STROUDSBURG – In a matchup between the defending NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Champions and the PSAC Champions, the 13th-ranked East Stroudsburg University softball team and Shippensburg split victories, with Shippensburg earning a 3-2 win in game one, while the Warriors salvaged a split with a 6-5 come from behind victory in the night cap on Sunday afternoon at Creekview Park.

The Warriors (22-6, 4-2 PSAC East) record their fourth victory in six conference matchups following the doubleheader split. The Raiders (14-6, 3-3 PSAC East) remain even its conference record through six contests with the win and loss.

ESU trailed 4-0 after four-and-a-half innings but climbed back to tie the contest in the bottom of the 6th. Denva Shaw-Tait smacked a walk-off RBI single with two outs to complete the comeback victory in the 6-5 win.

Offensive Notables

• Taylor Lipkins (3-7, 2 RBI) and Shannon Edelman (2-6, 2-Run HR) led the Warrior bats with two RBIs on the day.
• Shaw-Tait and Samantha Derickson also produced a run.
• Kate Donaghue (2-3, 2B), Kaitlin Houser (2-4), Katie Master (2-5), and Delaney Ridgell (2-7) all smacked two hits.
• Abigail Weirich extended her reach-based streak to 15 with a walk in each game.  

Pitching Notables

• Sarah Davenport (11-3) was charged with a loss in game one, but picked up her 11th win in game two's victory. In 10 innings of action, she allowed nine hits, three earned runs, while striking out 14 batters. She held the Raiders to a .237 batting average and issued just one walk.
• Paige Zigmund started both games, pitching a total of five innings. She conceded nine hits and five runs, walking five Raiders while striking out four.

ALS Awareness Day

• Prior to game one, ESU honored Billy Weirich, father of Abbie Weirich, who is battling ALS.
• Billy Weirich tossed out the first pitch. He was diagnosed with ALS in June 2022. For more on Billy's journey, click here.
• For more information on ALS or to donate to the ALS Hope Foundation or the ALS United Mid-Atlantic, visit alshf.org or alsmidatlantic.org,

How It Happened – Game 1

• ­ESU struck first in its opening at-bats of the day. With two outs and a runner on first, Vicendese stole second and scored on a throwing error by the catcher to take a 1-0 advantage.
• The Raiders evened the contest in the top of the 2nd. After a leadoff walk, the Raiders smacked a pair of singles to tie the contest. Zigmund responded with three consecutive strikeouts to avoid further damage.
• The Warriors answered and retook the lead in the bottom of the 2nd. With runners on first and second, Master sent an infield single to the pitcher, as an errant throw allowed Kaitlin Houser to score on the play.
• A solo home run off the bat of SU's Caitlyn Martell knotted the game at 2-2.
• After Shippensburg loaded the bases with two walks and a single in the top of the 4th, Davenport entered the contest in relief of Zigmund, and fired three consecutive strikeouts to keep the contest tied at 2-2.
• The contest reached extra-innings, as Bri Wilmot smacked a one-out solo home run to lift the Raiders to a 3-2 lead.
• Ridgell and Houser each singled in the bottom of the 8th, but a strikeout thwarted the comeback attempt, as SU took game one, 3-2.

How It Happened – Game 2

• The Raiders scored three runs in four hits in the top of the 3rd. SU loaded the bases with three singles to open the inning, as Davenport entered the contest for Zigmund. Davenport struck out the next batter, but then allowed a walk for the first run of the game. Emillee Sullivan smacked an RBI single, while a fielder's choice accounted for the third run.
• After a leadoff double from SU's Morgan Lindsay in the top of the 5th, Sarah Sabocsik connected on a triple to make it a 4-0 Raider lead. With a runner on third and no outs, Davenport settled and fired a strikeout, allowed an infield single and tossed another strikeout to keep the game at 4-0.
• The resilient Warriors got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the 5th. With two outs, a Lipkins two-RBI single scored both Donaghue and pinch-runner Maddin Grow.
• A solo home run from Alyssa Nehlen extended the Raiders' lead to 5-2 in the top of the 6th.
• After Weirich walked to open the bottom of the 6th, Edelman smashed a two-run home run to cut the deficit to just one run at 5-4. ESU was not done, as Shaw-Tait singled and Donaghue doubled to put a pair of Warriors in scoring position. Derickson sent a sacrifice fly to right field to score Shaw-Tait to even the game at 5-5.
• Davenport allowed a leadoff single in the top of the 7th, but stranded the runner at first.
• Lipkins and Vicendese opened the bottom of the 7th with base knocks. After Edelman drew a walk to load the bases. With one out, Shaw-Tait sent a hard ground ball to shortstop, as a diving play allowed Vicendese to score the game-winning run.

Up Next

• After playing 18 of its past 20 games at Creekview Park, the Warriors (22-6, 4-2 PSAC East) hit the road for the next eight contests, first heading to Millersville (12-9, 3-1 PSAC) on Tuesday. Game times are set for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at Seaber Softball Stadium.

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