Shepherd’s three-game stance in the Atlantic Region baseball tournament had much the same results and appearance as the Rams’ regular season.

Ryan Pansch won his 10th game without a loss in a tournament-opening in a 10-3 win over PSAC tournament champion Seton Hill. And then the Rams and their pitching staff had trouble getting outs.

Pansch worked seven innings in reaching double figures in wins. He effectively spaced eight hits and allowed all three runs the Griffins managed.

Seton Hill had a 2-0 lead when a triple by Trenton Burgreen drove in two runs and knotted it at 2-2. A seven-run seventh inning lifted the Rams into a 10-2 lead. Jacob Carney, who had eight hits in Shepherd’s three-game stand, had a two-run single in the seven-run uprising and JJ Sarty contributed a two-run double.

Carney went 3-for-5 while Burgreen and Ron Farley each had two hits.

Next for the Rams was West Chester, a winner over Winston-Salem State in the first round.

John Bentley was Shepherd’s starting pitcher and he suffered the loss as the Golden Rams tripped Shepherd, 11-4.

Carney had three more hits and Chase Hoffman hit a late-game, three-run homer.

Bentley lasted five innings, allowing six hits, two earned runs, striking out eight and walking two. Ryan Potts, who won three games in the Mountain East Conference tournament where Shepherd had won the championship, pitched two innings but was mostly ineffective, allowing five hits and three earned runs. Colin Benner finished for the Rams, yielding three runs – two earned – and three hits.

In its first game in the loser’s bracket, Shepherd fell to Shippensburg, 10-5, and was eliminated.

With A.J. Stead as its starting pitcher, the Rams took a 2-0 lead in the third. But the Red Raiders, who had beaten Shepherd twice in three games in the regular season, scored the game’s next 10 runs to take a comfortable lead.

The Red Raiders scored five times in the third, two more runs in the fourth and another three runs in the fifth.

Stead lasted three innings, allowing seven hits and five earned runs. Wes Whitlock couldn’t fool the Red Raiders in his one inning where he allowed four earned runs and three hits with a walk and hit batsman. Dan Galati received similar treatment from the Shippensburg hitters, going one inning and allowing an earned run on two hits. Only Brandon Hovel had any success, going three innings without allowing any runs.

Farley and Burgreen each had three hits for the Rams, who completed their season with a 33-24 overall record. Sarty and Carney each had two hits and Daniel Heleine, who struck out eight times in the three games, had a home run.

West Chester faced Winston-Salem State needing only one win to take the championship. The Rams had to beat the Golden Rams twice in order to win the championship out of the loser’s bracket. Winston-Salem State had won four games just to get to the title round.