Shippensburg University’s softball team ended a solid week with a pair of victories at home, followed by split double-headers at Shepherd, Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg universities.
The first pair of games began at Robb Field as the Raiders hosted Pace University. Morgan Lindsay continued her excellent season with another clutch home run in the sixth inning to give the Raiders a 4-3 advantage. Junior Alicia Ball pitched a complete game with three earned runs. Shippensburg won the first game 4-3.
Game 2 of last weekend’s doubleheader featured an impressive come-from-behind victory. The Raiders trailed by three runs in the fourth until back-to-back hit batters put Shippensburg on the board. Sophomore Emily Sullivan reached on a throwing error that tied the game at 3-3. Freshman Brie Wilmont won the game with a walk-off single in the seventh.
After the victories, Alyson Van Scyoc said, “It’s really exciting to see that they haven’t really hit the panic button. They stay positive and they keep asking good questions through the process, and so far, it has been beneficial.”
The second doubleheader of the week was a PSAC matchup against Shepherd University on Tuesday. The Raiders lost 3-2 in the first game with a walk-off home run to graduate student Alex Mantz. Shippensburg avenged the loss in the second game with 14 runs, with Morgan Lindsay collecting four RBIs, including a three-run shot in the first. The Raiders had a five-run first and a six-run third in the matchup en route to the 14-5 win.
The third round of doubleheaders of the week took place at Bloomsburg on Friday. Game 1 featured a dominant pitching performance by Alicia Ball, narrowly completing the shutout. Lindsay started the scoring with her sixth home run of the season as Shepherd’s ace pitcher, Callie Sowers, suffered an unusual loss, allowing six earned runs off 11 hits. Shippensburg dominated with a 6-1 victory.
Game 2 of Friday’s doubleheader was the opposite. Shippensburg fell 9-1 and experienced pitching issues.
The final doubleheader of the week took place on the road against 13th-ranked East Stroudsburg on Sunday, following postponement on Friday due to inclement weather. Shippensburg took the lead thanks to a go-ahead solo home run by Brie Willmont in the top of the eighth. Alicia Ball was outstanding as she gave up zero earned runs in her complete game. Shippensburg completed the upset with a thrilling 3-2 victory.
Game 2 was going smoothly for the Raiders as they maintained a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning. That all changed when East Stroudsburg tied the game at 5 after a sacrifice fly by sophomore Samantha Derickson. Senior Denva Shaw-Tate walked it off for the Warriors in the bottom of the seventh with a single to cap off the weekend.
Shippensburg went 3-3 on the road trip, bringing its season record to 14-6. Softball will return home for a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader against Lock Haven University.
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