CHARLESTON W. Va. – UC entered the weekend coming off of a sweep of Pitt-Johnstown last week. They proceeded to follow it up with another great series as they took two out of three games from the Raiders of Shippensburg University. 

JUST THE BASICS
LOCATION: Charleston, W. Va. – Segra Field at the Welch Athletic Complex 
RECORDS: Charleston (8-5, 0-0 MEC) Shippensburg (6-10, 0-0 PSAC)
SCORES:
    GAME 1: Charleston: 7 Shippensburg: 5
    GAME 2: Charleston: 3 Shippensburg: 0
    GAME 3: Charleston: 9 Shippensburg: 13

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game One 

Austin Henrich was the starter on the mound for Charleston in game one of the series. He came out and threw up a zero to start the ballgame handing the game over to his batters to try and do some damage. 

Charleston would draw blood first as they were able to put up three runs before the end of the first inning.

With the leadoff batter grounding out, Andrew Berry stepped into the box. He proceeded to single to left field to get the first baserunner of the day for the Golden Eagles. The next batter was Colby Johnson. He too singled to left field allowing Berry to advance to second base. That would bring Drew Hefner to the plate who was able to drop a single into right field that would score Berry from second and allow Johnson to move up to third. That would put the first run up on the board for UC and give them a first and third opportunity with only one out.

The next batter was Filip Smola, he attempted to lay down a safety squeeze, the pitcher hopped off the mound quickly, fielded the ball cleanly and flipped the ball to the catcher to tag Johnson out at home as he was trying to score on the play. Smola would reach first safely and Hefner moved up to second base. 

The next batter up was Nick Wilson, he proceeded to draw a walk loading the bases with two outs for the Golden Eagles. 

Jesse Elliott was up next. He was also able to draw a walk that brought in the second run of the game for UC. 

The Golden Eagles would receive their third run of the inning from an RBI single from Hayden Cartt. That would be the final run of Charleston's rally as they left the first inning with a 3-0 lead over the Raiders. 

Neither team was able to score any runs in the second or third inning's. 

Shippensburg was finally able to get on the board in the fourth. The inning started with a hit batter, Ben Werkheiser. Werkheiser would advance to second base on a wild pitch putting him in scoring position with no one out. Henrich would strikeout the next batter putting Shippensburg in a position with a man on second and one out. Henrich walked the next batter, Logan Williamson. That would put runners at first and second. The next batter, Jacob Pollock, sent a double into right-center field scoring both Werkheiser and Williamson. Pollock would advance to third base on the throw in from the outfield. 

With a man on third, SU was able to capitalize by sending a fly ball out to left field that allowed the runner to score from third. That run would tie the game up at three and the score would remain there after the conclusion of the top of the fourth. 

Charleston would not score again until the bottom of the sixth. With the first batter of the inning being put down on strikes, Hayden Cartt stepped to the plate with one out and nobody on. He proceeded to get himself into scoring position as he smoked a ball into the left-center gap for a double. 

With a man on second, Braxton Boddorf came into his at-bat with an opportunity to put his team ahead. He came in clutch as he smoked a double down the right field line that got past the first baseman who was diving on the play. Cartt would score easily on the play as Charleston took a 4-3 lead. 

Charleston would not be done scoring in the inning though. The next batter that came to the plate popped up to the third baseman as he was the second out of the inning. The next batter to step to the plate was Andrew Berry. He was able to send a two-out single into left field that brought Boddorf to the plate making it a 5-3 Charleston lead. That would bring Shippensburg's starting pitcher Kyle Lysy. SU would bring in reliever Jack Jenkens. 

He would face Colby Johnson out of the gate. Johnson would then send a triple out to right-center field to bring home Berry. 

 Heading into the top of the seventh, Charleston held onto a 7-3 lead. Jacob Kaiser would come out to pitch for the Golden Eagles in the inning. Shippensburg would gun for the comeback as they were able to score two runs in the inning coming from a Ben Workheiser blast, but the Raiders were unable to tie the game up. UC would go on to take the win 7-5. 

