SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team got a complete-game pitching performance and a home run from sophomore Brie Wilmot in both games of its Senior Day doubleheader against No. 9 East Stroudsburg to achieve a sweep of the Warriors, 9-0 (five innings) and 5-3, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action at sunny Robb Field.
 
Shippensburg (22-14, 11-9 PSAC East) totaled 17 hits on the day – including seven against Sarah Davenport, the nation's strikeout leader (239 entering Sunday). SU swept East Stroudsburg (33-8-1, 17-4-1 PSAC East) at home for the second straight season and has now won seven of its last eight games over the Warriors at Robb Field.
 
Wilmot stole the show for the Raiders, matching a team high of three hits on the day. She hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 off Davenport and rocketed a grand slam in Game 2 that contributed to her game-high eight RBIs.
 
Junior Caitlyn Martell and sophomore Sarah Sabocsik both matched Wilmot with three hits on the day. Martell scored three runs. Sabocsik scored two runs of her own and also added an RBI to her season totals.
 
Four Raiders were honored during the senior day ceremony pregame: Alicia Ball, Aryanna Briddell, Katelyn Minney, and Ally Weaver.
 
Shippensburg returns to action at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Millersville.
 
GAME ONE: SHIP 9, EAST STROUDSBURG 0 (5 INNINGS)
 
Game 1 opened with three straight groundouts in the top of the first to give the Raiders an opportunity to open scoring between the teams. Martell opened with a four-pitch leadoff walk, followed by two straight outs that brought Wilmot up to bat. Wilmot smacked the second pitch out and past the fence in left field for a two-run home run shot to put Shippensburg up 2-0 after one.
 
SU added another run in the bottom of the third, scoring with two outs. After a fly out and a ground out, Briddell worked a walk. Junior Rilee Ehrlacher followed and reached on a throwing error, advancing Briddell to third and herself to second base. A wild pitch brought Briddell home to give Shippensburg a 3-0 lead after three.
 
During the bottom of the fourth inning, the Raiders chased Davenport and tallied three more runs to their lead. The inning opened with a leadoff double from freshman Gianna Cimino, which was quickly followed by a walk to sophomore Emily Lafferty. Martell then reached on a fielder's choice that loaded the bases for Shippensburg.
 
One out later, Sabocsik hit an RBI single into left field that brought Cimino home and kept the bases loaded. ESU replaced Davenport in the circle with reliever Meadow Lake.
 
Wilmot immediately singled up the middle off Lake, bringing home Lafferty and Martell to make it a 6-0 lead. A Briddell walk loaded the bases again, when Ehrlacher blooped a single into left field that brought home Sabocsik and gave Shippensburg a seven-run lead after four innings.
 
Three straight outs in the top of the fifth inning gave the Raiders the opportunity to walk Game 1 off via run rule. The bottom of the fifth opened with a leadoff single from Lafferty. After a flyout from Martell, freshman Dani Hayward sent the first pitch of her at bat out past the left field fence for a two-run home run, her first collegiate home run, that ended the game with the final score of 9-0.
 
Hayward also started Game 1 in the circle for Shippensburg and pitched a five-inning shutout. Hayward threw 70 pitches, struck out two, and allowed just three hits and no walks. She improved her season record to 7-4.
 
The Raiders employed a disciplined approach against Davenport, drawing four walks. Lafferty earned two of those walks and reached base in all three of her plate appearances, while Briddell drew the other two walks. Davenport fell to 22-1 on the season.
 
GAME TWO: SHIP 5, EAST STROUDSBURG 3
 
Scoring opened in Game 2 during the top of the second inning, which started with a leadoff single from Abigail Weirich. With Weirich on second and two outs, she stole third. An RBI single from Maddy Pritchard brought her home and gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Warriors added a second run an inning later, beginning a rally with an infield single. Weirich hit a double into left field that scored Tatum Kresley and extended the Warrior lead to two runs after the top of the third.
 
Shippensburg responded in the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back singles from Lafferty and Martell off starter Abbie Landrum. A walk to Hayward loaded the bases. After a fielder's choice got Lafferty out at home, Wilmot launched a 1-0 pitch with more than enough air to sail over the center-field fence for a grand slam, her seventh home run of the season and the team's first grand slam since April 4 of last season when Wilmot hit one against Mansfield. It gave the Raiders a 4-2 lead after three.
 
Both teams added another run in the fourth inning. ESU got a run on a pair of walks, a fielder's choice and an infield single, but Ball escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Weirich to end the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Lafferty led off with a walk, stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error. Sabocsik singled her home to move the Raider lead to 5-3 after four innings.
 
Strong pitching took center stage for the rest of the nightcap, as Davenport (who entered in relief of Landrum) and Ball dueled it out for their respective teams. Neither team got farther than second base down the stretch, with Ball striking out five batters over the final three innings to seal the Game 2 victory for Shippensburg.
 
Ball threw 135 pitches to record her 13th complete game of the season. She struck out ten batters, marking her fifth game of the season with double-digit strikeouts, while scattering seven hits and five walks to improve her season record to 9-7.