SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — The ESU baseball team was firing on all cylinders Friday afternoon at Shippensburg, outscoring the Raiders 23-2 to start the series with two road wins.
BATTING NOTABLES
- Troy Davis had a career day at the plate, going 7-8. He recorded seven RBI, scored six runs, and hit his first career grand slam in the second game.
- Cole Serfass got on base five times as he went 4-6 on the day. He had one RBI and run each in the first game, then went off for four RBI in the second game.
- Frey led ESU's offense in the opening game, going 2-3 with three RBI. His two-run home run gave ESU the cushion it needed to keep the Raiders out of reach, adding an RBI double to his stat line in the second game.
- Also bringing the power for the Warriors was Walker Zampella. He went 4-8 today, going off in the second half of the doubleheader with three RBI, two from a home run, and four runs scored.
PITCHING NOTABLES
- The Raiders, who entered the game with the conference's highest batting average and OPS, could not solve any of the Warriors' arms today. Beginning with Ryan Dewees, the Warriors' number one starter, improved to 5-2 on the season. He went 5.1 IP, navigating eight hits by striking out six batters to limit the Raiders' offense.
- Cole Dymek got his third save of the season, finishing the game on the mound while only giving up one hit.
- Ethan Woods picked up his fourth win of the season and third in conference play, going five innings as the Warriors gave him plenty of run support. Woods had arguably his best start of the season, only giving up three hits while striking out four.
- Joe Zito took care of the final two innings in the second game, registering his third scoreless appearance in four games this season. Similarly to Dymek, he also only allowed one hit as he closed the day.
GAME ONE
- ESU jumped out in front immediately, scoring two runs in the first inning. Braydon Hubbard started the game with a walk, followed by Davis pushing a line drive down the right field line. The ball hugged the line, just landing in fair ground as Hubbard scored from first base on Davis' one-out triple. With two outs and still at third, Davis would score after Frey singled up the middle, making it 2-0.
- The Raiders cut ESU's lead in half in the bottom of the second, as Thomas Cano-Piszel started the inning with a leadoff home run. However, the Warriors responded in the top of the third, reestablishing a multi-run lead. With a full count, Zampella doubled to left field, putting a runner in scoring position for Serfass. Running on a 0-1 count, Serfass lifted a ball into left field, allowing Zampella to score easily on the hit-and-run. Serfass got over to third base after an errant pickoff attempt by Conner Barto got away from the first baseman, putting him 90 feet from scoring with Frey up to bat. In another full count, Frey turned on a pitch and sent it well over the right field wall for a no-doubt two-run home run to make it 5-1.
- Through four innings, Dewees gave up one hit each time he took the mound, limiting the Raiders' chances at coming back. After a one-out single by Cano Piszel, he retired the last two batters with strikeouts for his fifth and sixth of the day.
- The Raiders started to break through against Dewees, as Cano-Piszel singled to move Ty Sherman over to third. Cano-Piszel tried to move into scoring position, but Connor Reilly threw him out at second base for the inning's first out. Despite getting one runner off the basepaths, Shippensburg picked up two more singles consecutively to make it 5-2. Cole Dymek came into the game, fielding a ground ball to hold Mike Heckman at third. Jake Pope came up with two outs, grounding out as Zampella made a nice play to limit Shippensburg to one run in the inning.
- Dymek stayed in the game for the seventh, working around a leadoff single by Mason Morris. The next batter, Will Oates, fouled out to Frey at first base, followed by Shippensburg's top hitter, AJ Wenrich, grounding into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.
GAME TWO
- The Warriors got off to a strong start again in game two, scoring two runs their first time up. Davis singled up the middle, then stole second base with Zampella up to bat. Zampella doubled to center field, but Davis had to wait to make sure the ball wasn't caught, only being able to advance up to third base. With Serfass now at the plate, he lined a pitch into left-center field, scoring both runners.
- ESU broke the scoring open early in the top of the second, tripling its lead to go up 6-0. Reilly started the inning with a single and a stolen base, reaching third after a flyout by Easton Albert. Condeelis sent a ball back up the middle. Hubbard got on base after a fielder's choice, but still got into scoring position after stealing second base, then advancing to third by an error. Davis hit a single towards the middle, forcing the shortstop to make a strong throw at first for the out. He beat the throw to make it on base safely, as the throw was also off-target, allowing Davis to get to second base. Zampella capped off the four-run inning with a two-run rocket over the left field wall, his fourth home run of the season.
- After a scoreless third inning, the Warriors went back to work in the top of the fourth. Hubbard hit ESU's second triple of the day, scoring on the next pitch as Davis singled to right field. Zampella came up to bat next, sending a 0-1 pitch into left-center field for an RBI double. Stealing third during the next at-bat, he remained there as Frey drew a four-pitch walk with one out. Christian Maccarrone pinch hit for Chase Frantz, putting a charge into a fly ball to deep center field. While just shy of the wall, it gave Zampella plenty of time to tag up and make it 9-0.
- The Warriors cleared double-digit runs in the top of the fifth, as they continued to pour it on. After the first two batters were retired, Davis reached on an infield single, getting to third base on a stolen base and a wild pitch. Zampella worked a full-count walk and stole second base, too, giving Serfass two runners in scoring position. He pushed a single through the open right side of the field, reaching second base as the attempt to throw out Zampella went past the catcher at home plate. Frey switched places with Serfass after a double to left field, making the score 12-0.
- Three bases on balls and a single loaded the bases and brought in ESU's 13th run of the game, as Davis came up to the plate. Already 4-4 in the second half of the doubleheader, he connected on a 3-1 pitch, hitting a grand slam as the ball went over the fence in left-center field for his second home run of the season.
- After five shutout innings, only allowing three hits, Woods' day was done. He struck out four batters and stranded two runners. Zito came in for him in the bottom of the sixth, getting through the inning with a pair of flyouts and a groundout.
GAME NOTES
- The 17-0 win in game two of the doubleheader was the largest margin of victory since 1995 in the all-time series against Shippensburg. The Raiders shut out ESU 23-0 21 years ago.
- The 17 runs are also the third-most all-time ESU has scored at Shippensburg, tallying 21 in 1997 and 19 in 2015.
UP NEXT
ESU looks to secure the series win tomorrow afternoon, hosting the Raiders at 1 p.m. at Creekview Park for game one of the doubleheader.
