The Shippensburg University baseball team swept No. 9 Millersville on Saturday in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup on Saturday afternoon at Cooper Park. Shippensburg bounced back after a pair of 2-1 losses on Friday with 5-0 and 5-2 wins to split the season series.
 
Shippensburg (23-17, 16-12 PSAC East) posted its first doubleheader sweep at Millersville (33-9, 19-5) in 12 years (5-0 and 4-3 in 2012). The Raiders outhit the Marauders by an 18-9 margin between the two games. The hosts made two errors in Game 1 while SU was clean defensively in both games.
 
Sophomore J.T. Weaver tossed a four-hit shutout in Game 1. It marked the first time the Marauders had been shutout at home during the regular season in 11 years — when East Stroudsburg's Brian Ernst struck out 15 batters in a shutout on May 3, 2013.
 
Weaver earned his first career complete-game shutout and it was his first complete game of the season. Graduate Ryan Gleason put in another great effort on the mound in Game 2, allowing just two earned runs on five hits en route to his fourth win of the season.
 
Freshman Kaleb Maksimik earned his first career save in Game 2. Maksimik struck out two batters over the course of two perfect innings. It was his second appearance in as many days, as Maksimik finished the series allowing just one hit and one walk over 4.1 innings.
 
As a team, SU used just six pitchers in the series who combined for a 1.86 ERA, allowing just six runs across four games.
 
Senior Austin Baal was 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBI. His day was highlighted by two Game 1 home runs, including a three-run blast to blow open Game 1. Baal finished the series going 5-for-10 with three walks. 
 
Graduate Justin Byler  was 3-for-7 with three RBI and two runs scored. Byler hit a two-run homer in Game 2 to plate what became the winning runs.
 
Junior Carter Hinds was 4-for-8 on the day with two runs scored. Hinds had two hits and scored a run in each game. Sophomore Mike Heckman  and freshman Ty Sherman were the only other Raiders to have multiple hits. Both Heckman and Sherman had a hit in each game. 
 
Shippensburg travels to Kutztown on Friday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against the Golden Bears.
 
Game One: SU 5, MU 0
 
The Raider lineup tagged top-ranked PSAC pitcher Alex Mykut for seven hits and four earned runs in the ballgame, handing the righty his first loss of the year. Mykut entered with a 1.01 ERA over 62.2 innings pitched, allowing just seven earned runs on the season and no more than one run in any of his 10 starts.
 
Weaver ended his line allowing just four hits and two walks. He struck out four Marauders and forced 11 fly balls.
 
Baal finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and all four of SU's RBI in the game. Baal's seventh and eighth home runs of the season came in the second and fifth innings. Hinds was the only other Raider with multiple hits in the ball game. Hinds was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Junior Carter Arbuthnot was 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a run scored.
 
Baal got the scoring started with a solo home run to right field to lead off the second inning. The Raiders put more pressure on Mykut with a one-out single by Arbuthnot, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. A single by Mike Heckman in the next at-bat gave the left fielder trouble, allowing Arbuthnot to score for an early 2-0 lead.
 
Weaver hit his stride in the third inning, collecting eight consecutive outs before the Marauders threatened in the sixth inning.
 
The Raiders did not get another hit until the fifth inning. Singles by Hinds and Byler gave SU two baserunners, and a wild pitch moved both into scoring position. With two outs, Baal stepped up to launch his second homer of the game to put the Raiders ahead 5-0.
 
A single and a double gave Millersville runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs, Weaver forced a soft groundout to freshman Brady Harbach at third base to get out of the jam.
 
In the seventh, Weaver struck out the final two batters to cinch his shutout.
 
Game Two: SU 5, MU 2
 
The Raiders grabbed another early lead in Game 2, building a 5-0 lead by the fourth inning on their way to another victory. Gleason provided SU with another solid start, allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts over five innings of work.
 
Byler was 2-for-3 in the game with three RBI and a run scored. Byler drove in the first three runs for the Raiders including his third home run of the year in the third inning, a two-run shot. Hinds added another two hits to his day with another run scored.
 
Junior Gio Calamia and Harbach each drove in a run in the fourth inning. Calamia was 1-for-3 at the plate with a stolen base and a run scored. Harbach finished 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
 
Hinds led off the game with an infield single to second base, stealing second in the next at-bat. A one-out base hit by Byler found the gap in left field to score Hinds easily for a 1-0 advantage.
 
It was another single by Hinds to lead off the third inning to give SU a baserunner. With one out, Byler drove a ball to straightaway centerfield over the deepest part of the ballpark to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.
 
A leadoff single by Heckman kept the offensive momentum going in the fourth inning. Harbach quickly drove in Heckman with a double down the first baseline in the next at-bat. The Raiders continued to have good at-bats with Hinds advancing Harbach to third on a groundout, setting up the RBI single by Calamia to make it 5-0.
 
Millersville got back in the game with a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings to cut the SU lead to 5-2. The Marauders got its first run of the day on a groundout after putting a runner on third base in the fourth. MU loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but Gleason forced a double play, sacrificing a run for two outs. Gleason ended his day with a strikeout to strand the runner at third and hold the Marauders to just one run.
 
Freshman Kaleb Maksimik relieved Gleason in the sixth inning, striking out two batters in two perfect innings. Harbach got the final out of the game, making a diving stop to his left at third base to snag the ball inches off the dirt.

BASE: Baal does it again!!! His second homer of the game is a three-run shot to right field!

GM1 | SU 5, MU 0 pic.twitter.com/aGOLbB77d0

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) April 20, 2024

BASEBALL: Byler goes yard to extend the SU lead in game two! He's 2-for-2 with all three RBI for the Raiders here in game two.

GM2 | SU 3, MU 0 pic.twitter.com/9N8wc0um44

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) April 20, 2024

BASEBALL: Brady Harbach lays out for an incredible diving catch to end game two!

Freshman Kaleb Maksimik works two perfect innings in relief to earn the save in Game Two!

Final | SU 5, MU 2 pic.twitter.com/B9VnKwbIJq

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) April 20, 2024