Game 1
Game 2

SALEM, Va. – Shippensburg softball senior Dani Shields pitched 5.1 innings Friday night at Moyer Sports Complex and won her 50^th career game as the Lady Raiders defeated the Hilltoppers of West Liberty State 13-6. Shields became just the third pitcher in school history to win 50 games at Shippensburg.

In the sixth inning of Game 1, freshman Courtney Steele untied a 6-6 contest by parking a grand slam over the fence in left field to give the Lady Raiders a 10-6 victory over Glenville State in the opener.

Overall it was a frenetic offensive day, as Shippensburg plated 23 runs in the doubleheader and won both games despite allowing 12 runs and committing nine errors. In the team's four games in Salem, the Lady Raiders have totaled 37 runs and 52 hits and have also smacked five home runs.

After the dust settled, Steele finished the twin bill 6-for-8 with her third home run of the year to go along with two doubles and five RBIs, while junior Lori Knopf continued her electric hitting by going 5-for-8 with four RBIs, four runs and her third home run of the season. Freshman Hope Cornell totaled four hits and four RBIs over the two games as well.

Steele's grand slam proved to be the difference in Game 1 but the Lady Raiders still had to survive a seventh-inning rally from Glenville State, who sent the tying run to the plate after loading the bases with no outs. After a fielder's choice got the first out at home, senior Jill Kirby induced another out at the plate and the Lady Raiders doubled up the runner at third base to end the game.

Every Shippensburg starter had at least one hit against the Pioneers, and the lineup was highlighted by the 4 RBIs from Steele and a 3-for-4 performance from Knopf, who has gone 10-for-14 over the last two days with two home runs and nine RBIs.

Glenville State responded to a two-run single from Knopf in the bottom of the first by playing three runs on back-to-back singles. The Lady Raiders never stopped hitting, however, scoring runs in five of the seven innings and re-taking the lead with two more in the top of the second on RBIs from senior Amanda Bardo and Cornell. 

A sacrifice fly from Bardo in the fourth and an RBI-single from junior Rachelle Wedell gave Shippensburg a 6-3 lead entering the bottom of the fifth, but the Pioneers scored three unearned runs after Shippensburg committed four errors in the bottom of the frame. The Lady Raiders finished the game committing seven errors. Steele's home run came one inning later in response.

In the nightcap against West Liberty State, the Lady Raiders plated at least one run in the first two innings and finished the doubleheader having scored a run in 10 of their 14 innings at the plate. 

Steele continued her strong day at the plate with a two-out, opposite-field RBI-single to right-center that scored Cornell, who drew a nine-pitch walk with two outs to start the rally in the top of the first. The second inning featured a wild pitch and a passed ball that moved Wedell and senior Liz Good into scoring position. Bardo brought in Wedell on a ground-out, while Cornell hit another RBI-single to plate Good.

In the fifth, Shippensburg broke the game open after a walk from Knopf and a screamer from Steele that resulted in a throwing error and two runners in scoring position with no outs. Sophomore Lisamarie Ramagli sent a seeing-eye single up the middle for two RBIs and give Shippensburg a 5-1 lead.

Senior Jill Kirby entered as a pinch-runner and appeared to score on a single up the middle from Wedell, but the bang-bang play at the plate was ruled an out despite a textbook slide in which it looked that Kirby snuck her foot on the plate before the tag.

Undaunted, the Lady Raiders continued the scoring after junior Chelsea Carson reached on an error. Good brought home Wedell with an RBI-single through the left side, and Cornell continued her torrid pace with a two-run single through the middle with the bases loaded that brought the lead to 8-1 in favor of Shippensburg.

Three more runs came in the sixth after a two-run home run from Ramagli and a run from senior Sarah Stengl off a wild pitch. Ramagli finished Game 2 with two hits and four RBIs.

In the top of the seventh, Knopf answered a late five-run burst from the Hilltoppers by destroying a pitch over the center-field fence for a two-run homer that capped the scoring. Shields struggled in the bottom of the sixth and finished the game allowing five earned runs but striking out two to earn the milestone victory.

For her career, Shields ranks third in school history for wins and trails Andrea Smith '97-99, who finished with 76, and Kelley Tiesi '03-06, who totaled a school –record 99 victories in four seasons. This season, she is 6-2 with a 2.10 earned-run average and has pitched a team-high 46.2 innings.

Shippensburg will close out its involvement at the Salem Tournament tomorrow by taking on West Virginia State at 9 a.m. before finishing off the day with a 3 p.m. contest with Alderson-Broaddus.