SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team could not hold on to a Game 2 lead as Shepherd forced a split in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Robb Field. The Raiders rallied to win Game 1, 3-2, before losing Game 2, 9-7.
 
Shippensburg (10-7, 4-2 PSAC East) had to battle in Game 1 to take the win as Shepherd (17-9, 2-6) took an early lead. The Rams scrapped out a Game 2 victory with a late rally, scoring seven runs in the final two innings.
 
Junior Taylor Myers led the Raiders by going 4-for-7 with two RBIs. Graduate Hannah Marsteller led the team with four RBIs, including a pair of two-run home runs in Game 2.
 
Sophomore Katelyn Minney had three hits and an RBI. Junior Alyssa Nehlen, freshman Caitlin Martell and freshman Kaira Zamadics all had two hits; Zamadics and Nehlen had an RBI each.
 
Senior Emma Flattery got her fourth win of the season. She threw 4.1 innings over the course of two games and allowed three hits and tied her season high of five strikeouts.  Sophomore Alicia Ball started in the circle in Game 1 for the Raiders and threw 5.0 innings and allowed seven hits and had a season high of six strikeouts.
 
Shippensburg will be back tomorrow as it takes on Bloomsburg for another PSAC East matchup at Robb Field at 2 p.m.
 
Game 1: Shippensburg 3, Shepherd 2
 
Shepherd took an early lead with a double to left center from Hannah Beeler that brought home Shepherd's new school career run record holder, Nicole Purtell, who had singled to left field.
 
The Raiders took advantage of the bases loaded and two outs to score two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Myers singled up the middle to bring home Marsteller and Martell. The Rams came back in the top of the fifth as they loaded the bases with two out and scored a run off a single by Cait Donnelly. Shippensburg was able to get out of the bases-loaded jam with freshman Emilee Sullivan getting the third out.
 
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Zamadics came in as a late substitute and singled to shortstop to get a Raider on base. With two outs, Minney singled to right field to bring home Zamadics and take a 3-2 victory. Sophomore Ally Weaver caught the first out in the top of the seventh inning, while Flattery got the next two outs with strikeouts.

The Game 1 victory got Head Coach Alison Van Scyoc her 150th win. 
 
Game 2: Shepherd 9, Shippensburg 7
 
Shepherd opened the scoring again with a home run from Purtell to left field and a single by Donnelly to take a 2-0 lead. Shippensburg answered back in the bottom of the first with a two-run Marsteller bomb to left field to tie the scoring 2-2.
 
In the second, Weaver hit a long ball to left field that went for an error and gave SU a 3-2 lead. Then, in the third inning, back-to-back walks from Marsteller and Lindsay got two Raiders on base. Nehlen dropped a base hit between third base and left field to score Marsteller and make it a 4-2 lead. With the bases loaded, Zamadics drew a walk to extend the lead to 5-2.
 
Marsteller hit another two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth to give the Raiders a 7-2 lead that lasted through the fifth.
 
Shepherd fought its way back in the top of the sixth inning to reduce the deficit to 7-5. A double by Isabella Forte and a two-run single by Purtell closed the gap. In the top of the seventh, the Raiders struggled to find their pitch and the Rams took advantage. Alex Mantz hit a pinch-hit double to right center to tie the game 7-7 with one out. The Rams scored two more runs off a Raider error and a wild pitch to take a 9-7 lead.
 
Shippensburg tried to battle back in the bottom of the seventh with two runners on base but was unable to get any runs.