Lady Raider Softball Alone Atop PSAC East Standings, Sweep Millersville
Apr. 17, 2006
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Freshman Lauren Plasterer (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) picked up her second win of the season in game two while junior Heather Chantiles (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) totaled five more hits as the No. 14-ranked Shippensburg softball team won its ninth-straight game, sweeping a doubleheader at Millersville on Monday, 9-0 and 4-1 in nine innings.
With two wins today and Bloomsburg having lost three of its last four, the Lady Raiders (29-11, 10-2 PSAC East) have a three-game lead over Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg and Kutztown for first-place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division standings.
With the score tied at 1-1 after seven innings in game two, head coach Bob Brookens brought in Plasterer in relief of sophomore Danielle Shields (Laurel, Del./Sussex Tech) who allowed just six hits in seven innings while striking out nine.
Plasterer retired six of the eight batters she faced over the final two innings, including two by strikeout. Of the two batters who reached base, only one came by hit as Brandi Catherman reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the ninth. For Plasterer, it was her first appearance since March 25 when she tossed a no-hitter over four innings while striking out nine in relief in a 7-2 victory over Bluefield State.
Meanwhile, Shippensburg scored the game-winning runs in the top of the ninth, totaling three, two of which were unearned. With the bases loaded after the Marauders (24-14, 7-7 PSAC East) intentionally walked senior Kristen Marll (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding), freshman Rachelle Wedell (Baltimore, Md./Northeast) drove in the game-winning run with a single, scoring sophomore Liz Good (Croydon, Pa./Truman).
Chantiles would also score on a Millersville error, giving the Lady Raiders a 3-1 lead with one out before freshman Lori Knopf (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) doubled to score Marll to push the lead to three heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Chantiles, who was named PSAC Eastern Division Player of the Week on Monday, finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs, raising her season hit total to 70, leaving her eight short of tying the single-season record of 78 set by Jaime Dacey a year ago. Wedell was 2-for-5 while Marll went 0-for-1, drawing three walks.
The first game featured the dominant pitching of senior Kelley Tiesi (Baltimore, Md./Catholic School of Baltimore) as she continues to close in on 1,000 career strikeouts. She surrendered just two hits while striking out 11 for her 15th double-digit strikeout performance this season. Tiesi, who was named PSAC Eastern Division Pitcher of the Week for the third time on Monday, also picked up her 17th win of the year in her 20th start, all complete games.
In making her 121st career appearance, Tiesi earned her 47th shutout and now has 966 strikeouts and 91 career victories.
The Lady Raiders held a 2-0 lead after three innings before scoring seven runs over the final three innings in posting nine runs, their fourth-highest total of the season and the most since back-to-back 10-0 victories at Shepherd on March 22. Shippensburg also totaled 12 hits, the fifth time in the last nine games that it has had at least 10.
Chantiles, Marll, Good and freshman Amanda Bardo (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) each totaled two hits while eight of Shippensburg's nine starters had at least one hit.
The Lady Raiders travel to Bloomsburg on Wednesday for a rematch with the No. 22-ranked Huskies. The two teams split a doubleheader at Shippensburg back on March 31.
- Lady Raider Softball -
