Gallery: (5-11-2024) 2024 NCAA Softball Regional vs. Bowie
STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team scored at least one run in each of the first four innings of an elimination game against Bowie State on Saturday to establish and maintain a sizable advantage, eliminating the Bulldogs by a score of 9-2 in NCAA Atlantic Regional competition at Creekview Park.
Shippensburg (34-20) quickly overcame a first-inning solo home run by Bowie State (20-23) with a run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by senior
Morgan Lindsay that scored sophomore
Caitlyn Martell from second base. Lindsay hit a deep fly ball that Bowie's Aralynn Robinson caught in foul territory but in doing so she crashed hard into the chain-link fence down the line, giving Martell time to score and tie the game.
Freshman
Emily Lafferty, who finished with two hits and two runs, singled to lead off the second, stole second, took third on a sacrifice bunt, and then scored on a groundout by freshman
Brie Wilmot.
The Bulldogs chased freshman starter
Madalyn Dyer in the third inning with a two-out RBI-single that evened the score at 2-2. With runners on the corners, graduate
Maelynn Leber entered the circle and induced a fielder's choice to end the inning.
SU scored three times in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good. Senior
Taylor Myers walked on four pitches, and Martell singled to put two runners on. Lindsay then hit a ball into right-center fielder on which the center fielder ran a long way to try to catch but misplayed it and sent it into foul territory, plating bother runners and putting Lindsay on third. Freshman
Sarah Sabocsik followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
In the bottom of the fourth, Lindsay drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-2, and Sabocsik plated a run on a groundout to make it 7-2. Wilmot and sophomore
Emilee Sullivan hit RBI-singles in the bottom of the sixth to bring the game to its final 9-2 margin.
Leber earned the win in relief, pitching the final 4.1 innings in scoreless fashion. She scattered two hits and three walks and struck out one.
Lafferty and Sullivan each scored twice, while seven of the nine Raiders in the batting order had at least one hit.
Shippensburg advanced to face East Stroudsburg at 3 p.m. in another elimination game.
