The Shippensburg University softball team received solid performances from the circle from Emily Estep and Makenzie Lynn on Friday afternoon in a doubleheader split with Millersville University from Robb Field. The Raiders lost 3-2 in the opener before winning 3-1 in the nightcap.
With one out in the sixth inning of the Raiders’ Game 2 triumph, shortstop Taylor Weisman followed up a triple from sophomore left fielder Hilary Lyons with an eventual game-winning two-run home run over the left field fence.
The blast gave Lynn her fourth victory of the season, as the right-hander gave up four hits and no earned runs in a five-strikeout complete game effort. The five strikeouts are tied for the most she has thrown in a game this season.
Estep, meanwhile, had a no-hitter entering the seventh inning of Game 1 before giving up four hits and two earned runs in the final frame. She recorded 12 strikeouts, her most since fanning 13 at Catawba on Feb. 25.
Weisman went 3-for-6 on the day with a home run, a double, two runs and two RBIs. Center fielder Tyler Thompson went 2-for-3 in Game 1 and flashed her speed along the base paths in the fifth inning with an RBI-triple down the right field line before scoring on a throwing error from the right fielder.
In Game 1 MU generated the first run of the game in the top of the third inning after capitalizing on a walk and two SU fielding errors.
The Marauders threatened to add more two innings later, but Estep made her way out of a bases-loaded jam. The right-hander walked the second batter of the inning, the next batter reached on an SU fielding error and Estep hit the next batter to load the bases with one out. That would be as close as Millersville would get to scoring, however, as Estep struck out the next two batters swinging to end the scare.
In the bottom of the fifth, right fielder Kiersten Darhower reached first on an MU throwing error, advanced to second on a wild pitch and made her way to third on an Estep groundout. That set the stage for Thompson, who ripped the first pitch she saw down the right field line to plate Darhower and eventually herself for a 2-1 SU lead.
Estep gave up her first hit of the game with the first pitch she threw in the top of the seventh inning, as MU’s Taylor Odell-Smith hit a solo home run to left center field. Estep gave up three more singles in the inning as the Marauders added one more run for a 3-2 victory.
In Game 2, the Raiders jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Weisman doubled to center field with two outs before first baseman Maddie Justice drove her home with an RBI-double to left field.
The Marauders used a hit, an SU throwing error and a wild pitch in the fourth inning to knot the game at 1. However, with the bases loaded and one out, Lynn forced a pop-up and a fly out to end the MU rally and escape the jam.
The Raiders mustered one hit in the bottom of both the fourth and fifth inning before finally breaking through to score in the sixth. With the second pitch of her leadoff at-bat, Lyons stroked the ball to right field and cruised into third base with a stand-up triple. After an SU groundout, Weisman sent a 1-1 pitch out of the park for a 3-2 lead.
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