The Shippensburg University baseball team combined for 19 runs in its first two games of the 2017 campaign, but was unable to slow down the No. 21 Catawba Indians on a bright and sunny day at Newman Park. SU dropped a pair of nine-inning games, 18-15 and 11-4.
 
Shippensburg (0-2) got a wealth of offensive production up and down its lineup, totaling 26 hits over the two contests. Catawba (4-3) was able to outslug the Raiders on the day, yet the two teams combined for 21 home runs in 18 innings of baseball.
 
The Raiders will wrap up the weekend at Catawba with a nine-inning game on Sunday that begins at noon.  
 
Game 1: Catawba 18, Shippensburg 15
 
Sophomore Ty Painter got the Raiders off to a fast start with a three-run home run in the top of the second. After the Indians answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second, senior Jake Kennedy homered in the top of the third, driving in two and extending the Raiders lead to 5-2.
 
Through seven innings, Catawba held a 14-6 advantage, but the Raiders would not go away. SU would plate seven runs in the eighth on three home runs, including the second of the game from sophomore Drew Bene. Sophomore Tommy Baggett went yard, and Kennedy added his second home run of the game to pull the Raiders within one run at 14-13.
 
Catawba would add four insurance runs and hold off a ninth-inning rally from the Raiders to secure an 18-15 victory.
 
Kennedy finished 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs. Bene also recorded a multi-home run game while driving in three runs. Painter finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs including his first career home run.
 
All nine starters recorded a hit in the defeat and six Raiders tallied multi-hit games.
 
Senior Mark Curtis took the loss on the mound, allowing six runs in 4.1 innings. Freshman Zach Amisano, sophomore Tyler Butcher and redshirt-freshman Zack Sims worked in relief.
 
Game 2: Catawba 11, Shippensburg 4
 
Junior Grant Hoover led the game off with his first home run of the 2017 season to give the Raiders an early advantage. With the game tied at one, the Raiders regained the lead in the third after sophomore Jack Goertzen led off with a double and scored two batters later on senior Ryan McMillen's (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) first home run of the season.
 
McMillan finished the nightcap 2-for-4 with a double and a home run while knocking in two runs. Junior Dalton Hoiles also collected two hits for the Raiders and stole a base.
 
Junior Andy Crum took the loss in Game 2. Freshmen Jacob Menders and Jack Jenkens worked in relief, while freshman Aaron Cleveland pitched two-thirds of an inning without surrendering a run and recorded one strikeout.