SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- The Kutztown University baseball team (24-13, 10-6 PSAC East) opened a series against Shippensburg (20-22, 7-12 PSAC East) in convincing fashion, rolling over the Raiders 7-1 at Fairchild Field Friday afternoon.
As of late, Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) seems to steal the show every time he takes the bump, and Friday afternoon was no different. The righty from Royersford pitched eight scoreless frames, allowing seven hits while striking out six en route to his seventh win of the campaign. The junior is tied for the second-most wins in the PSAC and leads the conference in innings pitched (65.2).
The other major storyline for the Golden Bears in the game was the long ball. It started in the top of the first with catcher Antonio Rossillo (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood). After battling against the Shippensburg starter for eight pitches, Rossillo lasered a ball over the center field wall to make it 1-0. Designated hitter Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) followed suit in the top of the fourth with a two-run blast, which extended the lead to 3-0.
KU kept the momentum going an inning later, plating two more runs on an RBI double from Mitchell Peers (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown), followed by an RBI single from Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley) the next at-bat. A wild pitch and a walk drawn by Rossillo added two more runs for KU in the top of the eighth, making it 7-0. Shippensburg scored its only run in the game in the bottom of the ninth as the Golden Bears captured the 7-1 win.
Gavin Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) had a good day at the dish, going 3-for-5 with two doubles. Proietto recorded two hits and two RBI, while Joey Pettinelli (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) and Kerley also had two knocks. Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) had a double in the contest, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
On the mound, Dalton Geiger (Leesport, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) saw an inning of action for KU in the relief for Skrocki. Jackson LoBianco took the loss for the Raiders, allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out two. Brenden Anderson, Ethan Miller, and Ray Winter also saw the mound for Shippensburg.
In the last 20 games against the Raiders dating back to 2017, this was the third victory for KU over Shippensburg. The Golden Bears will look to win the series on home turf tomorrow, Saturday, April 22. Due to expected inclement weather later in the day, the start of the doubleheader has been moved up to 10 a.m.
