The Shippensburg University baseball team established a 15-1 lead through five innings on Tuesday and never looked back, cruising to a 16-8 road non-conference victory at Wilmington (Del.) on a sunny 80-degree afternoon from Wilson Field.
 
Shippensburg (13-16-1) hit three home runs, cranked out 16 hits and was hit by eight pitches on the day. SU scored two runs in each of the first three innings before adding three in the fourth, six in the fifth, and one more in the seventh.
 
On the mound, redshirt-freshman Zack Sims threw well Tuesday in winning his third game of the year, scattering a run on five hits over six innings of work. Sims struck out six, his second-most in a start this season.  
 
At the plate, senior Jake Kennedy hit his 14th home run of the season – a two-run shot in the first inning – and finished the day reaching base four times. He was 2-for-3, adding an RBI-single in the fifth, and was hit twice.  
 
Sophomore Cash Gladfelter had a day to remember, reaching base in each of his first six plate appearances before grounding out in the ninth in his seventh at-bat. Gladfelter had a career-high five hits, including a two-run single in the second, an RBI-single in the fifth and a leadoff double in the sixth inning. For the season, Gladfelter now leads the Raiders with a .398 batting average.
 
Junior Grant Hoover reached base four times, going 2-for-3 with a career-high five RBIs while drawing two walks. Hoover delivered a bases-loaded triple in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth.
 
Sophomores Tommy Baggett and Ty Painter each went deep. Baggett hit a two-run shot in the third inning, his third of the season, to give SU a 6-1 lead. Painter, who entered the game as a defensive replacement, sent one over the fence in the seventh inning – his second round tripper of the year.
 
Junior Dalton Hoiles reached base five times and scored twice; he was 3-for-4 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Sophomore Jack Goertzen had a two-run double, and freshman Jacob Pollock scored a pair of runs – drawing two walks and being hit by a pitch.
 
Among those appearing off the bench, sophomore Danny Johnson delivered a pinch-hit double and freshman Joe DeMarco made his collegiate debut, drawing a walk and getting hit by a pitch.
 
Wilmington (18-13) scored seven runs over the course of the seventh and eighth inning, off a triumvirate of Raider relievers. SU freshman Kyle Lysy entered in the eighth to quash the Wildcat rally and close things out, striking out two over 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.
 
Shippensburg will partake in a four-game series with Mansfield this weekend, traveling to face the Mountaineers at 1 p.m. Friday before hosting Harry Hillson's squad at 1 p.m. Saturday for Alumni Day from Fairchild Field.