Box Score 1 | Box Score 2



Shippensburg 2, Kutztown 0 (HTML Box Score)
 
Kutztown 9, Shippensburg 8 (HTML Box Score)
 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. –Danielle Sienko (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) went 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI, and pitcher Dominique Ficara (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional (Hofstra)) ended the game with two game-saving strikeouts in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Thursday to lead the Kutztown University softball team to a split with Shippensburg University. KU dropped game one 2-0, but took the second game 9-8 at North Campus Field.
 
Thursday featured two of the top teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Golden Bears (14-17, 6-6 PSAC East) remained even in the division with a much-needed split against the once-nationally-ranked Raiders (22-6, 8-4).
 
Game one was dominated by pitching. Shippensburg got three of its six hits in the sixth inning, when it scored the only two runs of the game. A leadoff single quickly put the go-ahead run on third base after a KU fielding error moved the batter to second and a wild pitch during the next at-bat moved her to third.
 
An RBI single by Taylor Weisman gave Shippensburg a 1-0 lead. Weisman was sacrificed over to second, advanced to third on another wild pitch, and scored on a groundball to close the scoring in game one.
 
Shippensburg pitcher Emily Estep pitched a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts and one walk. She did not allow a KU runner to reach third base all game while moving to 13-1 on the season.
 
The offense quickly made up for its lackluster performance in the opener with three runs in the first inning of game two. Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip (Hofstra)) hit a two-run double and was driven in by a matching double by Marka Ballard (Redwood City, CA/Mercy Burlingame) for an early three-run advantage.
 
Ballard drove in another run in the third inning as Kutztown led 4-1 through three innings. Following a Shippensburg run in the top of the fourth, Kutztown scored four runs with two outs in the bottom half. With Lisa Lawson (Morgantown, Pa./Twin Valley) on third, Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) hit a RBI single up the middle for a 5-2 lead. Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) was walked, bringing Sienko to the plate. On a 1-1 count, she drove a deep fly ball to left field that went over the wall to give KU a six-run, 8-2 lead through four.
 
Shippensburg responded with a home run and five runs of its own over the next two innings, bringing Kutztown's lead to 8-7. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Sienko drove in what proved to be the game-winning home run, her second of the game, just over the right field fence to stretch Kutztown's lead to 9-7.
 
The Raiders threatened again in the seventh inning and loaded the bases with no outs, needing two runs to tie the game. A ground out moved the runners over and brought Shippensburg within one run with one out and the tying run on third base.
 
Following a walk, Ficara could not let the batter advance to keep Shippensburg from tying the game. On a 1-2 count, she forced the first batter to strikeout looking with the bases loaded. She fell to a 3-1 count on the following batter with two outs, but worked for two straight strikes as she ended the game with a strikeout looking to secure the split.
 
Ficara picked up her 10th win of the season with five strikeouts and one walk. Four of the eight runs allowed were earned while throwing 114 pitches. Red Raider pitcher Makenzie Lynn fell to 6-4 with eight earned runs in 3.2 innings.
 
The Golden Bears and Red Raiders will meet again tomorrow, Friday, April 11 to wrap-up their four-game series at Shippensburg. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.