JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Senior designated hitter Nash Hutter (Sunland, CA/Verdugo Hills/Glendale CC) smacked a two-run, walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Shepherd University  to a 7-6 win over sixth-ranked Seton Hill  in WVIAC Baseball Tournament action at Point Stadium on Friday.  

 

Shepherd took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run single by Hutter.

 

The Griffins cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth when Cody Herald reach on an error and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jackson Boyd.

 

The Rams increased their lead to 3-1 in the fifth on an RBI-single from sophomore outfielder Aaron Scoville (Centreville, VA/Westfield) .

 

Shepherd added a run in the sixth when junior second baseman Chad Murphy (North Olmsted, OH/North Olmsted) singled and later scored on an error.

 

Murphy added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to plate sophomore outfielder Michael Lott (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) to give the Rams a 5-1 advantage.

 

Seton Hill scored a run in the seventh on an RBI-single by Mike Leviseur to cut the deficit to 5-2.

 

The Griffins rallied with four runs in the top of the ninth to take a 6-5 lead. Nate Sell singled to tie the game and Josh Logan followed with an RBI-double to give the Griffins the lead.

 

Lott led off the ninth with a bunt single and Scoville also reached base on a bunt. Senior first baseman Nathan Minnich (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro Area Sr.) was intentionally walked after a wild pitch moved the runners up. Murphy reached on a fielder’s choice and Hutter followed with a ground rule double to right center to give the Rams the victory.

 

Hutter went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, while Scoville was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Lott added a pair of hits.

 

Leviseur went 2-for-5  and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Griffins.

 

Shepherd pitcher Andrew Gallant (Oak Ridge, NJ/Jefferson Township) (2.0 IP, 1K 1 BB, 3 ER) picked up the win in relief of sophomore starter Paul Hvozdovic (Herndon, VA/Herndon) (7.0 IP, 5 Ks, 3 BB, 0 ER) to improve to 5-3. Clint White (6-2) took the loss for Seton Hill.

Shepherd improves to 28-20, while Seton Hill falls to 43-9. The Rams return to action on Saturday when they face West Virginia State at 9:30 a.m.

Notes: Hvozdovic set a pair of season records today. His 16 games started broke the old mark of 15 set by Matt McCarty in 2009. He also set a new record for innings pitched with 98.1, surpassing the previous record of 92.2 by Brian Renner in 2002.

Box Score