Softball Sweeps Kutztown, Chantiles Breaks Hit Record, Tiesi Reaches 996 Strikeouts
Apr. 24, 2006
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - In a key battle for first-place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division, No. 14-ranked Shippensburg used strong pitching and timely hitting to sweep a doubleheader from Kutztown at Robb Field on Monday, 2-0 and 4-1.
Senior Kelley Tiesi (Baltimore, Md./Catholic School of Baltimore) and sophomore Danielle Shields (Laurel, Del./Sussex Tech) combined for 20 strikeouts while allowing only 11 hits and one run. Tiesi earned her 20th victory of the season in game one, striking out 14 and scattering five hits. She now has 996 career strikeouts and needs just four to become just the seventh player in NCAA Division II history to reach 1,000.
With the sweep, the Lady Raiders (33-13, 14-4 PSAC East) moved two games ahead of Bloomsburg for first-place in the Eastern Division and three games ahead of Kutztown in third-place. Just one-game separates Bloomsburg and Kutztown for second and third-place.
Meanwhile, junior Heather Chantiles (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) went 1-for-3 with a run in the first game, breaking the school's single-season hit record with her 79th of the season. Chantiles, who passed Jaime Dacey's record set last year, now has 82 after going 3-for-4 in game two.
For Shields, it was her 11th victory this season and first since a 2-1 victory over Mansfield on April 12. The win snaped a span of three-straight games without a decision. She struck out six, allowed only six hits and surrendered just one run in the second inning.
Shippensburg scored both of its runs in game one in the bottom of the second. Junior Katie Heatley (York, Pa./Dallastown) led off the bottom of the inning with a double to left field before later scoring with two outs when Chantiles reached on a bunt single and then reached second on a throwing error.
Senior Kristen Marll (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding) followed with a single to left to score Chantiles to give Shippensburg a 2-0 lead. From there, Tiesi would allow four hits while striking out 10 over the final five innings to pick up her 94th career victory.
The Golden Bears (25-14, 11-7 PSAC East) would threaten in the third with a runner on third and two outs, but Tiesi got Kim Morrison to strike out swinging to end the half-inning. In the seventh, Kutztown's Jackie Messina double to left center with one out, but Tiesi would retire the next two consecutive batters.
Kutztown took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning of game two on an RBI-double to right center by Jennie Lincoln and would hold that lead into the bottom of the fourth before Shippensburg scored four runs to take a three-run lead.
Chantiles singled up the middle with one out to score freshman Amanda Bardo (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) to tie the game following a Golden Bear error before Marll reached on abunt single to load the bases. Freshman Rachelle Wedell (Baltimore, Md./Northeast) then doubled to left field, scoring Chantiles and sophomore Liz Good (Croydon, Pa./Truman).
Heatley then picked up her second RBI of the day when she drove in Wedell with a single to center field, giving the Lady Raiders a 4-1 lead after four. Shields would retired nine of the final 12 batters she faced, allowing just two hits while one runner reached on an error and striking out three.
Shippensburg travels to Mansfield on Tuesday for a doubleheader at 2:30 p.m., where Tiesi could reach 1,000 career strikeouts.
- Lady Raider Softball -
