Box Scores
Game 1 - L 4-2
Game 2 - W 5-1

Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – Sophomore Allison Mende scattered 10 hits for her second career complete game and junior 1B Cara McNeil was 3-for-4 with three RBI, leading East Stroudsburg University to a 5-1 win over Shippensburg and a doubleheader split in PSAC East softball on Friday at Zimbar Field.

Mende took a shutout into the seventh inning and McNeil had a two-RBI single in the fifth inning and another RBI single in the sixth for ESU (11-20, 6-10), which hosts Millersville for its third straight home PSAC East twinbill on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Shippensburg (25-9, 11-7) won the opener, 4-2, as pitcher Emily Estep improved to 15-1 on the season for the Lady Raiders.

McNeil had a two-RBI single in game one as well, going 4-for-8 with five RBI in the doubleheader.

Freshman Rachael Liguori, coming off a complete game, 4-3 win over Mansfield on Thursday, threw another complete game for the Warriors in the setback.

Game 1 – L 4-2

McNeil's two-run single tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, but Shippensburg answered with two runs in the top of the sixth to give Estep a cushion in the circle.

Ship left eight runners on base in the first three innings as Liguori held the Lady Raiders to single runs in the first and third.

ESU left the bases loaded in the third inning, but came through in the fifth. Freshman SS Rae Holden drew a leadoff walk and junior OF Kasey Meckes and junior 2B Jamie Smith both singled to load the bases. McNeil singled with one out to plate Holden and Meckes before Estep got out of the jam.

In the top of the sixth, Ship scored the go-ahead run on a hit batter, a single and an error, and extended the lead to 4-2 on a two-out double by Jessie Trammell.

Estep allowed five hits, walked five and struck out five for Shippensburg in the circle.

Liguori allowed four runs (three earned) on 11 hits, walked two and struck out six. She had a career-high nine strikeouts in Thursday's win over Mansfield, getting a fly ball with the bases loaded to end it.

Game 2 – W 5-1

Shippensburg had at least one hit in every inning, but Mende didn't allow a run until there were two outs in the seventh inning.

ESU had just two hits (and three batters reach on errors) through four innings before breaking through in the fifth and sixth.

Sophomore 3B Haley Thomas walked, Meckes advanced pinch-runner Kaitlin Blum with a sacrifice bunt, Jamie Smith walked and junior OF Cara Woods singled to load the bases with one out. McNeil singled to right field to score Blum and Smith with the game's first runs.

Mende got out of a bases loaded situation, the result of a hit and two errors, in the sixth inning, and ESU added three more runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to a Shippensburg error to start the inning.

Jamie Smith hit a two-out, two-run single up the middle to score Holden and Meckes (walk, stolen base). Woods singled to move Smith to second, then McNeil had an RBI single to make it 5-0.

In the seventh, Hilary Lyons had a leadoff single, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Taylor Pattillo to break up the shutout.

Makenzie Lynn threw a complete game for Shippensburg, giving up five runs (two earned) on seven hits, with Woods (2-for-4) and McNeil (3-for-4) going 5-for-8 in the third and fourth spots for ESU.

Mende struck out one, didn't issue a walk and yielded 10 hits (eight singles, two doubles).

She improved to 3-2 on the season, earning her third career divisional win. She also beat Millersville, 5-4, with all the runs unearned in a victory on April 1.