SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University softball team got back on the diamond after almost a full year away and split the season-opening doubleheader against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent, Shippensburg University Wednesday afternoon. The Huskies took the first game 7-5 before dropping the second, 2-1. The Huskies start the year 1-1 and are 1-1 in PSAC play while the Raiders move to 2-2 for the year and 1-1 in conference action.
 
In the first game, redshirt-junior Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) earned the complete-game win in the circle for the Huskies after allowing five runs on 10 hits and four walks. Wild struck out eight as she went the full seven innings for Bloomsburg. At the plate, Wild was 2-for-2 with a run scored.
 
Junior Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area) went 3-for-4 at the plate as she collected three RBI and scored a pair of runs while senior Briannah Dobson (York, Pa./Central York) drove in two runs thanks to a pair of sacrifice flies.
 
Junior Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored the first run of the season for Bloomsburg in the top of the first. DelPierre reached on a two-base error by the Raiders' right fielder and moved to third on a wild pitch one batter later. She came around to score thanks to a single through the box from Starr.
 
Morgan DeFeo led off the bottom of the first for the Raiders with a double to left-center but Wild left her stranded after getting the next three batters out, including her first K of the game.
 
Each team had a baserunner in the second inning and went 1-2-3 in the third. The Raiders had their first runner in scoring position since the first inning after a single up the middle from Taylor Myers pushed Taylor Radziewicz to second but Wild ending any scoring threat with a strikeout of Johnson for the third out.
 
After a quiet fifth for both teams, Bloomsburg extended its lead to 2-0 thanks to smart base running from Starr. Starr led off the inning with a double to left-center and moved to third on a ground ball to second from Ray. Senior Briannah Dobson (York, Pa./Central York) hit a sacrifice fly to third to bring home Starr and give the Huskies a much-needed two-run cushion.
 
The Raiders put the first three batters on base in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a hit batter, a double, and a walk. Shippensburg cut the lead in half when Myers singled to left to bring home Maria Leedom. After a brief visit to the circle from head coach Susan Kocher, Wild recollected herself and struck out the side, including ending the frame with a backward K.
 
The Huskies gave themselves another crucial cushion as they plated five runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-1 lead. With one out, Wild walked on a full count before Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte Area) collected her first hit of the season and DelPierre reached on an error to load the bases. Freshman Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) came up big for Bloomsburg with her first career-hit, a two-run single up the middle to bring home Wild and Baney and push the BU lead to 4-1. Starr followed right behind with a single up the middle to bring home DelPierre and give Bloomsburg a 5-1 lead. After Ray was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases, Dobson hit her second sacrifice fly of the game to score Lenner and junior Rebecca Rossi (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) capped the scoring with a single to bring home Starr and extend the Husky lead to 7-1.

Shippensburg would not go quietly, however, and got to work right away in the bottom of the seventh. DeFeo led off the inning with a double to left-center and Alyssa Nehlen singled through the left side to put runners on the corners. After Nehlen stole second, Courtney Coy singled to right center bring bother runners home, and cut the Bloomsburg lead to 7-3. Hannah Marsteller found a 2-0 pitch she liked and homered over the center-field fence to inch the Raiders closer at 7-5, but Wild once again worked herself out of trouble. After a single from Radziewicz, Wild got Myers to sacrifice for the first out of the inning. Toni Jones walked before Sydney Reffner fouled out to left and Wild ended the game with her eighth strikeout to pick up the win.
 
Game two featured a fierce pitcher's duel between Baney and Maelynn Leber of Shippensburg. Unfortunately, Baney took the loss for Bloomsburg after giving up just two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two. Baney went the distance for the Huskies. Leber earned the win behind allowing just one run on six hits and striking out two in 7.0 innings of work. 
 
Shippensburg got on the board first in game two as Radziewicz singled up the middle with two outs to bring home Coy in the bottom of the third inning. The Raiders added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth with a run on two hits in the frame. 
 
The Huskies got one run back in the top of the sixth, however, as Wild led off the frame with a single before moving to third on a sac bunt from Dobson and a ground out from Lenner. Rossi then reached on a throwing error by Shippensburg that allowed Wild to come home. 
 
Baney set the Raiders down in order in the sixth but Bloomsburg left the trying run stranded at third in the top of the seventh. 
 
For the day, Starr was 4-for-8 at the plate with a pair of doubles while Wild collected three hits between the two games. 

The Huskies return to Bloomsburg on Friday to host their first doubleheader of the season as Shepherd visits Jan  Hutchinson Field for a pair of PSAC contests beginning at 2:00 pm. Be sure to visit www.buhuskies.com for up-to-date schedule information and links for the live broadcast and live stats.