SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team rebounded from a lopsided five-inning loss in the opening game of its Saturday PSAC East doubleheader with West Chester by defeating the Golden Rams 8-1 in Game 2 to salvage a split on "Strike Out Breast Cancer" Day at Robb Field.
 
Shippensburg (26-10, 12-8 PSAC East) and West Chester (29-16, 16-8) entered the day ranked No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings and also atop the PSAC Eastern Division standings, with the Golden Rams remaining in first place after Saturday's games and now in the position to observe this week as the rest of the league plays catch-up with its schedule.
 
SU has two doubleheaders to make up – Tuesday vs. East Stroudsburg and Wednesday at Bloomsburg – before concluding its regular season with a Friday road doubleheader at Millersville and a Saturday home doubleheader versus Lock Haven. Bloomsburg, which shares second place currently with the Raiders, has five doubleheaders in six days beginning Monday.
 
Junior Jessie Trammell continued her torrid hitting with five hits on Saturday, wrapping up her weekend with a 9-for-13 performance at the plate and multiple hits in each of the last four games. In six games this week, Trammell improved her batting average by 85 points – carrying a .197 mark into Monday's doubleheader versus Kutztown and finishing Saturday's games batting .282. Her career-long hitting streak is now at nine games.
 
Sophomore Taylor Pattillo was 3-for-6 with a team-high three runs scored and launched a solo home run in Game 2 – her third round tripper of the season. Senior Hilary Lyons also went 3-for-6 and contributed RBIs in Game 2 on a groundout and a sacrifice fly. Her hitting streak is now at nine games.
 
Senior Emily Estep gutted through seven innings in Game 2 to earn her 16th victory of the year, which sets a new single-season career high for the SU pitcher (Estep won 15 games in 2011 and 2013). She allowed one run on eight hits, striking out seven. Her league-leading ERA remains at 0.96.
 
Saturday's doubleheader featured a little bit of everything, beginning in the second inning of Game 1 as the Raiders scored what proved to be their only run of the opener on a double steal. With junior pitcher Liz Parkins at the plate, Trammell took off for second on a delayed steal. West Chester catcher Erin Quense threw down to second, prompting Pattillo to take off from third base. Both runners proved to be safe, giving SU a 1-0 lead.
 
After Parkins retired the first nine batters she faced, the Golden Rams responded by sending 12 batters to the plate in the fourth inning and scoring eight runs against her and junior Makenzie Lynn. WCU added two more in the fifth, as freshman Casey Thompson ultimately finished up in the circle for Shippensburg.
 
The Raiders wasted no time getting on the board in Game 2 – scoring twice in the first inning, building a 6-1 lead after two and adding runs in the fourth and fifth innings. SU chased Golden Ram starter Micaela McSpadden in the second inning, just eight batters in, and scored runs off all three WCU pitchers that took the circle in the contest.
 
In the first inning, sophomore Briana Giovenco was hit by a pitch, then ruled out of the batter's box for a no-pitch, then hit again, before McSpadden booted a comebacker off the bat of Lyons. After a sacrifice by junior Maddie Justice (Justice is tied with Lyons with seven sacrifice bunts this season), Giovenco scored on a wild pitch and Lyons came home two batters later on a double hit onto the warning track in right-center field by junior Taylor Weisman.
 
Senior Kirstin McClune walked to lead off the second, chasing McSpadden. WCU brought in Kim Murl, who won the opener, but junior Tyler Thompson responded with a bunt-single. Giovenco sacrificed both runners into scoring position, and Lyons plated McClune with a groundout to second. SU would then add three runs with two outs, as Justice singled home Thompson, and Trammell delivered a two-run single that plated Pattillo (single) and Weisman (walk) and chased Murl.
 
Pattillo's home run came with one out in the fourth inning off WCU's third pitcher, Katie Erb. SU's final run came in the fifth as a foul out by Lyons scored Thompson, who stole second and third after originally reaching because of the third baseman dropping a soft liner hit her way.
 
Shippensburg totaled 15 hits in the doubleheader and has posted double-digit hit totals in eight of its 10 conference doubleheaders thus far – including seven-in-a-row.

The Raiders held a "Strike Out Breast Cancer" Day in which proceeds were raised for breast cancer research.