No. 15 Lady Raider Softball Sweeps Two on Thursday at Rebel Spring Games

Mar. 15, 2007

Game One | Game Two

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Behind 15 runs and 25 hits, the No. 15-ranked Shippensburg softball team won back-to-back games on Thursday at the Rebel Spring Games, defeating NAIA Saint Xavier in game one 9-1 in five innings before holding off a late rally by C.W. Post en route to a 6-5 victory in game two.

The Lady Raiders (9-5) have now won two-straight and three of their last four, combining one of its top offensive performances of the season with two strong pitching performances from sophomore Lauren Plasterer (Shippensburg/Shippensburg) and junior Dani Shields (Laurel, Del./Sussex Tech).

Offensively, sophomore Amanda Bardo (Montoursville/Montoursville) went 5-for-6 with three runs and one RBI in both games while freshman Nicole Henninger (Reading/Muhlenberg) was 3-for-5 with two runs, two RBIs, a double and two walks.

In game one, Plasterer allowed just four hits and one earned run while striking out three in picking up her second win of the season. In five appearances and two starts this season, Plasterer has held opponents to a .193 batting average while posting a 0.44 ERA in 16.0 innings.

Shippensburg scored at least one run in all but one of the five innings, plating three each in the second and fourth.

Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the second with two outs and runners on first and second, sophomore Becky Brensinger (Chambersburg/Chambersburg) hit her first career triple with a hit to left center, scoring Bardo and senior Katie Heatley (York/Dallastown). She then scored on a single down the left field line by sophomore Rachelle Wedell (Baltimore, Md./Northeast).

The Lady Raiders added three more runs in the fourth on RBI hits by Wedell and sophomores Lori Knopf (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) and Kelly Nelson (Warminster/William Tennent).

Shippensburg then ended the game with the eight-run rule in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI-single from freshman Lisamarie Ramagli (Levittown/Neshaminy) and a bases loaded walk by Brensinger that scored Knopf after she reached on a fielding error by the right fielder.

Brensinger finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs while Wedell was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Bardo was 2-for-2 with a walk and three runs.

Nicole Barker was 2-for-3 for Saint Xavier (3-4) who allowed just five earned runs.

Leading 6-2 against C.W. Post (7-7), Shippensburg had to hold on for the one-run victory after the Pioneers scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, all of which came on a two-out, three-run triple by Samantha Yodowitz.

Yodowitz finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and one run along with a double and solo home run in the sixth.

Shields allowed all five runs for Shippensburg on just five hits and three runs, but managed to strike out nine, three short of her career-high. It was her fifth win of the season and second in as many starts.

Eight players had at least one hit for the Lady Raiders as they tied a season-high with 13 as a team. Bardo led the way as she went 3-for-4 with an RBI-single in the fifth.

Junior Sarah Stengl (High Springs, Fla./Hollidaysburg (Pa.)) was 2-for-4 with a double, solo home run, two runs and two RBIs. Her second career home run in the top of the second gave Shippensburg a 1-0 lead and her RBI-double in the fifth extended the lead to 4-1.

In the top of the seventh, freshman Oceanna DeBaro (Milton/Milton) drove in what proved to be the game-winning run when she scored Henninger from third on a bloop single that fell into left field just behind the third base bag.

Shippensburg concludes competition at the Rebel Spring Games on Friday when it takes on Tiffin at 9:00 a.m., followed by Adelphi at 1:00 p.m.

- Lady Raider Softball -