SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team moved within one game of clinching a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament berth after a sweep of regional rival Shepherd in an Eastern Division doubleheader on Saturday at Fairchild Field, 5-2 and 7-1.
 
Shippensburg (25-19, 12-12 PSAC East) pitching combined for 19 strikeouts in the doubleheader and held the Shepherd (22-24, 9-15) hitters to just three total runs on six hits. Junior Jack Robinson led the charge, recording a save in both halves of the twinbill.
 
Junior Brenden Anderson also pitched in both games, throwing 11 pitches in a scoreless relief appearance in Game 1, then delivering five innings of one-run ball in his first career start to earn the win in the nightcap.
 
Freshman Will Oates paced the Raiders offense with three hits and three runs driven in, highlighted by a go-ahead pinch-hit two-run double in the fifth inning of Game 2.
 
Shippensburg is back action Tuesday with a nine-inning nonconference battle with possible playoff implications at Frostburg State. Both teams are in the latest edition of the Atlantic Region rankings. First pitch against the Bobcats is slated for 3 p.m.
 
Game 1: Shippensburg 5, Shepherd 2
 
Sophomore Conner Barto began an outstanding day for SU pitchers by twirling his best outing of the season in Game 1.
 
The right hander allowed just one hit in five innings and fanned a career-high seven batters. He was charged with two earned runs.
 
Shepherd scored the first two runs of the game without the benefit of a hit, plating runs via wild pitch in the first and third off Barto to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Junior AJ Wenrich crushed his 11th home run of the season to get the Raiders on the board in the fourth, and the hosts added three more in the fifth to take the lead.
 
Back-to-back one-out doubles from freshman Evan Shoffler and senior Carter Hinds tied the score at two-all, and a two-out single from sophomore Mason Morris put the Raiders in front.
 
Oates followed with another two-out RBI knock to make it 4-2, and senior Gio Calamia tacked on a fifth with a two-out RBI double in the sixth.
 
Robinson coaxed a double-play grounder in the seventh for an exciting end to a 5-2 Raider victory.
 
Game 2: Shippensburg 7, Shepherd 1
 
Like Barto in Game 1, Anderson got the ball in the nightcap and delivered one of the better outings of his career. He allowed one run on three hits over a career-high five innings pitched. He tied his career high with three strikeouts and set a new career high in number of pitches thrown (67).
 
SU answered a second-inning Nik Rubendall solo homer with a manufactured run in the home half of the third.
 
Anderson pitched to contact, and his defense turned three double plays in the first four innings behind him – which kept the score even until Oates' fifth-inning breakthrough.
 
Calamia led off the frame with a double, followed by a pair of outs and a pair of hit batsman, which loaded the bases with two outs. Oates stepped up as a pinch hitter and lofted a fly ball just fair down the right field line for a two-run double to break the deadlock.
 
The Raiders added on three additional runs in the sixth with two-out RBIs from Morris, sophomore Ty Sherman and graduate Carter Arbuthnot.
 
Arbuthnot was 2-for-3 at the dish with two RBIs in Game 2.
 
Robinson was electric in relief, striking out the side in both the sixth and seventh frames. He piled up six Ks and allowed just one hit.
 
Dream On 3
 
Shippensburg welcomed special guest Ashtyn Gutshall to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game 1.
 
Ashtyn, a local 13-year-old born with spina bifida, was there thanks to the support of Dream On 3, a national nonprofit organization that makes sports "dreams" come true for kids living with life-altering conditions. Shippensburg University and Volvo Equipment partnered with Dream On 3 this weekend to grant Ashtyn's ultimate sports dream.