BUTLER, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team was eliminated from the 2016 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Baseball Championships on Monday afternoon, as the Raiders dropped a 4-3 decision to Gannon, the Western Division No. 3 seed, in an elimination game at Kelly Automotive Park.
 
Shippensburg (25-27) and Gannon (31-16) were tied 3-3 in the eighth inning, but the Golden Knights scratched across an unearned run on a sacrifice fly that proved to be the difference. It was the first meeting between the two teams since a four-game series at Fairchild Field on Mar. 10-11, 2012.
 
SU first got on the board in the fourth inning, as junior Ryan McMillen knocked a sacrifice fly to center field. The run plated sophomore Nick Spangler, who led off the fourth with a double.
 
Trailing 2-1 entering the top of the fifth, junior catcher Jake Kennedy and freshman first baseman Cash Gladfelter hit back-to-back home runs to give the Raiders the lead. It was Kennedy's second homer of the season and the fourth for Gladfelter. Gannon tied the game in the bottom half of the fifth, however, scoring a run with two outs on an error.
 
Sophomore Andy Crum made his seventh collegiate start on Monday and delivered his second career quality start: 6.2 innings, seven hits, three runs (two earned), no walks and three strikeouts. Crum totaled a .233 batting average against this season (best among SU pitchers with 10+ innings pitched), allowing just 10 extra-base hits in 41 innings.
 
Seniors Rich Michaud and Thomas Swartz got the final four outs for the Raiders. Michaud made his first pitching appearance since April 16, ultimately suffering the loss in allowing an unearned run on two hits. Swartz got three outs in nine pitches – marking a stretch of three earned runs in his final 14 collegiate innings (1.93 ERA) over nine appearances.
 
Senior shortstop Mike Marcinko reached base four times in five plate appearances, going 2-for-3 with a double and two walks. Marcinko finishes with 214 career hits as a Raider, batting .339 in 188 career games, with 148 runs and 87 RBIs. His 62 stolen bases rank among the Top 8 all-time in school history.
 
Shippensburg reached the conference tournament for the second consecutive year and the seventh time in 10 years under head coach Matt Jones. It is the fifth straight season that SU has posted 25 or more victories.
 
With the Raiders not expected to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, Monday's loss marks the final collegiate contest for SU's seniors: Marcinko, Swartz, Michaud, Kyle McClintock, Seth LeFever, Austin Allison and Marcus Shippey.