SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team split a home Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader with Shepherd on Saturday, taking Game 1 by a 5-3 score before losing Game 2 by an 11-3 score in action at Fairchild Field.
 
Shippensburg (2-6, 2-4 PSAC East) used a four-run first inning in Game 1 to build a lead it would not relinquish. Junior Ben Werkheiser, who started at second base in both games, hit an opposite-field solo home run in the bottom of the first to equal the score at 1-1.
 
After back-to-back walks, junior catcher Chase Zurawski slammed the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for a three-run homer that made it 4-1 Raiders. Werkheiser then hit another opposite-field homer in his second at-bat of the game, and Shippensburg held a 5-2 lead through two innings.
 
Graduate starting pitcher Kyle Lysy earned the win, scattering three runs (two earned) on three hits over 5.2 innings. Lysy walked four but struck out nine for the second straight game. He has fanned 23 batters through 16.2 innings this season.
 
Sophomore Noah Nabholz got the final out of the sixth inning and pitched into the seventh. Shepherd (2-4, 2-4) batters worked three full counts in the inning and drew walks on all three occasions, eventually loading the bases with two outs. Freshman Austen Labarre came out of the bullpen and got the save by inducing a flyout to end it.
 
In Game 2, Shepherd scored 11 runs on just four hits. The Raiders walked 12 batters, issued six wild pitches and committed three errors. Shippensburg plated three runs in the fourth inning to get within 5-3 of the lead, but the Rams scored five times in the seventh to pull away.
 
Overall on the day, Werkheiser was 3-for-6 with a walk at the plate. Zurawski had two hits, and sophomore Lake Lloyd drew three walks.
 
The two teams are back in action at noon Sunday at Fairfax Field in Shepherdstown.