The Shippensburg University baseball team was felled on Tuesday afternoon by a two-out rally from Foundation Field, as host Lock Haven, plated seven runs after an eighth-inning rain delay, the final three coming on a bases-loaded triple, en route to a 10-8 conference crossover victory over the Raiders.
The Raiders scored eight unanswered runs after falling behind 2-0 in the first inning. SU finished Tuesday’s nine-inning contest with 11 hits but also stranded 11 men on base.
The majority of the production came from the middle of the order, as eight of those hits were off the bats of SU’s 3-4-5 hitters.
Cody Kulp reached base in all five of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a double, RBI, walk, stolen base and four runs scored. Simon Beloff was 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs, a walk and a stolen base while Pat Kregeloh had two hits and three RBIs.
Steve Sulcoski earned the start at catcher and collected an RBI and three hits, including a ninth-inning double. Ben Miller returned to the lineup and drew three walks.
On the mound, Shawn Patterson gave up two runs on four hits through six innings, striking out seven. Patterson retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced, including 11-in-a-row to conclude his outing. He also struck out the side in the fifth.
LHU rallied in the eighth against SU relievers Austin Bartley and Kody Kibler.Jeff Ross, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the top half of the frame, laced the first pitch he saw into left field for an RBI-double that made the score 8-3.
Bartley then induced a popup before hitting the next batter, loading the bases with two outs.
Kibler then entered the game, but LHU gutted out back-to-back singles to left field that plated all three runners. A hit batsman re-loaded the bases before Brian Zysset legged out an infield single, making the score 8-7.
The decisive hit then came off the bat of freshman Ryan Henritzy, who smacked a 0-1 pitch into right field for a three-run triple.
SU returns to action tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. with a nine-inning game against Wilmington University from Fairchild Field.
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