The Shippensburg University baseball team posted a doubleheader sweep on the road at Kutztown for the second consecutive year on Friday, as the Raiders notched victories of 5-2 and 6-1 over the Golden Bears to remain alive in their pursuit of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division.
 
Shippensburg (24-22, 13-13 PSAC) will need to win at least one, if not both, of its Saturday home games against Kutztown (19-20, 12-13) to claim the final East playoff spot. The Raiders are currently a half-game ahead of the Golden Bears, as last weekend's fourth game between KU and Mansfield was not completed and information regarding its finish has not been made available.
 
SU will need to post at least a Saturday split to claim the season series over Kutztown and thus the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Golden Bears. SU would be eliminated from playoff contention if Kutztown wins both games on Saturday. The playoff picture is further muddled as a result of Lock Haven and East Stroudsburg's Friday doubleheader being postponed due to weather.
 
On Friday, Shippensburg claimed the opener despite being held to one hit through eight innings of play. The lone SU hit in that span was a two-run homer by freshman Scout Knotts in the top of the second inning. KU scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the second, but the score remained tied 2-2 into the ninth.
 
In the ninth, the Raiders scored three times with two outs. With the inning prolonged by an error, SU got consecutive RBI-singles from junior Cash Gladfelter, senior Nick Spangler and senior Dalton Hoiles to take a 5-2 lead.
 
Sophomore Zack Sims got the Game 1 victory, his PSAC-leading ninth win of the season, in scattering the two unearned runs on six hits while striking out three. He did not allow an extra-base hit. Junior Michael Hope got the final two outs for his sixth save of the year.
 
Senior Gabe Mosser came through with the Game 2 victory, allowing a run on four hits while striking out nine Golden Bears. Mosser yielded just one extra-base hit. He improved to 7-4 with the complete-game victory.
 
SU got on the board in the top of the first in Game 2 with an RBI-single from Hoiles. Junior Jack Goertzen singled home senior Grant Hoover in the fourth to make it 2-0, and then the Raiders made it 4-0 in the fifth an RBI-single by Hoiles and a sacrifice fly by senior Drew Bene.
 
Goertzen led off the sixth with a double and came around to score on an error. With sophomore Jacob Pollock on third after the error, Gladfelter singled him home to make it 6-0 in SU's favor. KU got their lone run of the nightcap with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.
 
Overall on the day, Hoiles reached base five times with the three singles and a pair of walks. Gladfelter had three hits, while Goertzen had two hits and two walks. Junior Tommy Baggett had two hits and was hit by a pitch.
 
Shippensburg hosts Kutztown at 1 p.m. Saturday for Senior Day and Alumni Day from Fairchild Field.