SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team swept a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader at Bloomsburg on Friday by scores of 7-1 and 9-4 to secure the No. 4 Eastern Division seed in the upcoming PSAC Baseball Championships.
 
Shippensburg (23-25, 12-14 PSAC East) qualified for the PSAC Baseball Championships for the second straight season and the fourth time in the last six years under head coach Matt Jones. SU's victories eliminated both Bloomsburg (23-21, 10-16) and Kutztown (19-29, 9-17) from playoff contention.
 
The Raiders cranked out 23 hits in Friday's doubleheader, totaling 12 in Game 1 and 11 in Game 2. SU hit .377 on the day, including two home runs and five doubles, while drawing 10 walks and stealing four bases.
 
Junior Mark Curtis gave up a leadoff home run in Game 1 but was not blemished otherwise. Curtis improved to 5-6 by allowing a run on three hits in four innings with six strikeouts. Sophomore Andy Crum got the win in Game 2, allowing four runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with three strikeouts.
 
The SU bullpen threw 4.2 scoreless innings Friday. Redshirt-freshman Tyler Butcher struck out two in two innings in Game 1, while freshman Michael Hope threw a scoreless seventh. Senior Seth LeFever got two big strikeouts in the sixth inning of Game 2, while senior Thomas Swartz struck out two of the four batters he faced in the seventh inning of the finale.
 
Seven of SU's eight hitters that started both games finished the doubleheader with multiple hits. Sophomore second baseman Nick Spangler was 4-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run in Game 1 – it's the first four-hit game of his career and just the fourth time this season that a Raider has had at least four hits in a game.
 
Senior center fielder Austin Allison was 3-for-4 in the opener and had just one hit in Game 2, but that hit was a two-run single which kick-started a seven-run sixth inning for the Raiders that broke open what had been a 2-2 game.
 
SU's seven-run frame included RBI-singles by freshman catcher Jack Goertzen and senior shortstop Mike Marcinko, an RBI-groundout by freshman designated hitter Tommy Baggett, and a two-run single by sophomore left fielder Dalton Hoiles.
 
Goertzen was 3-for-4 in Game 2 with his first collegiate home run, a solo shot that tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning. Freshman first baseman Cash Gladfelter also homered Friday, launching a ball deep over the right-center field fence in Game 1. Gladfelter was 2-for-2 with the home run, a double, a walk, and a sacrifice in Game 1.
 
Hoiles was on base six times Friday, walking twice in both games. In Game 2, Hoiles was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, two walks, two stolen bases and a run scored. Entering the final doubleheader of the season, Hoiles is batting .360 with a team-high 39 RBIs while ranking second on the team with a .431 on-base percentage.
 
Marcinko doubled to lead off Game 2 and scored that inning to get SU on the board. He enters Saturday's Senior Day doubleheader with team bests of 28 stolen bases, 48 runs, 93 total bases, and a .447 on-base percentage.
 
Junior third baseman Ryan McMillen had two singles and two walks on the day, while sophomore right fielder Grant Hoover was 3-for-8 with a double, RBI, stolen base and two runs scored. Hoover enters Saturday as SU's leading hitter, batting .370 with a team-high 61 hits.
 
Shippensburg concludes the regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday with a Senior Day doubleheader against Bloomsburg from Fairchild Field. The team will honor seven seniors: Allison, LeFever, Marcinko, Kyle McClintock, Rich Michaud, Marcus Shippey and Swartz.