CHARLESTON, W.V. – The No. 2 seed Shippensburg University softball team concluded its 2023 season on a rainy Saturday afternoon in a battle against No. 19 Charleston. The Raiders fell 4-3 and 7-2, to the Golden Eagles to conclude the 2023 Atlantic Region 2 bracket at UC Softball Field.
 
Shippensburg (34-20) entered the day needing to win just once against Charleston (44-10) to advance to the "Super Regional" Championship series next weekend against the winner of the Atlantic Region 1 bracket taking place at East Stroudsburg.
 
The Raiders took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning with a single from junior Taylor Myers and a single by graduate Hannah Marsteller. Freshman Caitlyn Martell came home off a passed ball, while junior Morgan Lindsay brought Marsteller home with a groundout RBI.
 
Charleston answered in the bottom of the second with an RBI single up the middle and tied the game in the bottom of the third with an RBI groundout.
 
SU took back the lead in the top of the fifth inning after Myers singled to right field to get the go-ahead runner on base. Marsteller brought Myers home with an RBI double to left center and the 3-2 lead.
 
In the top of the sixth, the Raiders loaded the bases with back-to-back singles from junior Alyssa Nehlen and freshman Kaira Zamadics and freshman Emilee Sullivan reached base on an error by Charleston's first baseman. With two outs, Myers singled through the left side but was ruled out of the box by the umpire, and the two runners that came home to score did not count.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Charleston was able to score two runs and force an "if-necessary" game.
 
Sophomore Alicia Ball threw 6.0 innings with three strikeouts, while Zamadics came in as a relief pitcher and threw 0.2 innings with a strikeout. Zamadics started the "if-necessary" game and threw 3.0 innings with two strikeouts.
 
In the championship game, Charleston took a 6-0 lead after five innings of play. However, the Raiders did not give in and battled, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. An RBI-triple by Marsteller to left center brought Martell home. Marsteller then came home after an RBI single by Lindsay to the pitcher. The Raiders were unable to pull off another comeback in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Senior Emma Flattery came in as a relief pitcher and threw 1.2 innings, while redshirt-senior Maddie Uschock threw 2.1 innings and had a strikeout.
 
Shippensburg concluded its season with a trip to the NCAA Atlantic Region 2 Championship and won two NCAA regional games, which it has not done since 2014. Also, SU won its fourth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship and first since 2005.
 
The season marks an end to an outstanding career for the senior class: Flattery, Marsteller, Hannah Palinkas, Hanna Phillips and Uschock.
 
In 82 career games, Flattery finished her career with a 28-7 career record, 207 strikeouts, three saves and four shutouts.
 
Palinkas, meanwhile, appeared in 21 games and recorded two wins and a shutout. She threw 43.0 innings and totaled 37 career strikeouts including a career-high six strikeouts, while also going 1-for-1 at bat against Bluefield and scoring two runs.
 
Phillips finished her career with 19 appearances in the circle, recording two wins and a save. She threw 22.2 innings with 20 strikeouts including a career-high five strikeouts against Fairmont State after battling injury for two years.
 
Uschock finished her career as a Raider with 33 game appearances and seven wins and a save. She threw 86.1 innings with 58 career strikeouts including a single-game career high of six strikeouts.
 
Marsteller finished her career etching her name in the record books:

• Three-Time PSAC Athlete of the Year
• Three-Time NFCA All-Region
• Two-Time Ron Lenz Division II Player of the Year
• Two-Time D2CCA All-American First Team
• Two-Time NFCA All-American First Team
• Holds career school records for: runs (193), doubles (61), home runs (62), RBIs (247), slugging percentage (.855), walks (97) and on-base percentage (.515)
• She is ranked second in the school record books for career batting average (.438) and second in hits (278), eighth in stolen bases (37) and fourth in hit-by-pitch (15).