The Shippensburg softball team used excellent pitching and timely hitting on Friday to hand East Stroudsburg its first home losses of the season, sweeping a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader by scores of 4-1 and 2-1 (nine innings) at Creekview Park.
 
Shippensburg (17-11, 3-1 PSAC East) reversed its recent struggles at East Stroudsburg (24-4, 1-3), as the Raiders entered the day having lost seven straight games at ESU dating back to 2017. Friday's sweep is the first time that SU has recorded a road sweep at East Stroudsburg since 2016.
 
The Raiders totaled 18 hits in the doubleheader, including five that went for extra bases. SU got a solo home run in Game 1 from sophomore Morgan Lindsay and two doubles in Game 2 from freshman Katelyn Minney.
 
Sophomore Taylor Myers and Minney each had four hits on the day. Sophomore Alyssa Nehlen had two hits and an RBI. Lindsay had two hits, including the solo home run, and two RBIs. Junior Hannah Marsteller had two RBIs.
 
The story of the day was Shippensburg's pitching, which limited East Stroudsburg to just one run in each game. Friday marks the first time that Shippensburg has allowed two runs or less in a PSAC divisional doubleheader in eight years – since a split at Millersville on Apr. 25, 2014 in which the Raiders also allowed just two runs.
 
Freshman Alicia Ball and redshirt-sophomore Maddie Uschock combined to record all but one out from the circle. The duo allowed just six hits, all singles, and struck out 14 batters between them.
 
Shippensburg is back on the road Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Bloomsburg.
 
Game 1: Shippensburg 4, East Stroudsburg 1 

Shippensburg opened the scoring in the third inning with an RBI-single from Marsteller. Lindsay led off the bottom of the fourth with a no-doubt home run to left-center field for a 2-0 lead. ESU answered back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring on a fielder's choice to reduce the deficit to one.
 
In the top of the seventh, Myers and senior Morgan DeFeo reached base to lead off the inning, and Minney singled with one out to load the bases. Lindsay came to the plate and hit a ball in the hole to the shortstop, who threw home but too late to get Myers. Nehlen then singled home DeFeo to give SU a 4-1 lead.
 
Freshman Alicia Ball threw a complete game – her sixth of the season. Ball allowed only three hits, all singles, and walked three. She struck out six to improve her record to 7-3.
 
Katie Zaun took the loss for East Stroudsburg. She struck out 13 batters but allowed four runs (three earned) on 10 hits and walked two.  
 
Game 2: Shippensburg 2, East Stroudsburg 1 (9 innings)
 
Each team scored a run in the first inning. Myers led off with an infield hit, stole second, and advanced to third on an error. With one out, Marsteller hit an RBI-groundout to give the Raiders a short-lived lead.
 
In the bottom of the first, the Warriors started out with a triple, double, lineout and a walk to make it 1-1 and chase the starter, sophomore Emma Flattery.
 
Uschock came in as the relief pitcher and not only got the Raiders out of the jam but also kept the Warriors from scoring any runs the rest of the way. She threw a career-high 8.2 innings and allowed only three hits (all singles) and did not walk a batter. She struck out a season-high eight hitters, her most in a game since striking out 10 batters as a freshman against Felician on Apr. 4, 2019 when she pitched for Dominican (N.Y.).  
 
The game went into extras, and in the ninth, Minney led off with a double. With two outs and Minney on third, sophomore Maelynn Leber hit a ball over the right fielder for an RBI-single that plated Minney for the game-winning run.