The Shippensburg University softball team opened its season this weekend with a bus ride to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The team exploded offensively and was able to pick up three wins in the Snowbird Softball Freeze Out tournament.

Friday featured three games; one against Merrimack University, one against Wilmington University of Delaware and one against Mercy College.

The Raiders started out the season on the wrong end of an 8-7 contest against Merrimack University. The Raiders fell behind early, trailing by seven runs heading into the fifth inning. In the fifth, Maddie Schafer, Chloe Collins and Anna Warfield all doubled consecutively.

Eryn Caragein then hit a triple to do even more damage for the Raiders in the sixth. Tara Bicko doubled following a walk to record SU’s fifth extra-base hit of the inning and push across two more runs. The Raiders’ offense scored seven runs to tie the game headed into the sixth inning.

Both teams would be held scoreless in the sixth inning before Merrimack University took the lead for good with a solo home run. The Raiders were unable to match Merrimack and dropped the match-up with a close final score of 8-7.

In Game 2 on Friday, the Raiders faced off against Wilmington University of Delaware. The Raiders’ offense got off to an electric start, picking up six runs in the first frame. Senior Briana Giovenco, whose two-run home run was the first of the season, put the Raiders in a good position early. Caragein continued the offensive production with a two-run triple in the first inning.

Wilmington University of Delaware would cut into the Raiders’ lead, knocking it down to just one with a five-run third inning. The Raiders led 6-5 and continued to showcase their offense.

After Wilmington battled back, the Raiders answered with a run in the fourth inning, two in the fifth inning and two in the sixth inning to put away the Wildcats for good.

The Raiders recorded 15 hits in the game with Bicko, Giovenco, Taylor Pattillo, Schafer, Collins, Warfield and Caragein each having two hits in the victory. Freshman Julia Tosti entered the game as a relief pitcher and allowed just two hits in 4.1 innings, picking up the first win of the season for the Raiders 11-5.

SU continued into the second game Friday and picked up another win against Mercy College. Tosti threw three scoreless innings in the game. The Raiders’ bats pushed across a run in the second, but in the third inning SU scored five runs behind a Schafer triple. The Raiders added three in the sixth to finish off the game. Freshmen Taryn Wilson and Casey Thompson finished out the mound duties in the 9-1 SU victory.

The Raiders’ Pattillo finished Friday with four hits and five runs scored, while sophomore outfielder Caragein had four hits, including a double and two triples.

The Raiders also saw Collins pick up four hits, Bicko pick up six hits, and Giovenco pick up the first home run in the season for the team and three other hits. Tosti picked up the win against Wilmington and threw 7.1 scoreless innings Friday.

Saturday featured two games for the Raiders, including match-ups with West Liberty University and New Haven University. The Raiders were victorious in the first game against West Liberty, but fell to New Haven.

The Raiders got off to an early start behind West Liberty’s fielding errors and stole three bases, which led to two runs in the first inning. In the second inning, the Raiders scored three times off of an RBI triple by Emily Gigliotti and an RBI double by Giovenco. The Raiders led 5-3 after two innings.

Giovenco would widen the lead in the fourth with a two-run single. The Raiders led 7-3 headed into the fifth. Gigliotti would then push across two more with an RBI single of her own. The Raiders held off West Liberty behind a pitching performance from Wilson. Wilson threw five innings to earn her first career victory. Tosti threw the final two innings and retired all six batters to earn her first career save.

The Raiders’ final game on Saturday was against New Haven University, where the Raiders fell 5-2. SU was unable to score in the first four innings and New Haven took an early 2-0 lead, scoring a run in the second and third innings.

Giovenco picked up her second home run of the season in the fifth inning, tying the game at two, but the Raiders were held in check the rest of the way. New Haven tallied three runs in the top of the seventh to knock SU to 3-2 on the season.

The Raiders’ final game of the Snowbird Freeze Out came on Sunday with a 10 a.m. start against Le Moyne. The Raiders were able to take an early lead but could only muster one run in the game. Le Moyne got a complete game out of starting pitcher Toni Secreti, who only allowed five hits. The Raiders dropped the contest 4-1 and the loss brought their record to 3-3.

SU softball was scheduled to be back in action Saturday with a three-game weekend series against Virginia State University, but the games have been canceled and will not be made up. The Raiders will enjoy a weekend off before continuing their season with a tournament over the upcoming spring break.

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