Shippensburg University baseball won three of four games against No. 18 West Chester this weekend, winning two games on Friday by scores of 17-4 and 6-5 and losing Game 1 on Saturday, 13-4, before winning the series finale 6-5.

The result moves the Raiders to 23-12 on the season and 10-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division, where they sit in a three-way tie for second place, one game behind Shepherd.

SU’s bats went to work early Friday, as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the third inning of Game 1, highlighted by a three-run home run and two-run single from sophomore Kyle Ausgotharp. Sophomore Will Oates added a solo home run in the fourth inning, with junior Ty Sherman hitting three-run home runs in both the sixth and seventh innings of a 17-4 thumping.

Sherman and Oates each went 4-for-5 at the plate as Sherman led the team with seven RBIs. Junior Conner Barto got the win to move to 7-1 on the season, pitching 6 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks, striking out five.

The Raiders picked up right where they left off in the second half of the doubleheader, as Oates and Sherman each drove in a run in the first inning. Senior AJ Wenrich added a solo home run in the third inning, putting Shippensburg ahead 3-0.

West Chester made it a one-run game in the third, but SU moved back ahead 5-2 thanks to two runs via a Golden Rams error in the fifth. The game was tied at five entering the seventh, but Wenrich put the Raiders on top for good with his second solo home run of the day, sealing a 6-5 win.

Freshman Jonah Mayer lasted five innings in his start for SU, giving up four runs on six hits as he struck out three. Senior Jack Robinson got the win in relief, earning the final five outs without allowing a hit.

The series shifted to Shippensburg on Saturday, where the Golden Rams made up for prior day’s defeats. 

They led 5-1 in the third inning, but redshirt sophomore Brady Harbach hit a two-run single to halve the deficit. A wild pitch would further reduce the gap, as it was only 5-4.

That was as close as the game would get, as WCU swatted six home runs in the contest on their way to a 13-4 win. Nine of their 17 hits in the game went for extra bases, while Shippensburg could only muster 10 singles.

Redshirt sophomore Kaleb Maksimik took the loss on the mound, surrendering six runs on nine hits and a walk. Kyle Lazer fired a complete game for the Golden Rams, striking out eight.

The series finale proved to be a back-and-forth thriller, with Ausgotharp driving in the game’s first run in the second inning before WCU tied it in the third. Sophomore Evan Shoffler and Oates each hit RBI singles in the fourth, putting SU on top 3-1.

West Chester scored on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, then Hunter Smith put them ahead 6-3 with a grand slam. It was only the team’s second hit of the game. Ausgotharp responded immediately, as his two-run home run made it 6-5 after five.

The Raiders used small ball in the sixth to retake the lead. Sophomore Thomas Cano-Piszel had an RBI groundout to tie the game, and a Harbach sacrifice fly moved SU back into the lead. Robinson fired a 1-2-3 seventh for his seventh save of the season and a 7-6 Raider win.

Robinson spoke on earning the key save, saying, “I was a little fired up… it’s just pure happiness being able to go out there and do what I need to do.”

Wenrich and Ausgotharp each had three hits in the contest. Redshirt sophomore Brady Kain provided four innings of one-hit ball in his start, walking three and striking out three. Junior Bryce Amos got the win in relief.

Ausgotharp spoke on the offensive depth of the team postgame. 

“One through nine, every guy on our team has pop,” said Ausgotharp. “We have the ability to score runners, move runners, bunt, everything.”

Up next on the SU schedule is a key series with East Stroudsburg, as the teams are currently tied in the PSAC East. They will play two games at Fairchild Field at 1 p.m. on Friday before heading to ESU for two more games on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Robinson believed the momentum from this series will be “like a tsunami… not being able to stop it, just being able to go through brick walls and keep it together.”

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