The Shippensburg University baseball team dropped the rubber game of its season-opening series to No. 4 Catawba Sunday in North Carolina, 13-1.
Shippensburg (1-2) was stymied by Catawba (4-3) left-hander Casey Gouge, who held the Raiders to just one run on four hits in six innings. Senior
Carter Hinds finished 2-for-4 with a double, bringing his weekend total to six hits against the nationally-ranked Indians' pitching staff.
Catawba (4-3) broke out the bats early, scoring 11 runs in the first four innings. The Indians scored all their runs despite recording just one extra base hit – a Cole Hales two-run double in the sixth. The Indians totaled seven singles, and took advantage of 12 walks handed out by the SU pitching staff.
After allowing a leadoff double to Hinds, Gouge struck out the next five batters he faced, and six of the next seven to start the ballgame.
Shippensburg's next hit against Houge was a one-out single from freshman
Will Oates in the top of the fifth. Hinds then drove in Oates with an RBI single for the Raiders' only run.
The Raiders used six pitchers, none of which went more than two frames. Graduate
Eric Bohenek started and went two innings in his first appearance since missing the entire 2024 season due to injury.
Junior
Brenden Anderson provided the Raiders with two hitless innings of relief.
Next up, the Raiders begin a 10-game homestand with a Friday afternoon doubleheader against St. Michaels. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 12 p.m.
