Game 1
Game 2

SALEM, Va. - The Shippensburg University softball team extended its winning streak to five games on Saturday at Moyer Sports Complex by closing out the West Virginia Wesleyan Tournament with a 3-2 victory over West Virginia State and a 9-4 win over Alderson-Broaddus.

Senior Amanda Bardo cracked the second grand slam for the Lady Raiders in two days while freshman Courtney Steele hit home runs in consecutive at-bats against the Battlers as the Lady Raiders totaled four long-trippers in the game.

Shippensburg (13-11) trailed in both games on Saturday but rallied for the victories. Against West Virginia State, the Yellow Jackets opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning with a lazy single to center field that scored a runner from second base with two outs to give West Virginia State a 1-0 lead.

The Lady Raiders started a rally in the bottom of the inning after freshman Courtney Steele ripped a single through the left side and senior Sarah Stengl hit a screamer that flew into the air off the third-base bag for single. Sophomore Lisamarie Ramagli sent a line drive that nearly flew over the right-fielder's head but was caught, allowing pinch-runner Maggie Sander to advance to third.

After a fielder's choice moved Stengl to second base, the Lady Raiders plated three runs with two outs. Freshman Jill Mullan sent a hopper straight up the middle that ricocheted off second base and into the outfield to score Sander and Stengl and give Shippensburg a 2-1 lead. The lead was extended to 3-1 after a passed ball and a hit into the gap from senior Liz Good scored Mullan from second base.

The Yellow Jackets rallied in the seventh and brought the score to 3-2 after a double steal with runners on first and third with two outs, but the tying run was stranded in scoring position after junior Lori Knopf struck out Casey Jo Crawford to end the game. Knopf pitched another solid game for Shippensburg in the opener, scattering five hits while striking out five to earn her third victory of the season.

Steele was 2-for-2 with a walk in the opener, while Mullan was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Good's run-scoring single proved to be the game winner and was her eighth RBI of the season.

In Game 2, Alderson-Broaddus scored their first run in the opening frame without the benefit of a hit. After a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch moved the runner to third and a sacrifice fly to right field gave the Battlers a 1-0 lead. AB kept up the pressure with four straight singles to lead off the second inning that chased Shippensburg senior Jill Kirby.

Senior Dani Shields entered and immediately walked in a run to make the score 3-0, but settled down and induced a foul out and a weak flare to Steele at third in which she doubled up the runner to end the threat.

The Lady Raider bats caught up with Battler starter Kari Bockbrader for four consecutive singles of their own with one out in the bottom of the second. Stengl, Ramagli and junior Chelsea Carson all reached to load the bases, and Mullan legged out a hit to second base that scored Stengl and brought the score to 3-1. After Good fouled out to the catcher, Bardo delivered her grand slam to give Shippensburg a 5-3 lead. 

Shippensburg kept it up in the third inning with a solo home run from Steele to give the Lady Raiders a 6-3 lead. Stengl followed with a single and was replaced on the bases by Ramagli after a fielder's choice. Carson then hit a frozen rope off the fence in left-center field that put two runners in scoring position, and Mullan delivered an RBI-groundout that scored Ramagli to give Shippensburg a 7-3 lead.

The fourth inning featured the second home run of the game from Steele and a blast over the left-field fence from Knopf, giving the duo a combined nine home runs on the season through just 24 games. Steele finished the day 4-for-5 with the two home runs and is 10-for-13 with seven RBIs over the last two days.

After the Easter holiday, the Lady Raiders will open their home schedule with a doubleheader against Philadelphia University at Robb Field. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.