Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

SALEM, Va. – On the strength of a 21-hit afternoon, the Shippensburg University softball team won a pair of games Friday at the annual West Virginia Wesleyan Tournament – defeating Massachusetts Lowell 6-3 and Fairmont State 5-1 in neutral-site competition at the Moyer Sports Complex.

Nine Raiders had at least one hit on Friday. Junior Kirstin McClune had a career day at the plate, going 5-for-7 with two home runs, a double and four RBIs. In 68 career at-bats entering Friday, McClune did not have a home run – but SU's catcher went 3-for-3 in the opener with a pair of round trippers.

Sophomore Taylor Weisman went 4-for-7 with two doubles and two RBIs, while sophomore Maddie Justice also finished the day with two RBIs.

Junior Emily Estep earned a complete-game victory in the second game and recorded a save in the opening victory over the Riverhawks. Sophomore Liz Parkins got the win from the circle in the opener but was forced to come out of the game in the sixth inning after a 20-minute debate between umpires, coaches and a crew chief determined that a SU coaching visit was in fact the second of the inning and not its first.

The Raiders will play three games on Saturday – facing West Liberty at 1 p.m., Seton Hill at 3 p.m. and Edinboro at 5 p.m.

Game 1: SHIP 6, MASS LOWELL 3

SU scored runs in five of the six innings it came to the plate against Massachusetts Lowell, winning the rematch of the Feb. 24 season opener in which it defeated the Riverhawks 1-0 down in Catawba. Parkins ripped a two-out single up the middle in the second inning that plated junior Rachel Shumway and opened the scoring.

In the third, sophomore Tyler Thompson led off with a single, stole second base and then scored on a one-out single through the left side by Weisman. McClune's first home run came in the fourth on a 2-2 pitch – she sent a scorching line drive to straightaway center that caused the center fielder to topple over the temporary fencing in the process.

After a two-run rally in the top of the fifth inning by Massachusetts Lowell, SU responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame. With one out in the fifth inning, sophomore Jessie Trammell crushed a 2-2 pitch well over the center-field fence. Weisman followed with a ground-rule double that hopped over the fence in right field, and Justice slammed a single to center field to score Weisman and make the score 5-2.

Massachusetts Lowell (3-8) loaded the bases with one out in the sixth inning on a walk, an error on a fielder's choice and a bloop single. After the long debate regarding the coaches visits resulted in a required pitching change, Estep entered and induced an RBI-groundout and then struck out the next batter to quash the Riverhawk threat.

McClune then homered to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning – again on a 2-2 pitch, to bookend her 3-for-3 effort at the plate in Game 1. The Raiders had 11 hits total in the game – with Trammell and Weisman each providing two. Estep retired all five batters she faced to record her first save of the season and the fourth of her career.

Parkins improved her record to 3-0 this season – already matching her win total from last year – by allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

Game 2: SHIP 5, FAIRMONT STATE 1

SU kept its momentum going from its first game of the day by plating a run in the top of the first inning. Senior Kiersten Darhower managed an infield hit on the first play of the game, stole second base and scored on a two-out RBI double by Weisman after the first baseman dropped what could have been the final out of the inning on a foul popup.

In the third, Thompson led off with a bunt single, stole second, and eventually scored with two outs on a hard-hit single by Justice that ricocheted off the Falcon third baseman.

The Raiders scored three more runs in the fifth – all with two outs. Estep, who batted for herself as the starting pitcher against Fairmont State, hit the first pitch into the left-center field gap to score Justice. With two runners in scoring position, McClune launched a two-run double to left field that was just short of being her third home run of the day.

Estep, who breezed through the first four innings, ran into some trouble in the fifth inning when the Falcons loaded the bases with one out on a pair of singles and a walk. Courtney Iacobacci, the Falcons' center fielder, sent a single up the middle to plate one run and keep the bases loaded, but Estep responded with a foul out and a fielder's choice to get out of the jam.

She finished the game allowing just the lone run on five hits while striking out seven in her fifth complete-game effort of the season.