BASEBALL: Shippensburg uses 9-run fourth inning to down Carlisle, 12-0 in five innings
SHIPPENSBURG >> The first three innings of Shippensburg's non-league baseball game Saturday afternoon were solid.
The Greyhounds managed to rack up a three-run lead, but it was the fourth inning that made all the difference. Carlisle walked three, hit a batter and had four errors in the frame, allowing Ship to take off with nine runs and claim a 12-0 victory in five innings.
"It seems like every time people start making errors, it carries over, and we got to score some more runs," Hound leadoff batter Cole Friese said. "We were being patient that inning. He was a walking a lot of kids, and we got some big hits when we needed to."
Brandt Swartz led off the inning for Ship (5-1), reaching base after being hit by a pitch. Friese then moved things along with a single, and a throwing error trying to prevent a steal let both move up a base.
Daulton Brenize capitalized his with his second RBI of the night on a single straight up the middle, and after a strikeout, Nate Reiner reached on an error to load the bases. Nick Jacoby then smashed a double that plated Friese and Brenize, and the Thundering Herd (1-7) fell apart.
The next two batters reached on errors, and the two after that were walked.
"They got a couple of balls that bounced their way, and we had a pitcher that couldn't seem to locate his pitches," Carlisle assistant coach Ryan McClintock said. "They're a good team, and they were squaring off on a lot of balls. We also couldn't seem to field a ball. It's a different game when we play the game we're capable of playing."
Ship continued its dominance with an RBI single from Friese and a two-RBI single by Cordell Shannon. By the inning's end, Ship had scored nine runs on just five hits.
"Our speed helped us out a lot, too," Greyhound coach Nate Rosenberry said. "It puts pressure on teams defensively, and they know they have to make the play to get things to happen. Our guys made nice adjustments, and we put the ball in play."
Friese had a standout day for Ship. He went 4-for-4 with four runs scored, an RBI and a pair of stolen bases.
"I felt pretty good today about how I swung the bat," Friese said. "He threw a lot of fastballs for his first pitch, so I tried to just jump on it and get a good pitch to hit."
Rosenberry said, "Cole definitely gets our offense started, and he continues to make adjustments. He's a guy that can go out and hit the ball far, or he can put the ball in the infield and get a hit out of it that way."
Sophomore Zach Barnhart picked up his first win on the mound. He threw all five innings and gave up just four hits – three of which came in the second inning. He struck out two and didn't walk any.
"We were hoping he'd just pound the strike zone, and that's what he did," Rosenberry said. "He kept the ball low, and we backed him up defensively. When there was a mistake (Ship had two errors), he made a couple of quality pitches to get us out of innings. He did a tremendous job today."
NOTES >> Shannon and Jacoby each had a pair of hits for Ship, and Jacoby led with three RBIs ... All nine Greyhounds that batted scored at least one run ... J.J. Robinson had a triple and a stolen base for Carlisle ... Herd head coach Travis Smink was not at the game because of the birth of his baby.
Shippensburg 12, Carlisle 0 (5)
CarlisleShippensburgabrhbabrhbRobinson 3b3010Friese c4441Knisely cf3000Brenize cf2112Winton c2000Shannon 3122Erris p2000Reiner ss2100Burger ss2010Jacoby 3b3123Silvious dh2000Johnsn dh2100Colngelo 2b0000Barnhart p0000Davnport lf2010Melendz lf2101Milligan 1b2010Watkins 2b1100Thomas rf2000Swartz rf2101Swartz cf0000Totals20040Totals 21 12 9 10
Carlisle00000—0Shippensburg1029x—12
E: Car 4, Ship 2; DP: Car 1, Ship 1; LOB: Car 5, Ship 7; 2B: Friese, Jacoby; 3B: Robinson, Friese; SF: Brenize; SB: Robinson, Friese 2, Shannon, Jacoby, Brenize.
Carlisle pitching
Harris (L)3.167663Thomas0.236020
Shippensburg pitching
Barnhart (W,1-0)540002
HBP: By Harris (Swartz).
T: 1:36.