Late West Chester Rally Dooms Red Raiders at Home, 10-5
Apr. 25, 2007
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg Red Raiders led 5-3 in the top of the eighth inning, but Kevin McGrath's grand slam started a West Chester rally, which led to seven runs in the final two innings and 10-5 win for the Golden Rams in a non-conference match-up at Fairchild Field.
Since moving into sole possession of first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division, the Red Raiders (22-18) have dropped three-straight non-conference games. West Chester (26-11) has now won six in a row.
McGrath led the Golden Rams with six RBIs and Nick Spisak went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. On the hill, the Golden Rams used nine different pitchers, one each inning, with David Slusser (4-1) earning the win after tossing a perfect eighth inning.
Shippensburg used five pitchers with red-shirt freshman Phil Harnick (Lancaster/Hempfield) starting and allowing three runs through four innings. All three of the runs were scored in the first inning, as West Chester received homers from Nick Spisak and Drew Pare.
Sophomore Tim Freshour (Johnstown/Richland) made his first pitching appearance of the season and pitched three scoreless innings.
It was sophomore Andrew Burke (Fayetteville/Chambersburg) that suffered his fourth loss in eight decisions after allowing four runs, three earned on three hits in the eighth.
Sophomore Matt Wright (McClure/Mid-West) escaped the eighth by striking out the side, but walked the first two batters of the ninth, and junior Kyle Warner (Berrysburg/Upper Dauphin) could not escape the jam as three Golden Rams scored, sealing Shippensburg's fate.
Ship overcame the early 3-0 deficit with runs in the second and third and three more in the fourth. Senior Eric Perlozzo (Cumberland, Md./Bishop Walsh) led the way offensively with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored.
The Red Raiders return to action on Friday at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock, Pa. Game one, which begins at 1:00 p.m., begins a four-game series between the top two teams in the PSAC Western Division.
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