"Austin in game one did not have his best stuff, sort of labored through some of it. Some of the walks and things like that were some things that we haven't seen from him yet this year," said head coach Robbie Britt. " I was proud of the way he battled through that in order to give us a quality start and give us a chance to win going into the late innings." 

Game 2

The second game of the series was a great pitching battle as both team's starters turned in solid performances. Logan Campbell was on the mound for Charleston and Noah inch started for Shippensburg. 

Inch was able to hold the Golden Eagles scoreless in his outing as he threw 5.0 innings allowing only three hits and three walks while striking out four batters. 

The Raiders would turn to Kiernan Higgins following Inch's performance. Both pitchers for Shippensburg threw well and well enough to keep their team in the ballgame throughout the contest. Fortunately, UC would not be held scoreless the entire game as they were able to get a few runs on the board in the eighth inning. 

Boddorf would lead the eighth off for the Golden Eagles with a double to right field. Bailey would advance Boddorf to second on a bunt. During the play, the third baseman would throw the ball into right field allowing both runners to advance. Boddorf would score on the play as Bailey moved up to second. 

Berry would come up next and lay down a sacrifice bunt to get Bailey over to third. 

Johnson would send a fly ball into right field on the next at-bat. With what would have been a sacrifice fly, Shippensburg's right fielder booted the ball for an error that ultimately scored the runner from third and allowed Johnson to get to second base. 

In the next at-bat, Johnson was in the process of stealing third when there was a wild pitch that was thrown. This allowed Johnson to round third and head for home as he was able to score to put the third and final run of the game on the board for the Golden Eagles. 

Campbell would be sent out to close out the game as he ended the game with a pop-out and two strikeouts to take the game 3-0 over the Raiders. Campbell threw nine innings, allowed only one hit, walked one batter, which was the very first batter of the game, and struck out 18 Shippensburg batters in the process. An amazing outing for the junior who earned his fourth win on the season in the process. 

Campbell stayed with a competitive mindset throughout the course of the game. After allowing the one walk in the first inning he got it together and turned up the heat on the Shippensburg batters. 

"I told myself 'they have to battle, they have to beat me to get a hit or even to get on base'," said Campbell. "I let them get a free base in the first, and then I said 'you have got to earn your bases'." 

His five-pitch mix was throwing the Shippensburg batters off and he never let the batters feel comfortable at the plate as he continued to pound the strike zone with his diverse aresenal all game long. 

His performance ties the national high for strikeouts at the DII level in 2020. He also tied a school record for strikeouts in a game as he tossed 18 of them in the 3-0 victory. 

"Campbell was able to get ahead of the batters early and then was able to put guys away with his off-speed pitches, which I think was the separator for him," said Anthony Zona. 

"I have seen very few pitching performances like that in my short career. 18 strikeouts and one hit," said head coach Robbie Britt. "The pace at which he pitched and the intensity in which he pitched, it was like a videogame. It was really fun to sit back and watch."

Game 3

Game three was a very high scoring ballgame, one in which the Golden Eagles would ultimately come up on the losing end of. 

UC was the first team that would score in this one. In the first inning, JJordan Bailey led the game off with a double to right field to get things started for UC. Two batters later, Colby Johnson would come to the plate and provide his team with an RBI single to center field to score Bailey from third base after he had moved up on a stolen base. 

With Johnson at first, he stole second and then proceeded to reach third as he advanced on a wild pitch. After a Hefner walk, Hefner would then steal second base, on the throw from the catcher, the ball would head out to center field which allowed Johnson to reach home putting the second run on the board for UC. 

Shippensburg would answer back with a run of their own as the leadoff batter doubled to start the inning. The runner would move up to third base on a wild pitch and then he would come around to score on another wild pitch to make it a 2-1 UC ballgame.

