Shippensburg began the PSAC Championships with a tight 5–2 loss to Lock Haven University on Wednesday afternoon.
The Raiders opened up the scoring with a two-run double by freshman Grace Palmieri. However, Lock Haven answered with four runs in the next frame. Starter Taryn Wilson left the game after allowing two home runs in the inning.
Lock Haven starter Bekah Slattery, who leads the PSAC in strikeouts, had another good start in the win for LHU. She allowed two unearned runs while striking out 10 and tossing a complete game.
The Raiders stayed alive in the loser’s bracket of the PSAC Championships with a dominant 11–2 win over Edinboro University on Thursday morning. Palmieri hit a grand slam in the first inning to open up the floodgates for the Raiders.
Senior Taryn Wilson starts all three games at the PSAC tournament in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Wilson finished her senior Raider campaign with a 13-12 record, a 3.50 ERA and 180 strikeouts.
Shippensburg scored runs in all but one of the innings against Edinboro. Freshmen Morgan DeFeo and Hannah Marsteller, as well as sophomore Courtney Coy, each totaled two RBIs in the team’s 11–2 win.
Edinboro threatened to get back in the game in the bottom of the second inning. Wilson got knocked out of the game after allowing two runs in the inning. Freshman Tressa Kagarise came in and, after hitting a batter, recorded a massive strikeout to strand the bases loaded.
Shippensburg’s PSAC championship hopes came to an end on Thursday afternoon after falling to West Chester.
The Golden Rams jumped on SU early, scoring seven runs in the first inning to take a commanding lead that would turn out to be too much for the Raiders to come back from. Wilson picked up the loss for the Raiders, making it through only a third of an inning while allowing three runs.
The Raiders rallied in the third inning, scoring four runs to tighten the game to 8–5. Marsteller hit a three-run home run and freshman Hannah Johnson doubled in a run.
Johnson, who came in to pitch the first inning, was doing a good job keeping the Raiders in the game until the fifth inning. The Golden Rams loaded the bases on three infield singles before senior Heidi McCollester drove them all in with a grand slam to effectively end the game and the Raiders’ chances at progressing in the tournament.
The Raiders were not awarded one of the five berths for the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships, ending their season. SU finished with a 25–22 record — the team’s third straight 20-win season.
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