No. 20 Lady Raider Softball Wins Two One-Run Games at Catawba Invitational

Mar. 3, 2007

Game One | Game Two

SALISBURY, N.C. - Sophomore Amanda Bardo (Montoursville/Montoursville) drove in the game-winning RBI in game one and scored the game-winning run in game two as the No. 20-ranked Shippensburg softball team won a pair of one-run games on day two of the Catawba Invitational, beating Wingate 5-4 and Mars Hill, 1-0.

With a two-out double in game two, junior Sarah Stengl (High Springs, Fla./Holidaysburg (Pa.)) also had a game-winning RBI for the Lady Raiders (4-1) while junior Dani Shields (Laurel, Del./Sussex Tech) picked up her second and third career saves and sophomore Lauren Plasterer (Shippensburg/Shippensburg) won her third career game in her second career start.

In game one, Wingate (16-3) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings and held that lead into the fourth before Shippensburg tied the game with three runs in the top of the inning, including two on an RBI-single to centerfield by sophomore Becky Brensinger (Chambersburg/Chambersburg) with two outs.

Wingate returned six All-South Atlantic Conference (SAC) First-Team selections from last year's 2006 Food Lion SAC Softball Tournament championship team.

The game would remained tied at 3-3 through five until senior Katie Heatley (York/Dallastown) led off the top of the sixth with a walk and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by freshman Lisamarie Ramagli (Levittown/Neshaminy). Bardo then came to the plate and hit a double to left center scoring Heatley to give the Lady Raiders a 4-3 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs would put runners on first and second with no outs before Shields, making the first relief appearance of her career, retured the final six batters she faced to pick up her second career save and first since 2005 to preserve the one-run victory.

Bardo finished the game with two of the team's five hits, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs while Brensinger was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

In the circle, sophomore Lori Knopf (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) made her second career start, allowing nine hits in 5.0 innings while striking out three. Shields faced seven batters over the final two innings, striking out four and allowing just one bunt single.

Game two was scoreless until the top of the fourth when Bardo drew an eight-pitch walk after being down one ball and two strikes in the count. Stengl then followed with her fourth career double on a hit that would have been her second career home run if not for the 25 mph wind blowing in from centerfield.

The Lady Raiders were able to keep the game scoreless thanks to the strong starting pitching from Plasterer who held Mars Hill (16-6) to just two hits while striking out four through the first four innings.

Shields then entered with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and retired seven of the eight batters she faced, including two more by strikeout to earn her third career save in as many relief appearances. On the season, Shields is 1-1 with two saves and 30 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

Offensively, Shippensburg totaled just two hits, Stengl's double and a lead-off single by Brensinger in the sixth inning, but held the Lions to only two and walked just two while striking out six.

The Lady Raiders conclude competition at the Catawba Invitational on Sunday with a single-game against West Virginia State that begins at Noon.

- Lady Raider Softball -