The Shippensburg University baseball team suffered a non-conference loss against Pitt-Johnstown but swept a four-game set against Mansfield this past week, including a no-hitter in the series finale. 

Tuesday afternoon, the Raiders visited the Mountain Cats, falling 11-6 in nine innings of play. 

SU struck early, scoring two runs in both the first and second innings. The Raiders held the Mountain Cats to five runs through six innings. Pitt-Johnstown, however, scored six runs in the seventh to secure the win. 

Shippensburg recorded more hits than UPJ. The Raiders managed 13, while the Mountain Cats had 11. The loss to UPJ was SU’s fifth in a row. 

Thursday, the Raiders traveled to Mansfield for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader. 

SU won both games, ending its losing streak. 

Junior Connor Barto took the mound in Game 1, getting the win for his complete outing. Barto only gave up four hits and one walk while producing a shutout with five strikeouts. 

At the plate, the Raiders scored 12 runs on 14 hits. They gained an early lead once again, scoring five of their runs in the first inning. 

To start the game, junior Mason Morris reached first on a single to left, then sophomore Thomas Cano-Piszel hit a two-run homer for his first of the game. After that, the Raiders had a rally going to score three more. 

Cano-Piszel hit another home run in the second inning. 

The Raiders had similar offensive success in the second game, winning 10-4. 

Freshman Jonah Mayer started for SU, going for five innings. He had eight strikeouts, giving up one walk and five hits. 

SU scored first again, this time sophomore Evan Shoffler produced an RBI double in the second inning. 

SU took advantage of a couple of fielding and throwing errors by Mansfield’s defense to add more to the scoreboard in the fourth.

Friday, the Raiders played Mansfield in a home doubleheader for their Senior Day celebration.

In Game 1, the Mountaineers put up four runs in the top of the first inning, but the Raiders bounced back in the bottom of the second, securing a two-run lead. 

After the first two innings, the game was delayed for lightning and rain. Once the action resumed, the Cats evened the score when they produced two runs in the fourth.

To regain the lead, the Raiders scored four runs on two outs in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Morris singled to left. Then Cano-Piszel worked a full count walk. 

The next batter, junior Ty Sherman, hit a double down the left field line for an RBI. Cano-Piszel also scored on an interference. Senior AJ Wenrich brought Sherman home with a hard, line drive to the centerfield wall for a triple. 

The next three batters walked, with one walk bringing another run in. 

The fifth was even more productive for the Raiders as they scored seven more runs. 

Starting off with a bunt from junior Jake Pope to reach first base, Morris singled again to advance Pope to third. The next batter took a hit by pitch to load the bases, and Sherman singled to left for two more RBIs. 

The Raiders took advantage of Mansfield’s wild pitching to score a couple more runs.

In the sixth inning, Wenrich homered to left field for SU’s last run. Shippensburg took Game 1, 18-7. 

Between the two games on Friday, the seniors Wenrich, Jack Robinson, Franklin Muendel, Mike Heckman, Bryce Amos and Brenden Anderson were honored in a small ceremony.

Anderson said, “We swung it well, and you know we had some at bats that didn’t go our way, but no one let that carry into the next at bat, and we stayed on the barrel all day.” 

Although the Raider bats made less noise in Game 2, the pitching from Anderson secured the series sweep. 

Anderson threw the first no-hitter for Shippensburg University since 2018. SU won 3-1. 

SU Head Baseball Coach Mike Jones said, “Honestly, he doesn’t have a lot of starts this year, so it was senior day, and we wanted to give him that opportunity, and he just jumped in there, and we’re super happy for him, ‘cause he’s a great guy.” 

Anderson said it was his first no-hitter throughout his entire baseball career, even going back to his Little League days. 

The only score for the Mountaineers came in the top of the fifth, when Anderson hit a batter who went on to steal both second and third base. The runner scored on a ground out. 

The Raiders scored their first two runs in the bottom half of the third inning when Shoffler doubled. 

Sophomore Kyle Ausgotharp homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for the Raiders, providing an insurance run. 

Jones is proud of how the team played and how the seniors have grown through their years on the team. 

“They're playing with their best friends, and you know, they're getting a good education,” Jones said. “I think they're all better athletes and better ball players than when they got here.”

SU is currently 27-17 overall and 14-10 in the conference. This week, the team hosts Shepherd on Thursday for two games, and then they will travel to Shephard on Friday to finish their regular season with another doubleheader. 

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