The Shippensburg University softball team traveled to North Carolina for a weekend tournament to open its season, finishing with a record of 4–1.

SU’s opponents were the University of North Carolina (UNC) Pembroke, Winston-Salem State University and West Virginia State University.

The team played two games on Friday, beating UNC-Pembroke (7–3) and Winston-Salem State (10–0). The game against Winston-Salem was ended in the fifth inning when SU increased its lead.

One of the standouts of the day was freshman Emily Zaring who hit a home run in her first collegiate at-bat. She ended the first day of the season going 5-for-6 with six RBIs.

On Saturday, the team took on West Virginia State and Winston-Salem State.

Once again, the Raiders showed off their offensive power, winning the games by scores of 5–0 and 10–2, respectively. There were several players with multiple hits on the day.

After going 4-for-7 with two steals on Friday, junior Chloe Collins had a great second day, going 5-for-8 with two more steals and four RBIs. She also pitched her first career complete-game shutout on the mound.

Zaring also had a strong follow-up to her debut, earning three more RBIs to give her nine through four games.

The Raiders were behind in their second game against Winstom-Salem going into the fifth inning, but an offensive explosion put them in the lead.

The team scored nine runs in three innings to go from down 2–1 to up 10–2, which was the final score.

After stealing eight bases the previous day, the Raiders added seven more to their total Saturday. They had 33 in all of last season.

Junior Macy Luck had a decent day with two hits, one RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases.

SU wrapped up its weekend against UNC-Pembroke on Sunday, but dropped the game by a score of 6–1. It was the Raiders’ first loss of the season.

UNC-Pembroke’s pitcher, Abbey Walters, threw a complete game with four strikeouts, only allowing one run. She also contributed on offense with a three-run home run in the third inning, which was more than enough for UNC-Pembroke.

The Raiders’ offense was unable to get momentum for the first time over the weekend. They racked up six hits against Walters, which was more than she had given up in her previous two games combined, but they were unable to bring those players in to score.

Collins and Tara Bicko were named to the All-Tournament Team. Collins went 2-1 on the mound while also batting .556 with six RBIs. Bicko hit .333 with two RBIs. The team will travel to Myrtle Beach in two weeks.

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