The Shippensburg University baseball team (25–19–1) fell short of Seton Hill University (31–15) in 10 innings Tuesday, 14–12, during a wild, back and fourth, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover match that saw a combined 33 hits.
Senior slugger Jake Kennedy continued his remarkable hitting as he belted a solo home run in the third inning to tie the game, 4–4, after both teams jumped on the starting pitchers early.
Kennedy’s home run was his 19th of the season, which has tied his personal best in a single season, when he hit 19 home runs as a sophomore in 2015. The home run also extended Kennedy’ school record of career home runs to 42.
Sophomore Jack Goertzen and junior Dalton Hoiles led the Raiders with three RBI’s each, including a solo shot by Hoiles in the seventh inning that gave SU an 8–7 lead.
The lead would not last long for SU, as Seton Hill’s Sam Vilk hit a three-run home run in the top half of the eighth inning to give the Griffins a 10–9 advantage.
The back and fourth action would continue in the game, as in the bottom half of the eighth; Hoiles tied the game at 10 with an RBI single. SU added to its lead in the frame as Geortzen also hit an RBI single and Grant Hoover got an RBI on a sacrifice fly to give the Raiders a 12–10 lead, heading into the ninth inning.
Down to its final three outs, Seton Hill’s Mark Colella hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to tie the game once again. SU was unable to push any runners across the plate in the bottom of the ninth as Kennedy struck out looking with a man on third base to end the inning.
In extra innings, Seton Hill scored two runs off two hits in the tenth to pull ahead of SU, 14–12 and the Raiders were unable to attempt a rally in their half of the tenth as they went down in order.
The Raiders now look towards their final home series of the season on Saturday when they host Millersville on Senior Day. SU will honor its three seniors, Kennedy, Mark Curtis, and Ryan McMillen before the start of the doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. from Fairchild Field.
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