The Shippensburg University baseball team dropped the opening contest of its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) series with Kutztown on a sunny Friday afternoon, 7-1, at Fairchild Field.
Shippensburg (20-22, 7-12 PSAC East) posted 11 hits across the nine-inning matchup, however, was only able to bring one run across the plate.
Kutztown (24-13, 10-6) picked up its first victory in Shippensburg since March 22, 2019, while slugging 13 hits.
Antonio Rossillo got the Golden Bears on the board first, launching a solo home run over the center field wall to end a nine-pitch at bat.
Dominic Proietto extended the KU lead to 3-0 in the fifth after blasting a two-run shot to left field.
Kutztown continued to pile on the runs, taking a 7-0 lead into the final frame.
The Raiders broke the Golden Bears shutout in the bottom of the ninth, as a single up the middle from junior Andrew Chronister (Dover, Pa./Dover Area) allowed sophomore Carter Hinds (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) to score from second.
SU managed to load the bases with two outs, but an unassisted groundout to first put an end to Shippensburg’s hopes and handed Kutztown the 7-1 victory.
Hinds and Chronister each finished the day going 3-for-4 at the dish, while sophomore Jaxon Dalena (Cogan Station, Pa./Montoursville (Monmouth)) collected two singles to right field.
Junior Jackson LoBianco (Irvine, Cal./University) fell to 3-3 on the year, picking up the loss in four innings pitched. LoBianco gave up three earned runs and struck out two batters on 71 pitches.
The Raiders will travel to Kutztown for a doubleheader against the Golden Bears beginning at 10 a.m. Shippensburg returns home on Friday for a non-conference series against Mercy College at 3 p.m.
