Red Raider Baseball Ends Season With 7-4 Loss to West Chester in North Atlantic Regional
May 19, 2007
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - West Chester’s Mark Gilliford hit two home runs and drove in three runs, as the Golden Rams overcame an early deficit and ended Shippensburg season by a 7-4 score in the consolation bracket of the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Region Championship Saturday afternoon at Kutztown's North Campus Field.
Shippensburg (28-24) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, but West Chester (32-15) banged out five hits and took advantage of a costly Shippensburg error that led to five runs in the sixth inning, and held off the Red Raider offense over the final three innings to advance.
Senior Frank D’Agostino (Pine Grove/Pine Grove) suffered the loss for the Red Raiders. D’Agostino (4-4) allowed just one run and two hits through five innings, but was tagged for five hits in the sixth, causing his outing to come to an end.
Sophomore Tim Freshour (Johnstown/Richland) entered and pitched the final 3.1 innings, and would have escaped the sixth with a 4-3 lead had it not been for an error that could have been the third out of the inning. Instead, West Chester went on to score three more times in the inning.
Shippensburg sophomore Tyler Redick (Fairfield/Walkersville (Md.)) singled in three-straight at bats over the final three innings, but the Red Raiders, who totaled 12 hits, stranded six runners in the last four frames.
Senior Eric Perlozzo (Cumberland, Md./Bishop Walsh) added two hits, one walk, one run and one RBI. Senior Brandon White (State College/State College) and sophomore Kasey Kuhns (Three Springs/Southern Huntingdon) also added two hits.
Junior Justin Garber (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, and in Shippensburg’s three-run fifth inning, he and senior Scott Goss (Johnstown/Westmont Hilltop) delivered back-to-back triples.
Ryan Gerber (4-3) picked up the mound victory for the Golden Rams after tossing 4.2 shutout innings in relief of starter Dave Slusser.
While West Chester advances to play Slippery Rock in the semifinals, Shippensburg’s first season with Head Coach Matt Jones comes to end. Jones led the Red Raiders to its first PSAC championship since 2003 and its first regional bid since 2004.
Shippensburg loses 10 seniors from the squad, but will return 18 players to next year’s squad, including five field position starters and the reigning PSAC Western Division Pitcher of the Year in sophomore Matt Wright (McClure/Mid-West).
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