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KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Shippensburg University softball team took to the field for the first time in 13 days on Saturday from sunny and warm Oren Brown Park with games against three tough opponents – dropping close contests with Ashland and Concordia – St. Paul before rebounding with a win over Ferris State.

Freshman Maddie Justice played right field and first base on Saturday and went 4-for-10 with two RBIs in the three-game set. She now has at least one hit in eight of the team's nine games this season. Fellow freshman Taylor Weisman went 3-for-8 with two doubles while junior center fielder Kiersten Darhower had three hits, an RBI and three runs scored.

Shippensburg (4-6) had its pitchers combine to strike out 18 hitters in 21.1 innings.

On Sunday, the Raiders will face MSU-Moorhead at 11 a.m. and Tiffin at 3 p.m. from the Fortune Road complex in Florida.

Ashland 4, Shippensburg 1

Sophomore Emily Estep had a solid effort in recording her third complete game of the season, fanning 11 batters and allowing just three hits.  With the exception of the fifth inning, only one Golden Eagle batter reached base. She also threw 15 consecutive strikes during a stretch that began in the second inning and ended with the leadoff batter in the fourth inning.

With a runner on first base and two outs, Ashland drew three consecutive walks to take a 1-0 lead. Designated player Jerrica Young then stepped to the plate and crushed a three-run triple to center field that built the Golden Eagle advantage to four.

SU got a rally going in the bottom of the seventh, with Justice and Weisman hitting back-to-back doubles to put two runners in scoring position to start the frame.

Two batters later, freshman Jessie Trammell hit a cue shot in front of home plate that the pitcher threw over the head of the first baseman, allowing Justice to score. Ashland starter Emlyn Knerem then fanned the final two batters of the game to clinch her sixth victory of the season. Knerem totaled 10 strikeouts in the contest.

Darhower led off the game with a bunt single and reached second base after a sacrifice bunt by senior catcher Meg Lehman but was stranded after back-to-back flyouts.

Concordia – St. Paul 5, Shippensburg 4 (8 innings)

Shippensburg jumped on Concordia starter Katie Feuerbach in the first two innings to take the early lead. Despite leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, the Raiders got three runs in the top of the second inning to build an advantage. With one out and a runner on first base, senior Chelsea Kendall recorded her first collegiate hit with a clean single to left field. Darhower was then hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Sophomore Hilary Lyons came to the plate and sent the first pitch she saw through the right side to give SU a 1-0 lead. It was her first collegiate RBI. Justice then worked the count and laced a single up the middle to plate Darhower and Kendall. Weisman then singled to center field, but Lyons was thrown out at home plate after a great throw from Golden Bear center fielder Katie Anderson.

Concordia (15-6) got two runs in the third inning with a shot down the left-field line by Calli Brennan – who launched a 1-0 pitch with two outs that evaded the diving reach of freshman Emmie Burke and rolled all the way to the wall. The Golden Bears tied the game in the sixth inning with an RBI-single but stranded two runners on base thanks to the relief efforts of freshman Lizzy Parkins.

Kendall allowed three earned runs and six hits in five-plus innings, walking two and striking out four.

In the eighth, junior Jenna Allen entered the game as a pinch runner with the international tiebreaker rule in place. Allen went to third base on a wild pitch, and with one out, scored on a sacrifice fly by Estep.

In the decisive bottom of the eighth inning, Parkins struck out the cleanup hitter to lead off the inning but then allowed a double and a single that ended the game.

The Golden Bears got six no-hit innings of relief from Ashley Kluever, who improved to 7-2 overall by earning the win. Kluever threw 40 of her 69 pitches for strikes, fanning five of the 20 batters she faced.

Shippensburg 6, Ferris State 2

Lehman roped a three-run triple to cap off a decisive five-run sixth inning and freshman Makenzie Lynn recorded her improved her record to 2-0 with her second straight complete game effort. Lynn did not walk a batter and needed just 83 pitches to earn the victory. Freshman Tyler Thompson earned a start in left field and went 2-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases.

SU manufactured a run in the first inning to take the early lead. Darhower led off with a single to the pitcher and was bunted over to second base by Lehman. Justice then hit a ball into the hole that was cut off by the shortstop but went for an infield single. After taking a close pitch that ran the count full, Weisman launched a ball into the left-center field gap that plated Darhower and put the Raiders ahead.

Ferris State (6-8) got on the board in the second inning with a moon shot over the left-field fence by first baseman Chelsea Morris. The Bulldogs took the lead in the fourth on a bang-bang play. With two runners in scoring position and one out – Lynn induced a groundout to first base on which the FSU player raced toward the plate on the throw. Allen turned and attempted to throw the runner out at the plate but the runner slid in safely as the ball rolled away. Justice then caught a line drive in right field to end the threat.

The decisive sixth inning began with back-to-back walks drawn by Weisman and Lynn. Both runners were then advanced a base after a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Rachel Shumway that came after she did not square on the first two pitches of the at-bat.

Lyons then pinch hit for Estep and sent a 0-2 pitch into center field that plated Weisman.  Thompson blooped a single over third base to load the bases, but a fielder's choice in the next at-bat erased the lead runner.

Darhower came to the plate and sent a short roller toward the pitcher. However, the pitcher made her initial move toward home plate before throwing to first base, allowing Darhower to reach on an RBI-single. On the next pitch, Lehman crushed her three-run double to blow the game open. It was her first hit of the season.

Lynn scattered seven hits in her complete game, striking out two. Bulldog ace Dana Bowler allowed six earned runs in a complete-game effort, walking four while striking out five.