The Shippensburg University softball team split a nonconference road doubleheader at Frostburg State on Wednesday, winning Game 1, 15-6 in five innings, before the hosts took Game 2, 5-4.
Shippensburg (25-13) totaled 24 hits on the day, with 17 of those coming in Game 1. Frostburg State (29-5), which suffered its first home loss of the season in Game 1, recorded 15 hits in the doubleheader.
Leah Schwalm led the Raider offense, going 5-for-8 at the plate. Schwalm recorded her first career home run – a grand slam in Game 2. She totaled six RBIs on the day.
Caitlyn Martell and
Rilee Ehrlacher added four hits apiece. Martell went 3-for-3 at the plate in Game 1 and added two RBIs. Ehrlacher totaled two hits in each game with an RBI.
Lindsey Haser went 3-for-4 at the plate in Game 1 and recorded a career-high six RBIs.
Dani Hayward got the Game 1 win in the circle for the Raiders, striking out three batters and allowing seven hits. Only two of the runs against her were earned.
Shippensburg is off Friday and returns to action at 1 p.m. Saturday for a pivotal divisional doubleheader versus West Chester at Robb Field.
Game 1: SHIP 15, FROSTBURG 6 (5 innings)
Martell got the Raiders on the board right away with her third leadoff home run of the season. Schwalm singled, and
Gianna Cimino brought her home with an RBI single to make it 2-0 in the top of the first.
The Bobcats tied the game in the bottom of the first after a walk, hit by pitch and a Raider error.
Brie Wilmot led off with a single in the bottom of the second. Schwalm and Martell recorded their second hits of the day to load the bases.
Reagan Bauman drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single to give SU back the lead, 4-2. Haser hit a double on the next pitch to drive in two more Raider runs to make the score 6-2.
In the bottom of the second, Frostburg State cut the deficit to three with an RBI single to make it 6-3.
Ehrlacher began the third inning with her fifth home run of the season to make it 7-3. Wilmot and
Sarah Sabocsik drew walks, followed by an RBI single from Martell, 8-3. With two outs and two Raiders on base, Haser recorded her first home run of the season and fourth of her career to make it 11-3.
The Bobcats got two runners on base after a pair of singles, but back-to-back outs kept them from scoring.
A pair of singles from Ehrlacher and Wilmot started the top of the fourth inning. Martell drew a walk to make the bases loaded. Schwalm drove in two runs with her ninth double of the season to put SU up by ten. Bauman recorded her third RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to make it 14-3. Haser hit her second double of the game and recorded her sixth RBI of the game, 15-3.
The Raider defense made quick work of the Bobcat offense in the bottom of the fourth inning, retiring three straight batters.
Ryan Morse entered the game as a pinch hitter in the top of the fifth and recorded her second hit of the season. The Bobcat defense held the Raider offense to no runs in the fifth inning, the first inning of the day that there were no runs scored.
Frostburg State led off with a single in the bottom of the fifth. The Bobcats plated a run from a SU error to make it 15-4. A double cut the Bobcat deficit to ten, 15-5. Frostburg State plated one more run, but Hayward recorded a strike out and a fly out to end the game via run rule at 15-6.
The Raider offense produced a season-high 15 runs and nearly matched their season high in hits (19) with 17 in the game.
Martell and Schwalm paced the offense with three hits. Martell went 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run and a pair of singles, totaling two RBIs. Schwalm went 3-for-4, with a double and two singles, and two RBIs.
Haser recorded a career high six RBIs off two doubles and a three-run home run.
Hayward went the distance in Game 1, pitching five innings, striking out three batters and allowing seven hits.
Game 2: FROSTBURG 5, SHIP 4
The Bobcats got on the board first after a two-run home run by Arden Miller to take an early lead. Frostburg State had the bases loaded, but
Kaira Zamadics worked out of the inning with a strikeout and a foul out.
The Raiders plated all four of their runs in the top of the third inning. Wilmot started off the inning with a single followed by a walk from Sullivan. Martell notched a single to make the bases loaded. Schwalm cleared the bases with a grand slam, the first home run of her SU career, to give the Raiders a 4-2 lead.
The Bobcats found an answer with a solo home run in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to one, 4-3.
SU had a chance to score in the top of the fourth, as Ehrlacher singled and Wilmot drew a walk to put two runners on base. Ehrlacher got to third after a fielder's choice play, but the inning was ended with a strikeout.
Frostburg took back the lead after Miller homered again – a two-run shot in the fourth inning – to make it 5-4.
Bauman recorded a two-out double in the top of the fifth, and Haser reached base after a Bobcat error. A flyout kept the Raiders from tying the game.
Madalyn Dyer came in to pitch in the fifth inning and recorded back-to-back strikeouts, retiring three straight batters.
In the sixth, Ehrlacher notched a leadoff double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. The Raiders had a chance to score, but the Bobcat defense ended the inning.
The Bobcats had one runner on base in the sixth inning after a Raider error, but after a flyout and a double play the inning ended.
SU had two runners on base in the top of the seventh after a single from Schwalm and Bauman drawing a walk. Two fly outs ended the game at 5-4.
The Raider offense was led by Schwalm and Ehrlacher who each recorded a pair of hits. Schwalm went 2-for-4 at the plate with a single and a grand slam. Ehrlacher went 2-for-3 with a double and a single.
Zamadics started in the circle for the Raiders, throwing four innings, striking out a batter and allowing eight hits. Dyer came in for relief, pitching two hitless innings and striking out two batters.
