Marsteller sets another record, softball season ends

The Shippensburg University softball team finished its regular season with back-to-back doubleheader losses against rival West Chester University.

No one wanted to be a pitcher in the first series Friday as wind gusts reached over 50 mph and temperatures dropped as the day dragged on. The teams combined for 58 hits, 52 runs and 88 total bases.

The Golden Rams scored 13 runs in the first two innings of Game 1. Shippensburg tried to battle back and scored seven runs in the top of the fifth inning. A three-run homer from WCU in the bottom half of the frame ended the game due to the mercy rule.

In Game 2, SU had a 4-0 edge after two innings. WCU responded by scoring 10 runs in the next four innings.

Trailing 10-7 in its final at-bat, SU rallied for six runs and took a 13-7 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

The Golden Rams then hit a double, single, double and triple to even the score. WCU walked it off in the bottom of the eighth off an unearned run.

All nine Raider starters got a hit Friday including four apiece for sophomore Hannah Marsteller and junior Courtney Coy. Coy hit two homers and plated five runs.

Marsteller broke the SU single-season record for RBIs with 59 in just 38 games. She broke the record of 58 set by SU Athletics Hall of Famer Jamie-Lyn Dacey in 2005.

The bats did not cool off for West Chester in Game 1 Saturday, as they won in five innings by a score of 12-1.

Game 2 saw Ship flip an 8-7 deficit into a 12-8 lead, using a five-run sixth inning.

However, for the second day in a row, WCU tied the game in its final at-bat, winning in the eighth inning by a score of 13-12.

Marsteller and Coy starred again, both knocking three hits and Coy hitting her 10th home run of the season. Marsteller extended her RBI record to 64 with five on the day.

Marsteller finished the season leading the PSAC in batting average, hits, RBIs and slugging percentage.

Overall, the two rivals combined for 90 runs, 105 hits, 156 total bases and 18 errors in the four-game series.

As a result of the losses, SU (22-16, 16-16 PSAC) finishes the regular season one spot shy of qualifying for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division tournament.