Shepherd College Athletics

Charlie Drummond tied the Shepherd single season home run mark with his 17th homer in the nightcap.

RAMS SWEEP UPJ

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV --Shepherd University swept the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown in baseball action at Fairfax Field on Thursday afternoon. The Rams took a 7-6 victory in eight innings in the opener and gained the sweep with an 11-9 triumph in the nightcap.

Steve Kozak (Harpers Ferry, WV/Jefferson HS) belted a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in game one to lift the Rams to the 7-6 win. Kozak went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Joe Cook (Leesburg, VA/Loudoun County HS) was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Norris Roy (Gambrills, MD/Arundel HS/Hagerstown CC) and Shane Wines (Front Royal, VA/Warren County HS) each added a pair of hits.

Brandon Ickes and Adam Plummer each had two hits for the Mountain Cats.

Tony Magnanelli (Frederick, MD/ Frederick HS) (4 Ks, 0 BB) worked the final four innings in relief of starter Brad McCullough (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock HS) (7 Ks, 1 BB) to gain his second win of the year. Justin Ronan (6 Ks, 1 BB) suffered the loss for UPJ.

Joe Cook went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored to lead the Rams in the nightcap. He also blasted a pair of home runs, including a solo blast in the sixth to give the Rams an insurance run heading into the seventh. Charlie Drummond (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg HS) was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and scored a pair of runs. Wines was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs, while Jimmy Jackson (Millersville, MD/Old Mill HS) drove in a pair of runs. Josh Delawder (Paw Paw, WV/Paw Paw HS/Potomac State) went 3-for-4 and scored twice, while Tavis Laws (Stephens City, VA/Sherando/Eastern Mennonite) added a pair of hits.

Brandon Ickes went 3-for-4, drove in four runs, and scored two for the Mountain Cats. Anthony Yarkowski added a pair of hits and Brent Matish scored a pair of runs.

Ram starter Steve Kozak (0 Ks, 1 BB) picked up his second win of the year, while UPJ starter Reggie Weaver (1K, 1 BB) dropped to 5-2 on the year with the loss. Drummond (2 Ks, 0 BB) worked the final 1 2/3 innings to notch his seventh save of the season.

Shepherd improves to 20-17, while Pitt-Johnstown falls to 31-14. The Rams will host Salem International on Saturday at Fairfax Field at 1:00 p.m. in WVIAC Preliminary Round action.

NOTES: Drummond belted a three-run homer in the third inning of the nightcap for his 17th round-tripper of the year. Drummond ties the single season mark set by Mike Spry in 2002.

Pitt-Johnstown 102 111 00 6 10 1

Shepherd 302 010 01 7 12 0

McCullough, Magnanelli (5) and Drummond; Ronan and Pentz.

HR: UPJ - Matich (1st, solo) SU- Cook (1st, two on), Kozak (8th, solo)

WP: Magnanelli (2-3)

LP: Ronan (5-5)

Pitt-Johnstown 003 024 0 9 10 2

Shepherd 003 251 X 11 13 2

Kozak, Bowie (6), Kirkpatrick (6), Drummond (6) and Drummond, Serrano (7); Weaver, Chruscial (5) and Arcurio.

HR: UPJ - Ickes (3rd, two on), Baxter (5th, one on) SU- Cook 2 (5th, one on; 6th, solo), Drummond (3rd, two on)

WP: Kozak (2-2)

LP: Weaver (5-2)