Henninger Homers Twice in Doubleheader Split at West Chester
Apr. 6, 2007
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Shippensburg softball freshman Nicole Henninger (Reading/Muhlenberg) went a combined 3-for-7 with six RBIs, three runs scored and two home runs as the Lady Raiders snapped a five-game losing streak by winning game two of a doubleheader at West Chester, 9-4.
Behind a strong pitching performance from Shannon Padula in game one, the Golden Rams (15-16, 1-7 PSAC East) snapped a six-game losing streak while earning their first conference win of the season, 5-2.
For Shippensburg (18-15, 1-5 PSAC East), the loss in game one marked the first time in the history of the program that the team had began conference play with five consecutive losses.
With her two home runs, Henninger now has eight in 33 games this season, moving her into a tie for second-place on the school single-season list with Julie Slothower who also had eight in 1992. The record is currently shared by Kim Bedford and Andrea Heck who each had nine in 1987 and 1997, respectively.
Henninger drove in five of Shippensburg's nine runs in game two as she went 2-for-4 with a two-run single in the first inning and a three-run homer in the fifth. She also scored twice.
With 30 RBIs this year, Henninger needs just eight more to be ranked among the top-10 in school history for a single-season.
After Padula limited the Lady Raiders to only two runs on four hits in game one while striking out eight, Shippensburg responded with five run on four hits in the first inning of game two to take a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the second.
In addition to Henninger's two-run single, junior Sarah Stengl (High Springs, Fla./Hollidaysburg (Pa.)) followed with a two-run double down the left field line that scored Henninger and sophomore Amanda Bardo (Montoursville/Montoursville).
All five runs were charged to Golden Ram starter Brittney Rees who lasted just one-third of an inning before Padula came in to record the final two outs en route to throwing three and two-thirds innings.
West Chester would cut the deficit to two, 5-3, with three runs in the bottom of the second on a three-run homer by Jamie McComb after Padula and Katey Kreider led off the inning with back-to-back walks.
With Shippensburg still in front 5-3 in the top of the fifth, the Lady Raiders added all the insurance runs they would need when Henninger hit her team-leading eighth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left center, scoring Bardo and sophomore Rachelle Wedell (Baltimore, Md./Northeast).
Stengl went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs in game two while senior Katie Heatley (York/Dallastown) finished 1-for-4 with an RBI-single in the first inning.
Junior Dani Shields (Laurel, Del./Sussex Tech), who entered the game in the second inning in relief of sophomore starter Lauren Plasterer (Shippensburg/Shippensburg), earned her ninth win of the season, pitching the final six innings while allowing just three hits and striking out 11.
Shields also totaled two strikeouts in the first game, throwing the final inning and two-thirds in relief of sophomore starter Lori Knopf (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) after the Golden Rams broken open a scoreless game with five runs, two in the fourth and three in the fifth, only three of which were earned.
Shippensburg returns to action next Tuesday when it travels to East Stroudsburg.
- Lady Raider Softball -
