Box Scores
L 5-2 / L 8-2

SHIPPENSBURG – No. 24 Shippensburg continued its strong start to the PSAC East softball schedule, finishing the first half of divisional play with an 8-0 record with two wins over East Stroudsburg University on Saturday afternoon at Robb Field.

The Warriors led 2-0 in both games before Shippensburg (22-8, 8-0) came back for 5-2 and 8-2 victories in ESU's second straight PSAC East series against a nationally-ranked opponent.

ESU (9-16, 0-6) will finish the first half of its conference schedule on Sunday with a trip to Millersville. The Warriors will play their first eight PSAC East games on the road and are scheduled to host West Chester in their home opener on Friday.

Chelsea Kendall and Emily Estep, last week's NFCA Division II Pitcher of the Week, threw complete games for Shippensburg to keep ESU's bats at bay after the early offense. Kendall gave up eight hits, struck out five and walked one and Estep allowed five hits, struck out 10 and issued two walks.

Senior Caitlin Monahan started both games and threw 10 of the Warriors' 12 innings in the doubleheader, striking out five batters in each game. She didn't allow a walk in the opener while throwing her seventh complete game the season. Freshman Laura Suits threw 2.0 perfect innings with two strikeouts in relief in game two.

In the opener, senior Brittany Racek, senior OF Alicea Ashe and junior 2B Brandi Stettler were all 2-for-3 at the plate for six of ESU's eight hits. Racek singled and scored on a double by Ashe in the first inning and Ashe singled and scored on a base hit by junior 1B Brittany Zanzalari in the fourth to put the Warriors ahead 2-0.

Shippensburg got three runs in the bottom of the inning keyed by a two RBI double by Courtney Steele to take a 3-2 lead. Steele also had an RBI single as part of a two-run sixth inning to complete the scoring.

Moira Johnsen and Hope Cornell had the big hits for Shippensburg in the second game as the Lady Raiders rallied after ESU took a 2-0 lead in the third. Johnsen hit a two-out, three-run homer as part of a four-run third inning for Shippensburg and Cornell hit a grand slam, also with two outs, in the fourth.

ESU plated its two runs in the third on three hits. Senior OF Jamie Mingis and senior C Samantha Capriotti hit back-to-back singles to start the inning and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Rebecca Smith. Junior 3B Rachel Gieringer followed with an RBI single that scored Mingis for the game's first run. Capriotti was thrown out at home but Gieringer advanced all the way to third on the play and later scored on a wild pitch.

Racek reached an individual milestone for ESU, recording her 50th career extra-base hit with a double in the fifth inning of the first game. She is the fourth ESU player with 50 extra-base hits, accumulating 32 doubles, five triples and 13 home runs. She also ranks fourth at ESU with 234 total bases and is currently third in slugging percentage.