The Shippensburg University softball team began the 2017 season in style on Friday, posting a 7-3 victory over host UNC-Pembroke and a 10-0 victory in five innings over Winston-Salem State from Pembroke's LRA Field.
 
Shippensburg (2-0) scored 17 runs and totaled 17 hits on the day, making the most of its scoring opportunities on the cloudy, breezy, chilly 45-degree day in North Carolina. The triumphs came in Alison Van Scyoc's debut games as SU's head coach.

The Raiders scored four runs in the second inning and three runs in the fourth inning of its opener against UNC-Pembroke (1-1), defeating a team that had just beaten fellow Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) school Kutztown by a 4-0 score in the prior game.
 
Freshman third baseman Emily Zaring hit a solo home run in her first collegiate at-bat to start the decisive second inning and was magnificent in her debut, going 5-for-6 on the day with six RBIs. She had a successful sacrifice in her second at-bat and had an RBI-single in the fourth inning against the Braves. Against Winston-Salem (0-1), Zaring was 3-for-3 with four RBIs, contributing RBI-singles in each of the first three innings.  
 
Junior Chloe Collins also had a marvelous day, throwing six innings of three-run ball for the win in the opener and finishing the day at the plate 4-of-7 with two RBIs, two stolen bases and three runs scored. Sophomore Julia Tosti finished out the win in the opener, working into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
Shippensburg capitalized on seven Winston-Salem errors in the nightcap, scoring four runs in the first inning, two in the second, and four more in the third inning. Sophomore Nicole Smith threw four shutout innings for the win, scattering five hits, while striking out three. She benefited from a key outfield assist by Collins, who threw out a runner advancing to third on a single in the top of the first.
 
Other notable performances on the day included a 2-for-4 effort from junior co-captain Maddie Mulhall, who plated two runs on a single in the four-run second inning against UNC-Pembroke. Nine different Raiders had at least one hit on the day, including a leadoff triple in the nightcap by freshman Kayla Bonawitz.
 
After stealing just 33 bases all of last season, Shippensburg totaled eight stolen bases between Friday's two games. Friday marked the first time since March 2014 that the Raiders had stolen four or more bases in consecutive games.
 
The Raiders did evade multiple scoring chances by the opponents each game, stranding 21 runners on the day and working around 10 walks. SU, meanwhile, had five two-out RBIs (three by Zaring, two by Collins) and eight hits on the day with runners in scoring position.
 
Shippensburg returns to action at UNC-Pembroke on Saturday, facing West Virginia State at noon and Winston-Salem State at 6 p.m.