BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University softball team wrapped up its four-game series against Shippensburg University on Tuesday afternoon and played to a split against the visiting Raiders at Jan M. Hutchinson Field. The Huskies dropped a wild game one by a 15-14 final before bouncing back to salvage the split with an 8-0, five-inning victory in game two. Bloomsburg moved to 4-10 overall and 2-10 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while Shippensburg saw its record go to 5-9 overall and 4-8 in divisional play.

Game one was a wild affair that saw the two teams combine for 29 runs, 35 hits, 11 walks, five errors, and at least one baserunner in every half inning.

The visitors scored first on a two-run home run from Hannah Marsteller in the top of the first inning against senior righthander Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte Area). Bloomsburg got a run back in the bottom of the first to cut the Raiders' lead in half. Junior Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) doubled to left center with one out and then came into score on a run-scoring single from junior Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area).

Shippensburg added two runs in the top of the second to take a 4-1 lead before the Huskies exploded for seven runs in the bottom half to take an 8-4 advantage. In the home half of the second, Bloomsburg's first nine batters reached base as redshirt junior Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) started the rally with a single to right field and juniors Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) and Rebecca Rossi (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) were both hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Freshman Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) then doubled to bring home Wild and Barnes, cutting the Shippensburg lead to 4-3. DelPierre followed with a run-scoring bunt single to bring home Rossi for the tying run. Starr doubled to drive home Lenner and then senior Nicolette Ray (Abington, Pa./Abington) singled down the right field line to plate both DelPierre and Starr to give the hosts a 7-4 lead. After a walk to senior Briannah Dobson (York, Pa./Central York), freshman Alex Iseminger (Everett, Pa./Everett Area) followed with an RBI single to plate Ray for the seventh run of the inning. Shippensburg went to its third pitcher of the inning, Courtney Coy, and she retired the next three batters to get out of the jam.

Back came the Raiders in the top of the third inning as they scored eight times on six hits, and took advantage of four Bloomsburg errors, to reclaim a 12-8 advantage. Marsteller had the big blow of the inning with a grand slam home run which broke an 8-8 tie.

After both teams went scoreless in their half of the fourth inning, Shippensburg tacked on two runs against senior Balee Leeser (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 14-8. The Huskies got both runs back in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to 14-10. Rossi led off the inning with a single but was erased at second on a fielder's choice off the bat of Lenner. After a flyout for the second out, Starr doubled to keep the inning alive, and Ray followed with a two-run double to right center to score both Lenner and Starr to pull the hosts closer.

Shippensburg added an insurance run in the top of the sixth on a wild pitch - a run that would eventually prove costly.

Trailing 15-10, the Huskies came to life again in the bottom of the seventh against Tressa Kagarise. Lenner led off the inning with a single and then advanced to second on a walk to DelPierre. After a groundout advanced both runners to second and third, Ray brought them both home with a single back up the middle to cut the deficit to 15-12. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Huskies with one out and it summoned the return of Coy back in the circle for the Raiders. Junior Paige Thomas (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) reached on a fielder's choice to bring home freshman pinch-runner Evin Fisher (Marysville, Pa./Susquenita) to pull the Huskies to within two, 15-13. Barnes then kept the inning alive with a single back up the middle to drive home Iseminger and to trim the margin to 15-14. But, Coy was able to get Rossi to bounce out to third to end the wild opener.

Baney suffered the loss to fall to 1-6 on the season. Leeser pitched the next three innings and sophomore Savannah Doney (Trout Run, Pa./North Penn-Liberty) pitched a scoreless top of the seventh to keep the Huskies within striking distance. Coy moved to 1-0 on the season after allowing two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings.

Shippensburg out-hit Bloomsburg, 19-16, in the opener. Starr went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two runs batted in while Ray went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a career-high six RBI. Lenner, DelPierre, and Iseminger added two hits apiece in the opener with Lenner and DelPierre scoring three times each. Marsteller paced the Shippensburg offense by going 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI.

Wild got the ball in game two and went the distance to improve to 3-3 on the season. She scattered seven hits, walked two, and struck out seven in her five-inning, complete-game shutout. The seven strikeouts were one shy of her season-high of eight she recorded in the season opener at Shippensburg back on March 10.

The Huskies gave Wild all of the offense she would need in the bottom of the first inning against Shippensburg starter, Maelynn Leber. Bloomsburg started with three consecutive singles from Lenner, DelPierre, and Starr with the latter driving home two runs to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage. Junior Alexis Wetzler (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area) would follow later in the inning with a run-scoring single that brought home Starr for the third run of the frame.

Starr made it 4-0 in the bottom of the second when she belted a two-out, solo home run to left center off of reliever Emma Flattery. It was Starr's second home run of the season.

Bloomsburg added four runs in the home half of the fourth to take an 8-0 lead. Wild, Lenner, and DelPierre reached on consecutive singles to start the inning and to load the bases with nobody out. After a pair of strikeouts, Iseminger was hit by a pitch for the third time in the game to bring home Wild for the first run of the inning. Dobson followed with an infield single to push the margin to 6-0 and then Barnes drove home a pair with a single through the right side of the infield to give the Huskies an 8-0 advantage.

Wild polished off the Raiders in the top of the fifth, pitching around a two-out fielding error to preserve the shutout.

Leber lasted just two-thirds of an inning as she allowed three runs on four hits to drop to 1-4 on the season.

Bloomsburg had ten hits in game two with Starr, again, leading the way with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. She also scored twice and drove in three runs, including the solo home run in the second. Lenner and DelPierre added two hits apiece.

The Huskies will return to action on Thursday, March 25, when they host West Chester University for a doubleheader at Hutchinson Field. First pitch of game one is slated for 2:00 p.m. The two teams are scheduled to conclude the four-game series on Saturday, March 27, in West Chester, with that twinbill starting at 1:00 p.m.