Shippensburg University’s baseball team began its season this past weekend at Newman Park in Salisbury, North Carolina, losing the first two games against Catawba before picking up its first win of the season on Sunday to finish the series.
The series started with Catawba beating Shippensburg 10-3 on Friday. The Raiders kept it competitive early, trailing 4-3 entering the seventh inning, thanks to a quality start from graduate Noah Nabholz, who went six innings giving up four runs (two earned) and striking out four.
The bullpen unraveled in the seventh inning though, with the Indians putting up five runs on seven hits, all five runs being given up by freshman J.T. Weaver. Catawba would pick up an insurance run in the eighth before picking up the win.
Offensively for Shippensburg, graduate Justin Byler went one for four with a pair of RBIs, with junior Morgan Wyatt bringing in the other run on a sacrifice fly. Junior Andrew Chronister went two for three with a walk as well.
Game 2 of the series ended up being a slugfest, but the Raiders’ pitching still struggled, with the Indians winning 19-10. Redshirt freshman Eric Bohenek struggled on the mound, giving up nine runs (six earned) in a four inning start.
The Raiders’ bats came to life late in the game, scoring all 10 of their runs in the fifth inning or later. The bullpen could not hold up though, giving up five runs in both the fifth and seventh innings.
Wyatt hit the first home run of the season for the Raiders in the sixth, part of a four-RBI game for him. Junior Austin Baal also went deep in the seventh, hitting a two-run homer. Sophomore Gio Calamia did great off the bench, going three for three with three RBI.
The final game of the series turned into a home run derby for the Raiders, who went deep four times, including two home runs in the third inning, and powered their way to a 12-9 win.
Calamia was the first to go long, hitting a three-run bomb in the third inning. Chronister followed that up with a two-run shot, before Baal made it back-to-back games with a home run with his two-run blast. Wyatt also went long in the sixth inning, hitting a three-run homer for his second of the season.
Junior Ethan Miller went four innings in his start for the Raiders, giving up five earned runs but striking out six. Junior Gabe Stotler got the win in relief, pitching three innings and giving up three runs.
The Raiders will head back down to North Carolina next weekend for a three game series against the Mount Olive Trojans.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.