Cam Donaldson's RBI double in the fifth inning gave Pitt-Johnstown a 2-1 lead, but Shippensburg used a three-run sixth inning, then added four more in the eighth to pull away for an 8-2 victory in the Mountain Cats' and Head Coach George Robert's debut, Thursday afternoon in Shippensburg.
 
Roberts replaced long-time Pitt-Johnstown coach Todd Williams, who retired following the 2024 season
 
The Mountain Cats erased an early one-run deficit with single runs of their own in both the fourth and fifth innings.  Alex Ebeling scored from third on a wild pitch to tie it, and Donaldson drove home Erik Rhodes in the fifth to give Pitt-Johnstown a 2-1 advantage.
 
Shippensburg answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by Kyle Ausgotharp's two-out, two run triple off of Mountain Cat reliever Aiden Coleman, to regain the lead, 4-2.
 
The Red Raiders added four more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, and Jack Robinson tossed a perfect ninth to lockup the 8-2 win.
 
Along with Donaldson, Justin Turcovski and Rhodes each doubled for the Mountain Cats.
 
Jared Dowey got the start for Pitt-Johnstown and limited the Red Raiders to just one run on three hits over the first three innings.  Coleman suffered the loss after surrendering three runs on four hits in 2.2 innings in relief.
 
With the win, Shippensburg evened its record at 2-2.
 
Pitt-Johnstown travels to Charleston, W.Va. to play a three-game non-conference series against Wheeling (WV) on Feb. 22 and 23, then to Canton, Ohio to play doubleheaders against West Liberty (WV) on March 1 and Malone (OH) on March 2.