SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team went toe-to-toe Sunday with Eastern Division rival No. 20 West Chester but ultimately dropped a pair of games to the Golden Rams, 6-1 and 8-5, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) doubleheader on a muggy afternoon from Robb Field.
 
Shippensburg (26-21, 8-8 PSAC East) held leads in the sixth inning or later of both games Sunday but could not stave off West Chester (40-10, 13-3), as the Golden Rams rallied to claim the doubleheader and ultimately earn the East's No. 1 seed in the upcoming PSAC Tournament. SU is the East's No. 3 seed.
 
The Raiders will play in Game 1 of the PSAC Tournament at noon Wednesday against IUP, the Central Division's No. 3 seed. SU will play again at 6 p.m. Wednesday, with the opponent depending upon the results of the earlier games.
 
Junior Chloe Collins had three hits Sunday, including a two-run single, stole three bases, and threw three innings of relief in Game 2. Sophomore Taryn Wilson pitched in both games, allowing three earned runs in nine innings of work.
 
Junior Tara Bicko and freshman Micaela Ghanayem both had strong days with the bat – Bicko doubled twice and totaled three hits while Ghanayem had two run-scoring hits along with a walk and a successful sacrifice.
 
Game 1
The Raiders opened the scoring in the fourth inning. SU capitalized on a hard-hit ball by freshman Meghan Klee that went into right field – with a runner on first and two outs, Ghanayem laced a double off the chalk down the left-field line that put the Raiders ahead.
 
In the decisive sixth inning of the opener, West Chester loaded the bases with two outs. An error prolonged the frame, ultimately resulting in six unearned runs for the visitors that proved to be the difference. Wilson threw six innings in the circle, scattering seven hits and striking out three. Sophomore Julia Tosti got the final three outs.
 
Game 2
Wilson started Game 2 but was ultimately chased after a three-run third inning. Undaunted, the Raiders countered the Golden Ram outburst with four of their own in the bottom half of the inning that chased WCU starter Brooke Harner.
 
The inning began with a one-out double from Bicko – her second in as many at-bats of the nightcap – and was followed by a bizarre bloop single by freshman Kendall Geis in which she ultimately wound up on second base. After a WCU conference, Collins immediately singled up the middle to plate both runners and make it 3-2.
 
Collins stole second base, chasing Harner with a 1-0 count. WCU Pitcher of the Year candidate Amanda Houck, who threw a complete game in the opener, replaced Harner but proceeded to walk Klee, with the decisive ball four being a wild pitch on which moved Collins to third. Also on the walk, the WCU defense appeared to have forgotten the count, as Klee advanced an extra base as the ball was still in play and second base was open.
 
On a full-count pitch in the next at-bat, junior Macy Luck ripped a screaming liner that was caught by the third baseman. In an effort to double up Klee at second, the throw went awry, allowing Collins to score to tie the game. Ghanayem then took advantage with a blooper down the right-field line that plated Klee to cap the four-run inning.
 
Collins entered in relief and pitched into the seventh inning. WCU tied the game off her with an unearned run in the fifth, but she manufactured a run in the bottom half to re-claim the lead. Collins reached on an infield hit, stole second, moved to third with one out on a wild pitch, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Luck in which she broke for home after the WCU right fielder made a full-speed diving catch and could not recover in time to get a throw to the plate.
 
Down to its final three outs, WCU opened the seventh with five straight hits off multiple Raider pitchers. The Golden Rams scored four runs in the inning en route to the 8-5 victory. Houck finished the day for West Chester with 11.2 innings pitches, allowing three runs on eight hits with just three strikeouts, and getting the win in both games.

Among notable efforts in the nightcap, junior Maddie Mulhall drew a 14-pitch walk in the second inning and another 14-pitch walk in the fifth inning – seeing 30 pitches in her three plate appearance during Game 2. She fouled off a total of 16 pitches to draw her first two walks of the year. Collins and Bicko each had all three of their hits in the nightcap.