SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team was bested in a pair of home games on Sunday, as visiting Bloomsburg rallied in Game 1 and threw a shutout in Game 2 to sweep the Raiders, 5-3 and 2-0, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader from Fairchild Field.
Shippensburg (12-17, 4-8 PSAC East) scored three runs on 11 hits in Game 1 and took a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning, but Bloomsburg (17-8, 7-5) scored four runs with two outs in the sixth. The Raiders loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh but could not plate the tying runs.
In Game 2, Husky pitcher Chad Cooperman limited the Raiders to a pair of singles while striking out nine.
SU's starting pitchers had solid outings. Redshirt-sophomore
Noah Inch retired 11 consecutive hitters during his Game 1 start, yielding just one hit over 5.2 innings with five walks and eight strikeouts. Three of the four runs charged to Inch scored after his departure with two outs in the sixth.
Senior
Michael Hope allowed one run on six hits in six innings of work in Game 2, walking three and striking out seven. The outing marks the fourth consecutive quality start for Hope, who has allowed just two earned runs and fanned 21 batters over 19 innings in his three starts against PSAC East opponents.
Sophomore
Scout Knotts reached base five times in Sunday's doubleheader, including a 3-for-3 effort with a walk in Game 1. In the four-game series against Bloomsburg, Knotts finished 7-for-13 (.538) at the plate with four extra-base hits and five RBIs. He reached base in nine of his 15 plate appearances for the weekend.
Knotts delivered an RBI-double, junior
Jacob Pollock hit an RBI-single, and senior
Tommy Baggett had an RBI-groundout for the Raider runs in Game 1.
SU's first run of the day came on a hustle double from junior
Zack Zoller, who later advanced to third after a good read on a pitch in the dirt and then scored on Baggett's groundout. Pollock also stole a base in Game 1. The Raiders stranded 10 runners in Game 1, while the Huskies equaled the feat in Game 2.
UP NEXT: Tuesday, 3 p.m. vs. Shepherd.
