Red Raiders Even Record with Doubleheader Sweep of Clarion
Mar. 31, 2007
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Senior Brandon
White (State College/State College) recorded four hits, four RBIs and his first
two career homers, sparking the Shippensburg Red Raider baseball team to
a doubleheader sweep of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western
Division foe Clarion by scores of 10-3 and 8-2 victories.
As a team, Shippensburg piled up 24 hits and 18 runs in the two games. With
the win, the Red Raiders boosted their season record to 11-11 overall and
3-1 in the PSAC West, while winning eight of their last nine. Clarion, meanwhile,
falls to 6-11 on the season.
On Friday, Clarion topped Ship 5-2 to open PSAC Western Division action,
but in the final three games of the series, Shippensburg outscored the Golden
Eagles 28-7 and totaled 35 hits. Along with White‚s two homers (one
in each game), Shippensburg received round-trippers from sophomore Tyler
Redick (Fairfield/Walkersville (Md.)) in game one and senior Jamie
Mengle (Mechanicsburg/Cumberland Valley) in game two.
And while the offense was hot, the pitching was solid, as well. In the opener,
senior Ross Buckwalter (Ephrata/Ephrata) notched his team-leading fourth
win of the season after tossing six innings and allowing just one run on
five hits while striking out five. Sophomore Jason Kelly (Harrisburg/Central
Dauphin) entered in the seventh to close out the Golden Eagles.
Clarion starter Ben Watkins suffered the loss, allowing 10 runs and 13 hits
through six innings.
Ship picked up a run in the first inning when senior
Scott Goss (Johnstown/Westmont Hilltop) drove in junior Justin
Garber (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown).
They kept things rolling in the second with six more runs. Junior Eric
Dezell (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) notched an RBI single and Redick
slammed a three-run homer. Sophomore Sean Killian (Columbia/Hempfield) and
sophomore
Kasey Kuhns (Three Springs/Southern Huntingdon) also picked
up RBIs.
That would prove to be all the scoring they needed, but picked up one in
the fourth and two more in the sixth. Garber went 3-for-4 and scored three
times. Goss went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Dezell also recorded two
hits, a run and an RBI.
In game two, the Red Raiders struck quickly, posting three runs in the bottom
of the first inning, two of which came on White's second homer of the
day. The other came on an RBI single from senior Eric Perlozzo (Cumberland,
Md./Bishop Walsh).
Ship also scored three in the fourth and two in the fifth. In the meantime,
senior starter Stephen Slatcoff (Windber/Windber) kept Clarion at bay. He
surrendered one in the second inning, but in the fifth, Clarion loaded the
bases with no outs, but Slatcoff dug in and retired the next three batters
to escape the jam.
In five innings of work, Slatcoff scattered seven hits and allowed just one
run.
Offensively, the Red Raiders were led by Mengle‚s 2-for-3, two RBI
performance. Perlozzo and Kelly also recorded two hits.
The Red Raiders, who are now 4-0 at Fairchild Field this season, put their
perfect home mark on the line in a non-conference game against Shepherd on
Tue., April 3. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
- Red Raider Baseball -
