Game 1
Game 2

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg University softball team was unable to move into a tie for second place in the PSAC Eastern Division on Saturday afternoon at Jan Hutchinson Field, dropping a pair of games to second-place Bloomsburg by scores of 2-0 and 8-2.

The No. 19-ranked Huskies (38-7, 13-5 PSAC East) rode the strong pitching of Ashley Lynn and Tara Reed to victory, as the duo held the Lady Raiders to just two runs and eight hits on the afternoon.

Bloomsburg solidified its standing in the division and moved four games ahead of Shippensburg (26-20, 9-9 PSAC East), who narrowly remained in third place by one game after Kutztown's sweep of fourth-place East Stroudsburg.

The opener was a tried-and-true pitcher's duel, as senior Dani Shields matched up with Lynn and combined to allow just six hits while striking out 12. Shields scattered four hits and struck out seven, while Lynn allowed just two hits and struck out five.

The only two runs in the game were plated in the bottom of the third inning with two outs. Shields issued her only walk of the game to Danielle Lazorka, and Lacy Mauro followed with a single. Clean-up batter Lori Neyhard then came to the plate and sent a single into left field that scored Lazorka, and an error from senior Liz Good allowed Mauro to also cross the plate.

Shippensburg was only able to muster two singles in the opener, but they came consecutively to lead off the top of the third inning. Senior Amanda Bardo singled and then Good followed with another hit to put runners on first and second with none out, but a strikeout and two ground outs kept the Lady Raiders off the scoreboard.

In Game 2, Shippensburg was trailing 2-0 entering the top of the sixth, but a lead-off single from senior Sarah Stengl was followed by a two-run home run from freshman Hope Cornell, her team-leading seventh of the season, that tied the score at 2-2.

Unfortunately for the Lady Raiders, junior Lori Knopf was touched up for six runs in the bottom of the frame that gave the Huskies the victory. After retiring the leadoff batter, Knopf was unable to record another out, as six consecutive batters reached base.

Shippensburg enters the final week of the season with doubleheaders against West Chester, Kutztown and Mansfield. The Lady Raiders will travel to West Chester on Tuesday to face the Golden Rams with first pitch scheduled for 2:30 p.m.