Shippensburg's best opportunities resulted in minimal gains, but at least the Greyhounds had Andrew Koser in their corner.
Koser worked seven sterling innings Monday afternoon in Middletown, limiting the host Blue Raiders to four hits and striking out six as Shippensburg banked a 3-0 Mid-Penn crossover win. Koser only gifted two walks, an important total considering Shippensburg's offense left a robust 11 men on base.
No matter.
Battery mate Brady Barnhart opened the scrum with a single to left and later scored on Koser's fielder's choice. The Hounds bounced two more runs across in the second, via RBI singles by Levi Varner and Barnhart.
The latter would eventually leave the game in the fourth with a shoulder injury.
Despite solid work by Middletown starter Nick Drawbaugh and short-reliever Cody Fox down the stretch, Koser had more than enough to lean Shippensburg to its fourth win in six tries.
Justin Pyne went 3-for-4 against Drawbaugh, who gave way to Fox in the seventh. The Hounds stranded eight runners in scoring position.
Zach Sims (2-for-3) paced the Raiders, who managed to sack the bases in the last of the seventh before Koser induced a two-out grounder by Fox.
Drawbaugh struck out seven in the loss, Middletown's third of the season.
Epler on Twitter: @threejacker