SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team hosted a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader with its longtime rival Millersville on a sunny and pleasant Friday afternoon at Robb Field.
 
The visiting Marauders won both games, with scores of 7-0 and 2-1, but the two sides came together on the day for a larger cause on a successful Domestic Violence Awareness Day.
 
Shippensburg (11-16, 6-14 PSAC East) scraped together six hits in each game but only managed one run against Millersville (19-19, 9-12), who used timely hitting and complete-game efforts from its pitchers to claim all four games of the season series with the Raiders.
 
SU got three hits on the day from senior Tyler Thompson, who also stole three bases. Thompson now has 91 stolen bases in her career – putting her in sole possession of third place all-time in PSAC history for the category.

Fellow senior Maddie Justice had the lone RBI of the day for the Raiders, plating Thompson on a sacrifice fly in the first inning of Game 2.
 
Senior Taylor Weisman and junior Taylor Pattillo had a hit in each game, while sophomore Jenny Peel was 2-for-2 with a walk in Game 2. In her last five games, Peel is 7-for-16 at the plate.
 
Senior Liz Parkins threw her sixth complete game of the season in Game 2, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out three without a walk.
 
Yet the day's lasting impact will come from the charitable contributions and awareness raised as the result of hard work from both the Shippensburg and Millersville softball teams.

SU players and coaches wore purple shirts during pre-game warmups; purple is the color of the domestic violence awareness ribbon. MU players wore black shirts with the domestic violence ribbon as their uniform during the game.
 
A silent auction was held during Game 1, with those in attendance bidding on a variety of gift baskets and an autographed bat. All proceeds from the day were combined the proceeds from Tau Kappa's Project Prom Dress and will be donated to Randi's House of Angels, an organization based in Camp Hill that helps children who are exposed to and/or are victims of domestic violence.
 
Specifically, the charitable contributions will be made in memory of Karlie Hall, a Millersville University student who passed away in February.

"After presenting the idea to my fellow senior teammates, we decided to host a Domestic Violence Awareness Game to benefit Randi's House of Angels," said Weisman, who addressed the crowd before the game after the starting lineups were announced. "We knew we wanted to honor Karlie (Hall)'s life by making a donation to Randi's House of Angels in her name."
 
The founder of Randi's House of Angels, Nancy Chavez, was in attendance at the doubleheader. Chavez threw out the honorary first pitch following the national anthem and a pre-game moment of silence for all those affected by domestic violence.
 
Between games, Chavez took to the field, flanked by both teams and addressed the crowd.
 
"Domestic violence, as you know, is a very serious issue in our communities that can impact our families, our neighbors, and our friends," Chavez said. "It's not about me, it's not about just one victim. Just think about the number of resources that are out there."
 
A full video of Chavez's speech, along with her ceremonial first pitch, can be accessed by clicking on the video link above.

Shippensburg will travel on Saturday for its next PSAC East doubleheader. The Raiders will face Lock Haven at 1 p.m. from Lawrence Field.