The Shippensburg University baseball team split a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at Kutztown on Friday at North Campus Field. SU took down KU in Game 1, 4-1, but fell in Game 2, 3-2.
 
Shippensburg (24-18, 17-13 PSAC East) out-hit Kutztown (16-28, 9-17) by an 16-10 margin between the two games. The Raiders outhit the Golden Bears 9-3 in Game 1 and both teams had seven hits in Game 2.
 
Junior Jaxon Dalena was dominant on the mound in Game 1, tossing a complete game. Dalena allowed one unearned run on three hits in the game with eight strikeouts and no walks. This was Dalena's second complete game of the season.
 
Sophomore Mike Heckman led the Raiders with four hits on the day. Heckman was 2-for-3 in both games, scoring a run in the first game. Junior Carter Hinds had three hits on the day, all three coming in Game 1. This was Hinds' sixth three-hit game of the season.
 
Seniors Austin Baal and Andrew Chronister each went 1-for-3 in both games. Baal had an RBI single in each game.
 
Junior Gio Calamia and freshman Brady Harbach also had multi-hit games. Harbach was 2-for-3 in Game 1 with a run scored and Calamia went for both of his hits in Game 2.
 
Freshman Kaleb Maksimik tossed two scoreless innings in relief in Game 2. Maksimik has not allowed a run in his last three appearances, tossing 5.2 innings in that span.
 
Game 1: SU 4, KU 1
 
Dalena was nearly untouchable in Game 1, cruising through the Golden Bear lineup after the Raider offense picked up three early runs. Dalena allowed just one unearned run on three hits, striking out eight batters with just 86 pitches. 
 
Hinds, Heckman and Harbach combined for seven of the nine hits by the Raiders. Hinds was 3-for-4 out of the leadoff spot with two runs scored. Heckman and Harbach each went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.
 
Baal picked up an early RBI, going 1-for-3 at the dish. Freshman Ty Sherman drove in what became the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning.
 
A double by Hinds on the first pitch of the game gave the Raiders some quick momentum to start. Kutztown pitcher Jake Skrocki got two quick outs, but Baal single dropped a ball in front of a diving effort in center field to give SU a 1-0 lead.
 
The Raiders went for two runs in the top of the second inning to extend the lead to 3-0. Heckman and Harbach led off the inning with singles to set up runners on first and third. Sherman lifted a ball out to deep left field to bring Heckman home on a sacrifice fly. After a single by Hinds, the Golden Bears looked to roll a double play, but the throw to first went away and Calamia came home.
 
After allowing a leadoff single, Dalena recorded 12 consecutive outs before KU got a leadoff double in the fifth inning. Dalena forced a pop-out in foul territory and struck out two batters to strand the runner at second base.
 
Another leadoff hit gave the Golden Bears a baserunner in the sixth inning and a wild pitch moved the runner to second. A fly ball to right field advanced the runner to third, but an errant throw allowed the runner to come home to make it a 3-1 game.
 
Hinds drove a one-out single back up the middle in the top of the seventh, then flew around the bases in the next at-bats to give the Raiders their three-run cushion back. Hinds stole second, moved to third on a passed ball, then scored on a wild pitch.
 
Game Two: KU 3, SU 2
 
Kutztown delivered a comeback win in Game 2, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead.
 
Calamia and Heckman both had a two-hit game for the Raiders. Calamia was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a hit-by-pitch. Heckman tallied another multi-hit game after going for two hits in Game 1. Baal drove in the only RBI for SU with an RBI single in the third inning.
 
Shippensburg broke through in the third inning, taking a 2-0 lead. Graduate Justin Byler and Calamia were both hit with a pitch to set up an RBI single by Baal to give SU the lead. Byler then came home to score on a wild pitch in the next at-bat.
 
Kutztown got a run back in the bottom of the fourth inning with a double by Jason Wolff getting the Golden Bears back in the game.
 
A single and an error started the fifth inning for KU. A wild pitch moved runners to second and third to set up a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2. A two-out single by Michael Burns plated the winning run for the Golden Bears.
 
SU hosts Senior Day at 1 p.m. tomorrow against Kutztown at Fairchild Field.
 

BASEBALL: Austin Baal's two-out hit gets down in centerfield to bring in Carter Hinds for an early lead!

GM1 | SU 1, KU 0 pic.twitter.com/JFFYbTblEN

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) April 26, 2024

 

BASEBALL: Jaxon Dalena picks up his seventh strikeout through five innings. Dalena has allowed just two hits thus far!

GM1 | SU 3, KU 0 pic.twitter.com/XAoFYZeShP

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) April 26, 2024

 

BASEBALL: Raiders take game one!! Jaxon Dalena earns the win on the mound with his second complete game of the season!

Dalena: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 8 K, 0 BB

Final | SU 4, KU 1 pic.twitter.com/8OQxD130uK

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) April 26, 2024

 

BASEBALL: Austin Baal gets the scoring started again in Game 2! Justin Byler then scores on a wild pitch in the next at-bat as the Raiders go for two runs in the third!

GM2 | SU 2, KU 0 pic.twitter.com/W1AleBvN39

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) April 26, 2024