SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Senior Briana Giovenco and Taylor Pattillo each hit three-run home runs in their final collegiate doubleheader Saturday as the Shippensburg University softball team concluded its 2016 season with a doubleheader sweep of East Stroudsburg, 4-3 and 13-4 (five innings), on a sunny afternoon at Robb Field.
 
Shippensburg (17-25, 5-11 PSAC East) swept all four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division games with East Stroudsburg (19-21, 2-14) this season, scoring 36 runs against the Warriors. The Raiders finished the year with an even 7-7 record at Robb Field.
 
Pattillo powered a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning in Game 1 that proved to be pivotal, as SU managed just one more run against ESU starter Rachel Liguori. Freshman Taryn Wilson struck out seven in a complete-game victory, scattering three runs and nine hits over seven innings of work. Wilson completed her debut season with a 9-5 record and a team-best 2.57 ERA.
 
Giovenco's three-run home run came in Game 2 and was the highlight of a four-run fourth inning. SU scored seven runs in the first inning of the nightcap and at least one run in all four of their at-bats. Sophomore Chloe Collins got the pitching win in Game 2, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five innings with two strikeouts. Collins finished the year with five wins and threw a team-high 103.2 innings.
 
Sophomore Tara Bicko was 3-for-3 with a double, walk and a run in the opener. Bicko walked twice in the first inning of Game 2, marking a stretch of six consecutive plate appearances in which she reached base. For the year, Bicko finished as SU's leading hitter – posting a .354 batting average on a team-best 52 hits. She had at least one hit in 30 games, and was a team-best .467 hitter (14-for-30) with runners in scoring position this season.
 
Collins was 4-for-7 with a double, two RBIs and two runs. She finished 2016 with a .325 batting average. Like Bicko, she also had at least one hit in 30 games this season.
 
Freshman Maddie Schafer was 2-for-6 on the day with a bases-clearing, three-run double in the bottom of the first inning of Game 2. Schafer hit .305 in 38 games as a freshman this season, joining Bicko and Collins as the only SU qualified hitters this season with an average of .300 or better.
 
Freshman Megan Hevey got the Game 2 start at second base and was 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI-singles and a run scored. Over the last 10 games of the season, Hevey played in nine and was .320 (8-of-25) at the plate with four RBIs.
 
SU's seniors were not the only players competing in their final collegiate contests. Sophomores Eryn Caragein and Taylor Dorman are not expected back next season as they move on to further their academic pursuits. In their final collegiate doubleheader, Caragein was 2-for-6 with three stolen bases and three runs scored, while Dorman pinch ran in the opener and pinch hit in Game 2.  
 
SU's two seniors were honored between games of the doubleheader with a special ceremony. Giovenco finished her Raider career with 118 hits in 156 career games, including 13 home runs, 23 doubles and 66 RBIs. An Academic All-District selection as a sophomore, Giovenco also totaled 68 runs, 28 walks, 24 sacrifices and nine steals.
 
Pattillo completed her third and final season as a Raider with 128 hits in 128 games, producing a .332 career average in a Raider uniform. She led the team with eight home runs this season, and the 20 in her SU career rank fifth all-time in school history. Her career statistical line includes 69 RBIs, 16 doubles, 66 runs, and 37 walks – 20 of which came this season. The 20 walks are the most by a Raider in one season since Dana Ward in 2011.