No. 1-Ranked Kutztown Edges Red Raiders 2-0 in PSAC Championship Opening Round
May 3, 2007
Box Score | Championship Web Site
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Kutztown's Matt Keller held Shippensburg hitless through 8.2 innings, out-dueling Red Raider sophomore Matt Wright (McClure/Mid-West) and helping No. 1-ranked Kutztown to a 2-0 win in the opening round of the 2007 PSAC Baseball Championship.
With the loss, Shippensburg (23-22) moves into the consolation bracket of the double elimination tournament and will take on West Chester today at 3:00 p.m. Kutztown (45-3) advances to play East Stroudsburg at 6:00 p.m.
Keller (5-1) went the distance for the Golden Bears, striking out seven and walking just one. Wright (5-3) was up to the challenge, as he pitched seven innings and allowed one run on four hits and struck out eight. Contributing to his early exit, however, was his high pitch count, as he walked seven batters.
Shippensburg did not manage a hit and did not threaten to score until the top of the ninth inning.
With two outs and trailing 2-0, junior Justin Garber (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) drew a walk and senior Scott Goss (Johnstown/Westmont Hilltop) ripped a single into right, snapping Keller's no-hit effort. With the go-ahead run at the plate, Keller escaped the jam with a strikeout.
Kutztown's run in the first inning proved to be all the scoring it would need. Sean Bond led off with a single and moved to second on a walk. Nate Krantz sacrificed Bond to third, and Jeff Craig drove in Bond with a groundout to second.
Kutztown added an insurance run in the eighth off of sophomore reliever Tim Freshour (Johnstown/Richland) when Mike Kacelowicz singled in Garrison Rausch, who finished the game 3-for-3.
The Red Raiders have now lost 10-straight against the Golden Bears. Shippensburg's last win in the series came on April 29, 2004.
Shippensburg's game against West Chester can be heard on the Internet courtesy of the MSA Sports Network. Visit the tournament web site and click the listen live link to listen.
- Red Raider Baseball -
