Sanner allowed one hit and three walks in four shutout innings for The Rock, striking out four.
 
Labonte's sacrifice fly capped off a day that included the first two hits of his collegiate career; he delivered a pinch-hit single in a six-run fifth inning in Game 2 and singled again in the sixth. The 10th-inning sacrifice fly came on the eighth pitch of his at-bat and with a full count.
 
Hoiles's single with two outs in the 10th inning of Game 2 was his only hit on the day, but he drew three walks and has now reached base in eight straight games and 32 of his 36 games played this season as a freshman.
 
Swartz struck out the side in the 10th inning surrounding the two runs that scored; he also pitched 1.1 innings in Game 1 and totaled five strikeouts on the day while walking three.
 
Redshirt-freshman Tyler Betz played third base in both games, reaching base in five of his seven plate appearances and adding a sacrifice. Betz had a hit in each game and totaled three walks on the day, including a bases-loaded walk in Game 2. His hitting streak reached five games.
 
Sophomore Ryan McMillen manned shortstop and had four hits in 10 at-bats, providing a double and an RBI and scoring three runs. He improved his hitting streak to seven games.
 
Senior Jimmy Spanos had three hits, including a two-run home run, and stole his second base of the season. Junior Austin Allison also had three hits on the day.
 
Sophomore Jake Kennedy had a hit in each game and drew three more walks, including one intentional during the decisive 10th inning. Kennedy has reached base in 35 of 38 games this season, including 24-in-a-row to start the year, and has a .467 on-base percentage to complement his .774 slugging percentage.
 
Shippensburg hosts Bloomsburg at 1 p.m. Friday for a PSAC Eastern Division doubleheader from Fairchild Field.