The Shippensburg University baseball team came up short Saturday despite a big offensive display, including long home runs from junior Morgan Wyatt and junior Austin Baal, dropping a slugfest to the Catawba Indians on the road, 19-10.
 
Following a rough start, Shippensburg (0-2) posted a pair of four-run rallies in the sixth and the seventh to get to within five runs of the opposition, but the Raiders were unable to quiet the Catawba bats long enough to complete the comeback.
 
Catawba (2-0) jumped out to a 9-0 lead after the first four innings and continued to tack on. Outfielder Dylan Driver accounted for 10 of the Indians' runs, going 3-for-4 at the plate with five runs scored and five more driven in.
 
The Raider bats began to make their presence felt in the fifth. Sophomore Carter Hinds and sophomore Jaxon Dalena both singled, and junior Joe Barbera drove home Hinds with a fielder's choice for the team's first run.
 
An inning later, Wyatt launched a three-run blast that ended the day for Catawba starting pitcher Brandon Rodgers. Sophomore Gio Calamia added an RBI single to cap the four-run frame.
 
Junior Andrew Chronister and Wyatt connected on seventh inning doubles ahead of Baal, who cleared the bases with a two-run shot. Calamia tacked on another RBI single to plate the Raiders' ninth run, which cut the once daunting deficit to just five runs, 14-9.
 
Calamia finished 3-for-3 Saturday with three RBIs. Chronister and Wyatt had two hits apiece, and Wyatt collected a team-best four RBIs.
 
Redshirt-freshman Eric Bohenek, who missed all of last season due to injury, made his debut as Raiders' game two starter and fanned four over four innings.
 
Rodgers, the winning pitcher, surrendered five runs over five frames and recorded seven strikeouts.
 
Shippensburg concludes its season-opening three-game set at Catawba Sunday at 12 p.m.