Home sweet home.
Back in the town he grew up in, Richland graduate Tim Freshour seemed like the sentimental choice for Shippensburg to start in its first game of the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional tournament at Johnstown’s Point Stadium.
And not only was Freshour a sentimental choice, he was a sensational choice.
The former Rams star struck out seven and retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced as Shippensburg won 10-2 over West Virginia State on Thursday at Point Stadium.
“It was pretty important,” said Freshour, a junior. “This was our first game of the tournament. We struggled with the first game of the past couple tournaments we’ve been in.”
The Raiders (35-23) face Pitt-Johnstown today during the second round of the double-elimination tournament. UPJ rallied for a victory to knock off Concord 6-3 late Thursday night.
West Virginia State faces defending regional champion Kutztown in an 11 a.m. elimination today.
Shippensburg set the tone with a Justin Garber infield single and a Kyle Rhoades bunt hit to open the game. Tyler Redick moved both runners up with a sacrifice before Garber scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch from West Virginia State starter Todd McQuiston.
Kevin Scholly then singled to bring Rhoades around for a 2-0 Raiders lead. Rick Shumway followed with a hit and
Kasey Kuhns added a two-out, two-run single for a 4-0 Shippensburg edge.
It looked like West Virginia State (36-16) would respond with a big inning of their own as Eric Workman doubled and Josh Bower added a bunt single. But Freshour (10-4) worked out of the jam, allowing only one run.
“I didn’t start out too strong,” said Freshour, an All-PSAC West Division pick. “I couldn’t locate a couple of my fastballs. As the game progressed, I felt like I got stronger and stronger.”
While Freshour was undoubtedly happy to be back in town, it wasn’t a true homecoming for the pitcher, who played for Delweld in the AAABA League. He has been to a pair of national AAABA tournaments, once as a member of Delweld and also as a pick-up player for Principle Development.
“It was a little bit weird,” Freshour said. “I felt comfortable. But it’s weird having to stay in a hotel room when I’m five minutes from my house. But it brought back a lot of good memories.”
In other action Thursday
West Chester 5, Kutztown 3
Drew Pare's two-run, two-out homer in the bottom of the eighth was the decisive blow as top-seeded West Chester (42-14) rallied for a 5-3 victory over conference rival Kutztown (30-25) in the opening game of the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional at Point Stadium.
The Golden Rams exploded for three runs and four hits in the eighth inning after KU starter Darin Gorski had handcuffed the WCU attack for most of the day. Pare's blast over Point Stadium’s nearly 60-foot left field wall put the Golden Rams up 4-3. WCU added an insurance run as Bechter doubled to chase Gorski.
Kevin McGrath then singled off reliever Derick Reis to wrap up the day's scoring.
Kutztown took an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Michael Dugan helped the Golden Bears draw first blood with a leadoff triple in the third. Mark Renda's sacrifice fly to center brought Dugan home with the game's first run.
James Quigley and Corey Buletza sparked Kutztown in the fourth with back-to-back singles to open the frame. Matt Kulbacki advanced both runners 90 feet with a sacrifice before Jared Frey's groundout to shortstop plated Quigley for a 2-0 Golden Bear lead.
College
Local star has Ship off to good start
- College
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MAC honors Roberts
Forest Hills graduate and former Delweld MVP George Roberts was named Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Year in baseball on Tuesday.
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Sentence given, but Rutgers webcam saga not over
The legal saga is far from over for a former Rutgers University student sentenced to 30 days jail for using a webcam to spy on his roommate kissing another man. The cultural fallout could continue, too.
Dharun Ravi, 20, was sentenced Monday, two months after a jury convicted him of 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation and seven counts dealing with covering up a crime.
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Paterno's family to get $13.4 million pension
Joe Paterno earned a state pension of $13.4 million for his 61-year coaching career at Penn State.
Paterno's family said Tuesday through a spokesman that Paterno's widow, Sue, would receive an initial payment of $10.1 million by the end of May, with the rest to be paid out over the next two years.
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O’Brien keeps message fresh in selling Penn State
After three weeks of crisscrossing the Northeast to rally and re-assure the Nittany Lions faithful that all will be well in Happy Valley, Bill O’Brien still had fresh material when the Penn State coaching caravan reached its 18th and final stop.
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[VIDEO] Panthers eager to renew PSU rivalry
It didn’t take Steve Pederson long to realize how important a renewal of the Pitt-Penn State football rivalry is to local fans.
Even the invocation at the Johnstown Panther Club’s fifth annual spring event at Sunnehanna Country Club on Thursday night included a request for the teams to meet on the field again. -
Penn State coach stops in Altoona
Bill O’Brien has quickly put to rest any notion that he plans to stick around as long as the last Penn State football coach.
Don’t expect his tenure in Happy Valley to last 46 years. -
Shepherd takes WVIAC championship
Shepherd recorded a 10-5 victory over Alderson-Broaddus in the WVIAC baseball championship Sunday afternoon at Point Stadium, earning a spot in the NCAA tournament with the league’s automatic bid.
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Mount falls in title game
Mount Aloysius’ Cinderella run through the AMCC playoffs came to an end Saturday, as the No. 6 seed Mounties fell to top-seeded La Roche 14-4 in the AMCC Championship game.
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Shepherd advances to title game
Shepherd advanced to the WVIAC Championship by defeating West Virginia State on Saturday at Point Stadium.
The conference title game will be played at 1 p.m. today at the Point. -
Two UPJ players earn WVIAC first-team honors
Pitt-Johnstown sophomore catcher Kyle Morrow and sophomore second baseman Jake Warner were named first-team All-WVIAC baseball, while senior outfielder Drew Westover and sopohomore right-hander Derek Younker each earned a spot on the second-team.
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