Shippensburg would take the lead in the third inning. The inning started with back to back singles putting runners at first and second. The next batter grounded into a fielder's choice putting runners at the corners for the Raiders. A hit by pitch would load the bases for Shippensburg. The next batter up singled to score two runs leaving two men on at first and second. Another walk would reload the bases for the Raiders. The next batter would line out to the centerfielder plating another run for SU. The Raiders left the inning with the lead by a score of 4-2. 

The fourth inning would help the raiders to widen their lead by six more runs as Shippensburg capitalized on a bases-loaded situation by a grand slam from their catcher Ben Werkheiser. With another bases-loaded situation, Shippensburg would cash in on a single accompanied by a throwing error from the pitcher trying to get the runner at first base. This would allow for two more runs to score for Shippensburg. They would leave the inning with a 10-2 lead. 

UC would gather some more runs in the fifth as Bailey led the inning off with a triple. Johnson would bring him in on a single to left field. The next batter Hefner singled to advance Johnson to third base, he was then able to score on a throwing error from the second baseman trying to throw Johnson out at third. After the inning, Shippensburg's lead was cut down to six as it was 10-4 heading into the sixth. 

Shippensburg was not able to score in the sixth. That gave UC a chance to add some more runs. The only run that would come in the sixth for the Golden Eagles was from the bat of Nick Wilson as he launched a home run over the center field wall to make it a 10-5 game.

Shippensburg would add two more runs in the seventh coming from an error by the second baseman with a man on first and third. They also cashed in on an RBI single with runners at the corners later in the inning to make it a 12-5 ballgame. 

In the seventh, Jordan Bailey led the inning off with a walk. He then advanced to second on a failed pick-off attempt that got away from the first baseman.  Kyle Keenan would then come to the plate as he sent a sharp single into left field allowing Bailey to reach third putting runners at the corners for UC. That would bring up Colby Johnson who sent an opposite-field missile over the right field wall to plate three runs for the Golden Eagles. That would make it a 12-8 ballgame heading into the eighth. 

In the eighth, with men on first and second, the Raiders would plate one more run on an RBI single to left-center field to bring home their final run of the contest making it a 13-8 ballgame. 

UC would score one more run in the eighth inning as Hayden Cartt started the inning off with a walk. Braxton Boddorf would come to the plate and reach on a single allowing Cartt to move to second. On the play, Cartt was able to move up to third and Boddorf was able to move to second on a throwing miscue from the second baseman. Jordan Bailey would ground out to the second baseman allowing Cartt to score and Boddorf to move up to second. That would be the final run for the Golden Eagles in the ballgame as they fell 13-9. 

THOUGHTS ON THE WEEKEND
Coach Britt is excited about his pitching staff and has been pleased with what he has seen from them through the first few series of the young 2020 season. 

"You got to look at what coach Zona is doing with those pitchers," said Britt. "I'm amazed at the way that they have responded to him and at the way that they want to work and fight for him. It is really fun to be a part of." 

Another part of the weekend was dealing with adversity. There were some calls throughout all of the games on the weekend that may have been questionable. The thing about UC is that they did not let these calls affect them They were able to put these situations behind them and continued to grind and play hard, ultimately resulting in a series win for them. 

"I think it is just part of building your resume as a team," said Britt. "That is was early season baseball is good for, is something you some of that adversity and teaching you how to respond from it. And that is what I told the guys in the eighth inning (game one). I said 'we are good enough, we don't need the umpires, we don't need the other team, we don't need to chirp, we just need to worry about us executing,' and we did a great job of that in the eighth inning. So, I thought that our approach once we faced that adversity was really good. The way we responded to it, I look for that to become part of our personality as a ballclub as we move forward." 

UP NEXT
Charleston will be taking on Ohio Valley University this Tuesday as they will take part in a mid-week matchup. Following the game on Tuesday, UC will open up conference play at home as they will take on Urbana on Saturday, March 14 in a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. and Notre Dame on Sunday in a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. as well.