SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team got a walk-off single from senior Dalton Hoiles in Game 1 on Thursday afternoon to split a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader against No. 22 West Chester on a chilly day from Fairchild Field.
 
Shippensburg (11-14, 2-6 PSAC) used a complete game, 10-strikeout effort from senior Gabe Mosser to take Game 1, 6-5, but fell in Game 2 to West Chester (15-7, 4-4), 16-2.
 
Hoiles led the Raiders offensively, going 4-for-6 with a home run, two doubles, three walks and three RBIs. The senior center fielder is 7-for-12 over his last four games and has reached base in 11 of his last 16 plate appearances.
 
Junior Drew Bene and sophomore Jacob Pollock both finished the day 2-for-5 with Bene doubling and scoring a run while Pollock tallied two RBIs on the day.  
 
Mosser started on the bump for the Raiders in Game 1 and notched his third consecutive win and third consecutive 10-strikeout game. The senior now has 54 strikeouts on the season, a mark that is good for second in the PSAC.
 
Shippensburg will wrap up its four-game series Friday at 1 p.m. when it goes on the road to take on West Chester at Serpico Stadium.
 
Game 1
 
SU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second after senior Nick Spangler doubled to left scoring junior Tommy Baggett and freshman Scout Knotts.
 
The Golden Rams would tie the game in the top of the third, tallying three hits in the inning. SU would respond however with two more runs in the home half of the third to retake the lead. Bene led the frame off with a double to left and SU would eventually load the bases for Pollock.
 
Pollock lined a single into left scoring Bene and junior Jack Goertzen to give SU a 4-2 lead. The Raiders would add a run in the bottom of the sixth on a West Chester wild pitch to take a 5-2 lead into the seventh.
 
The Golden Rams would not go quietly however, and struck for three runs with one swing of the bat from first basemen Jared Melone, who homered to left to tie drive in three and tie the game at five.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, SU loaded the bases to set the stage for Hoiles with two outs in the inning. Hoiles wasted no time and lined a single into left field on the first pitch offering from Andrew Scarpelli to score Baggett and give SU the victory.
 
Game 2
 
West Chester scored in each of the first four innings to ultimately down the Raiders, 16-2, in the night cap. The two SU runs came off the bat of Hoiles, who hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh for his team-leading fifth home run of the season. His five home runs are good for second in the PSAC.