The Shippensburg University baseball team swept Lock Haven in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup on Saturday afternoon at Watkins Field. SU took Game 1, 6-2, and prevailed in nine innings in Game 2, 9-8.
 
Shippensburg (21-15, 14-10 PSAC East) outhit Lock Haven (7-29, 4-20) by a 22-20 margin between the two games. LHU made six errors and SU made two.
 
Graduate Justin Byler was 5-for-9 at the plate with six RBI and three runs scored. Byler launched a solo home run to give the Raiders the lead in the ninth inning in Game 2. Byler went for four hits and four RBI in the nightcap.
 
Junior Gio Calamia went 5-for-8 with two RBI, four runs scored and three stolen bases. Senior Andrew Chronister was 3-for-7 with three RBI. Chronister homered for the second time this season in Game 1.
 
Junior Carter Arbuthnot had three hits on the day, driving in a run in Game 2. Senior Austin Baal did not pick up a hit but drove in a run in both games.
 
Game One: SU 6, LHU 2
 
The Raiders took a 2-0 lead before the Bald Eagles answered in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game. SU took its lead back in the fifth, then piled on three insurance runs in the sixth to take control late. SU scored its six runs on nine hits with no errors in the field. LHU had seven hits and made two errors.
 
Calamia and Heckman each had multi-hit games for the Raiders. Calamia drove in two runs on a 2-for-4 day and scored two runs. Heckman reached base in all four plate appearances with two hits and two walks. Baal drove in what proved to be the winning run in the fifth with a sacrifice fly. Chronister launched his second home run of the season and Byler brought in two runs with a sixth inning single. 
 
Freshman Ryan Novakowski picked up his second win of the year, tossing three innings in relief. Novakowski allowed two runs on four hits with one strikeout. Senior Gabe Stotler got the start, allowing three hits in two innings of work.
 
Freshman Ty Sherman drew a walk to lead off the third, and Hinds moved him over to second on a well-placed bunt. Sherman advanced to third on a wild pitch, and a double by Calamia down the right field line brought home the first run of the game.
 
A solo shot to left field by Chronister led off the fourth inning to double the Raider lead, but the Bald Eagles answered with two in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.
 
SU got back to work in the fifth inning as Calamia led off the inning with a single and stole second. A good piece of hitting by Byler moved the runner to third on a groundout, and Baal brought Calamia home with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
 
Two walks started the top of the sixth for the Raiders and an infield single from Hinds two batters later loaded the bases with only one out. Calamia brought in a run on a fielder's choice with LHU opting for the out at second. Calamia stole second base with Byler at the plate to set up the two-run single to make it 6-2.
 
Freshman Conner Barto and senior Ethan Miller each tossed a perfect inning in relief. Barto picked up a strikeout in the sixth inning and Miller closed out the win in the seventh.
 
Game Two: SU 9, LHU 8
 
The Raiders and Bald Eagles went back-and-forth with both teams rallying late to send the game to extra innings. SU took an early 3-0 lead before LHU chipped away to take a 6-4 lead into the seventh. A four-run seventh inning for the Raiders flipped the two-run lead, but the Bald Eagles stormed back for two runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game 8-8. Byler became the hero with the home run in the ninth.
 
Byler was an incredible 4-for-5 at the plate with four RBI including the game-winning solo blast. Calamia stayed hot with three more hits, two runs scored, a walk and a steal.
 
Chronister and Arbuthnot also had multi-hit games. Chronister went 2-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. His two-run single in the seventh gave SU an 8-6 lead. Arbuthnot was 2-for-5 with an RBI in the game.
 
Calamia drew a one-out walk in the first, then took second for his third steal on the day. Byler went back up the middle to score Calamia for the early lead. Byler stole second and moved to third as the throw got into centerfield. A sharply hit ball by Baal to the right side scored Byler, and Baal was safe on an error. With a runner at first, junior Carter Arbuthnot found the gap in left-center to bring in the run to make it 3-0.
 
Lock Haven got a run back in the bottom of the inning to cut the SU lead to 3-1. The Bald Eagles hit two one-out singles and drew two consecutive walks to bring in a run.
 
The Bald Eagles scored one in the third and two in the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. A single brought in LHU's second run, and back-to-back doubles in the fourth scored two more runs.
 
Singles from Hinds and Calamia gave the Raiders runners on first and third with one out in the top of the fifth. Byler chopped a groundball to shortstop and beat the throw to first to tie the game at 4-4.
 
Lock Haven responded in the bottom half of the fifth with two runs to take back the lead at 6-4. A double and an error put runners on first and third with no outs. A single to left by Dante Bruno put LHU back in front, and a wild pitch two batters later scored another run.
 
The Raiders big rally began with a one-out single by Sherman. An infield single by Calamia put runners on first and third, and Byler made it a 6-5 game with another infield single to short. An error by the Bald Eagles loaded the bases to set up a two-run single by Chronister with a third run scoring on an error.    
 
A walk and a hit batsman gave the Bald Eagles some momentum with one-out in the bottom of the seventh. A wild pitch moved both runners over, and a sacrifice fly made it a one-run game. Two batters later, Francisco Taveras doubled to left-center to tie the game 8-8.
 
Both teams stranded two runners in the eighth inning to keep the game even. Byler's homer led off the ninth inning, crushing an 0-2 pitch over the right field wall to put the Raiders in front 9-8.
 
Miller closed out the ninth inning, stranding two runners. Miller pitched the final three innings for SU, earning the win in relief.
 
SU is back in action on Friday with a doubleheader against Millersville at Fairchild Field beginning at 1 p.m.