SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – In a Sunday matchup of the two teams picked atop the PSAC Eastern Division Preseason Coaches Poll, the Shippensburg University softball team began its conference schedule by splitting a briskly-paced doubleheader with visiting Bloomsburg on a cold but sunny afternoon at Robb Field.
 
Shippensburg (6-3, 1-1 PSAC East) lost the opener to Bloomsburg (6-6, 1-1), 5-0, in a game that lasted 80 minutes. The Raiders rallied in Game 2, taking the back end by a 4-2 score in a game that took just 69 minutes. All told, including the half-hour break between games, Sunday's doubleheader lasted 2 hours, 59 minutes.

Two big innings helped decide each game. In the opener, Bloomsburg scored three runs in the top of the third inning on a three-run home run by leadoff batter Kayla McHale. Taylor Parker threw a two-hit shutout for the Huskies, as senior Liz Parkins took the loss in the circle for the Raiders by allowing the three earned runs in 5.1 innings of work.
 
A four-run third inning keyed the Raiders in Game 2. With two outs, senior Tyler Thompson scored on a hard-hit ball by junior Taylor Pattillo. On the play, Pattillo ended up on third base after the right fielder's throw rolled well up the line and away from home plate. Another error prolonged the inning and scored Pattillo, prefacing Parkins swatting a two-run home run over the left-field fence.
 
Junior Quincy Lewis needed just 63 pitches for a complete-game victory, her third win of the season. Lewis allowed just a pair of runs in the fourth inning on a two-out single. She scattered seven hits and threw 42 of her 63 pitches for strikes.
 
Pattillo and sophomore Jenny Peel each went 2-for-3 in Game 2, while Parkins and senior Maddie Justice had a hit in each game.
 
Shippensburg will host East Stroudsburg at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday from Robb Field.