No. 4 Tampa Sweeps Friday Doubleheader With Shippensburg
TAMPA, Fla. - The Shippensburg University baseball team
has lost four-straight and five of its last six following Friday's doubleheader
sweep by the
University of Tampa at Sam Bailey Field. The Spartans won game one, 4-3,
and took the second game, 3-2.
Shippensburg (9-7) entered the game ranked No. 8 in the latest National Collegiate
Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) Division II Top 25 and No. 13 in the
American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division II Poll this week, but has lost three games this week, including
Wednesday's 1-0 loss at Saint Leo University.
Brad Chamberlain's suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh
of game two off of Shippensburg junior Nathan Starner (Aspers, Pa./Biglerville) gave Tampa (19-3) the one-run victory, scoring Alex Castellvi who led off
the inning with a single.
The Red Raiders had a 1-0 lead after one inning and a 2-1 lead after their
half of the sixth, but the Spartans managed to tie the game each time. In
the sixth, three consecutive singles by Tampa, the last by Kurt Baxley, tied
the game at 2-2 heading into the final inning.
Spartan starter Johnny Williams pitched a complete-game four hitter, striking
out four while allowing only one earned run to earn his second victory of
the season. Starner, who also pitched a complete for Shippensburg, went 6
1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and three runs, two of which were earned.
One run has decided exactly half of the Red Raiders' games this season,
eight of 16. Shippensburg had won four out of five to start the season, but
have since lost the last three, all coming in the teamπs last three
games.
In game one, Tampa held a 3-0 lead after two innings following a sacrifice
fly by Lee Cruz in the first and a two-run home run by Chamberlain, his second
home run of the season, in the bottom of the second.
Senior Chad Stecker (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley) tallied
Shippensburg's
first run in the fifth with a solo home run, his team-leading second of the
season, cutting the Spartan lead to 3-1.
Tampa added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a bunt, RBI-single
by Chamberlain giving his team a much need three-run lead, 4-1, as the Red
Raiders threatened in the ninth. Chamberlain finished the day going 5-for-6
with four RBI and two runs scored.
After junior Jeremy Hess (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) led off the
ninth with a single, sophomore Jamie Mengle (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland
Valley) homered for his only hit of the game, pulling Shippensburg to within
one, 4-3, with no outs.
The Red Raiders put two runners on first and second with one out, but Aaron
Cook retired the next two batters on fly balls, including the last out on
a pop-up in foul territory to the third baseman, earning his fourth save
of the season.
The Spartansπ Sergio Perez ran his record to 5-2 this season, allowing
only one run an five hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out five. Sophomore
Frank D'Agostino (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) took
the loss for Shippensburg, totaling seven innings and allowing three runs
and eight hits. He also struck
out five.
Hess was 3-for-4 at the plate and scored a run for the Red Raiders in the
first game.
Shippensburg and Tampa finish the three-game series on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
from Sam Bailey Field.
- Red Raider Baseball -
