SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team swept Pitt Johnstown in a three-game series, taking down the Mountain Cats by scores of 3-2 and 8-4 in a Sunday doubleheader at Fairchild Field.
 
Shippensburg (4-3) got six innings of work from each of its starters and used just five pitchers all day. Senior Gabe Stotler and sophomore Brenden Anderson got the job done in game one, combining to allow one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts. Stotler went six innings for his first win of the season, and Anderson got the job done in the seventh for his first save of the year.
 
Sophomore J.T. Weaver started Game 2, getting the Raiders through the first six innings. Weaver struck out nine batters and allowed one earned run on five hits. Senior Ethan Miller earned his first win of the year, pitching three innings in relief as the Raiders completed a comeback win in game two.
 
Game One: SU 3, UPJ 2 (7 Innings)
 
There were only five hits tallied in the seven-inning Game 1: three for UPJ and two for SU. The Raiders took a 3-1 lead after two innings and held on to win 3-2.
 
Stotler earned the win on the mound, allowing just one earned run on two hits with three strikeouts over six innings of work. The Raiders two hits came from seniors Andrew Chronister and Austin Baal.
 
Junior Bryce Herb had the Raiders lone RBI in the game. Herb brought home what would become the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning.
 
Anderson earned the save, coming on in relief in the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and forcing three outs to close out the game.
 
Pitt-Johnstown got on the board in the top of the first with one run. Stotler hit the first batter with a pitch and a sac bunt moved the runner to second base. An RBI single from Josh Ulery got the run in, and Stotler struck out the next two batters to strand the runner.
 
The Raiders did not trail for long, taking a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning. A single by Chronister and a walk by Calamia started the inning. A sac bunt by Wyatt toward third base forced a throwing error, scoring both Chronister and Calamia and moving Wyatt to third. Wyatt came home for the third run on a sacrifice fly by Herb.
 
The Mountain Cats threatened a late rally in the top of the seventh inning. Anderson inherited three baserunners coming on in relief. Anderson forced a groundout at home to start his day and allowed a run to come in from a sacrifice fly for two quick outs. Leading 3-2 with a runner at second, Anderson forced another groundout to close out the game.  
 
Game Two: SU 8, UPJ 4 (9 Innings)
 
Shippensburg used a five-run eighth inning to complete a late comeback win in game two. The Raiders had 14 hits in the ballgame, stranding nine runners on base. Pitt-Johnstown had seven hits in the ballgame and left seven runners on base.
 
Graduate Justin Byler had a day at the plate, hitting 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored. Byler hit a two-run single in the fifth and gave SU some insurance with a two-run triple in the eighth.
 
Junior Carter Hinds and sophomore Mike Heckman both had a multi-hit game, each going 2-for-5 at the plate. Both Hinds and Heckman scored two runs, and Hinds brought in the winning run with an RBI-single in the eighth.
 
Senior Andrew Chronister was 2-for-4 in the game. Herb went 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Baal had two RBI, going 1-for-2 in the game.
 
Weaver went six innings in his start on the mound, striking out nine batters. The Mountain Cats scored three unearned runs in the second inning and allowed just one earned run throughout the remainder of the game.
 
Pitt-Johnstown struck first again in game two with a three-run second inning. Back-to-back singles put runners on first and second. A throwing error on a sacrifice bunt scored the first run of the game, putting runners on second and third. A bloop double by Lucas Muffie brought home two more runs for a 3-0 lead.
 
Weaver was lights out after the three-run second inning, retiring 10 batters in a row before the Mountain Cats got their next baserunner. The Raiders big breakthrough came in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring three runs to tie the game at 3-3.
 
The Raiders got their first three batters on board safely to set up bases loaded and no outs for Byler. Byler singled through the right side to score Hinds and Herb. Baal then singled in the next at-bat to tie the game at 3-3.  
 
A one-out single in the top of the sixth inning gave UPJ some momentum back, with the runner stealing second-base moments later. A single by Alex Ebeling brought in the run, giving the Mountain Cats a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth.
 
A single by Wyatt to start the bottom of the eighth started the Raiders big rally. A double by Herb gave SU runners on second and third with one out. Freshman Erby Weller, who came in to pinch run, tied the game at 4-4 on wild pitch that hit the umpire to cause confusion in the field. The Raiders then took the lead on the Hinds RBI single.
 
Heckman kept the rally going with a single to move Hinds to second, setting up the two-run triple from Byler. Byler came home on a sacrifice fly by Baal, making it an 8-4 ballgame.
 
Miller was dominant on the mound, allowing just two hits after taking over for Weaver in the seventh. Miller worked three clean innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two batters. Miller allowed two baserunners in the top of the ninth, used two strikeouts to close out the win.
 
SU is back in action, hosting a doubleheader against Holy Family on Friday at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Fairchild Field.