SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team picked up a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division wins over Mansfield on Tuesday afternoon, winning 6-2 and 7-1 at sunny Robb Field.
 
Shippensburg (27-17, 16-12 PSAC East) stayed consistent through both games, totaling 14 hits (seven in each game) and 14 walks (six in Game 1, eight in Game 2) against Mansfield (8-30, 6-24) pitching.  
 
SU's balance was also evident in the fact that each starter had at least one hit during the doubleheader. Six Raiders contributed at least one RBI, with four also smacking two hits.
 
Senior Alicia Ball and freshman Dani Hayward earned complete-game victories in the circle. Neither pitcher allowed an extra-base hit.
 
Shippensburg took the season series against the Mountaineers 3-1 and currently holds the fifth and final playoff spot in the PSAC Eastern Division. Second through sixth place in the division is separated by just three games. All of the contending teams have four games remaining.
 
Shippensburg's home finale is 2 p.m. Friday vs. Lock Haven.
 
Game 1: Ship 6, Mansfield 2
 
The Raiders got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior Caitlyn Martell led off with a walk and quickly got to third on a sacrifice bunt by Hayward in which she reached on a throwing error. Two batters later, sophomore Brie Wilmot hit a sacrifice fly that plated Martell.
 
Three straight walks followed, with the final drawn by senior Aryanna Briddell with the bases loaded that brought Hayward home.
 
Mansfield responded with a run of its own in the top of the fourth, leading off with a Natalie Blackstone single.  Three batters later, Alex Reisinger hit a one-out single through the right side that plated Blackstone and cut the Raider lead to one.
 
Shippensburg responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Junior Emilee Sullivan led off with a double and moved to third on a single by Martell. Sullivan then came home to score after the ball got away from Mansfield when Martell stole second base. Martell later scored on a wild pitch, giving SU a 4-1 lead after four.
 
The Raiders added an unearned run in each of the next two frames, one on a throwing error and another on an RBI infield single from junior Rilee Ehrlacher to give Ship a 6-1 lead after six innings.
 
The Mounties got a run in the seventh on an RBI-groundout to wrap the scoring.
 
Ball improved her season record to 10-9, scattering five hits and two walks while striking out two. Mansfield's Bella Putnam allowed six runs (two earned) and seven hits in six innings, walking six and striking out four.
 
Game 2: Ship 7, Mansfield 1
 
Shippensburg opened the nightcap with a run in the bottom of the second inning, starting with an Ehrlacher walk. After two pop outs and a four-pitch walk to freshman Gianna Cimino, sophomore Emily Lafferty sent a 2-2 pitch into left-center field for an RBI-double.
 
Mansfield, which stranded the bases loaded in the first and two more runners in the second, tied the game in the third with a sacrifice fly from Alex Reisinger that was an unearned run on Hayward's line.
 
Hayward led off the bottom of the third and came around to score on a wild pitch, giving SU a 2-1 lead after three.
 
Shippensburg added three more runs to their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. A four-pitch walk to Sullivan, a bunt single from Cimino and an 11-pitch walk to Lafferty loaded the bases with nobody out.
 
Martell hit the first pitch of her at bat into center field for an RBI single, bringing home Sullivan. A fielder's choice brought Cimino home, but another run scored on the play on Mansfield's seventh error of the day.  
 
SU added two extra runs for insurance in the bottom of the sixth, using an RBI groundout from Sabocsik and an RBI-single from Wilmot to give Raiders the 7-1 victory.
 
Hayward's win moved her to 10-5 on the season. After negotiating some early jams, Hayward retired the final nine batters she faced – six by strikeout (including the side in the seventh). Overall, Hayward struck out nine, walked two, scattered four singles and allowed just the one unearned run.