Shields Strikes Out Nine, Lady Raiders Down IUP, 2-0
May 4, 2006
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Sophomore Danielle Shields (Laurel, Del./Sussex Tech) allowed just two hits while striking out nine as No. 14-ranked Shippensburg opened play in the 2006 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Softball Championship with a 2-0 victory over Indiana (Pa.) on Friday at Lock Haven’s Lawrence Field.
The No. 2-seed in the Eastern Division, the Lady Raiders (37-16) won their 10th-straight PSAC tournament game dating back to 2003. The team, which has won the last three consecutive conference championships, has not lost a game in the conference tournament since a 2-1 loss to Lock Haven on May 3, 2002.
Shippensburg was led offensively by a trio of freshmen in Kelly Nelson (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent), Rachelle Wedell (Baltimore, Md./Northeast) and Lori Knopf (Crown Point, Ind./Andrean).
Nelson went a perfect 3-for-3 while Wedell drove in the game-winning run for the fifth time this season with an RBI-double down the left field line in the top of the third, scoring junior Heather Chantiles (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin).
Knopf added an insurance run in the sixth with her fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to center field, tying her with Nelson for the team lead.
Meanwhile, Chantiles’ bunt single in the third, raised her season total to 98, leaving her two shy of becoming the first player since 2000 in Division II to reach 100. She was 1-for-4 with a run.
Earlier this season, Shippensburg defeated IUP by the same score in Salem, Virginia on March 26 behind 13 strikeouts from senior Kelley Tiesi (Baltimore, Md./Catholic School of Baltimore).
The Lady Raiders, who are 2-0 against the Western Division this season, will now face the No. 1-seed from the Western Division in Lock Haven, Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The game will feature the top two pitchers in the PSAC and two of the top in Division II in Tiesi and Kristen Erb.
The Lady Eagles are currently 41-3 this season and ranked No. 5 in Division II.
- Lady Raider Softball -
