BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team began its 2024 conference slate Friday afternoon with a doubleheader split against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) foe Shippensburg. 

The Raiders captured game one by a score of 6-1, using several key extra bases to win the first game of the season at Jan M. Hutchinson Field. The Huskies responded in game two with a 9-1, run-rule victory in five innings.

Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) provided the lone run of the first leg for Bloomsburg with her first home run of the season and the 10th of her career in hopes of sparking a late rally. In game two, freshman Josie Straigis (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) stole the show, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with her second-career home run and a career-best six RBI. The runs batted in total ties the most by a Husky since 2021 and the most by a first-year player dating back to 2013.

Bloomsburg moves to 12-7 overall on the season with a 1-1 record in conference action. Shippensburg holds a 13-5 record and now sits at 2-2 in PSAC play.

Game One: 
Both pitchers were able to keep the opposition off the board through the first two innings with Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) having to pitch out of trouble through the opening frames.

Sowers escaped the first inning, stranding two runners on following a lead-off single and a walk. In the second, the junior pitched around a one-out double and runner on third to keep the Raiders scoreless.

The Huskies' were kept quiet for the early part of game one, recording their first hit of the day off a Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) single in the bottom of the fifth. Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) and Gianna Gombeda (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) followed her onto the base paths with a single and a walk, respectively before Shippensburg's Alicia Ball got out of the inning via a fielder's choice. 

The Raiders got on the board in the top of the third with a solo home run, the first home run of the season allowed by Sowers. The Irwin, Pa. native would surrender a second run in the fifth after a pair of well-hit doubles. 

Shippensburg widened the gap with a four-run sixth to seal the victory, capitalizing on a bases-loaded situation of its own.

Little got one back in Bloomsburg's portion of the seventh as a pinch hitter to lead-off the Huskies' final frame.

Game Two: 
Bloomsburg responded in a big way following the defeat in game one to clinch its second run-rule win of the season.

Kelly Eberly (Purcellville, Va/Homeschooled) took the mound for the Huskies in the second game of the day, providing a solid performance for her third win of the season. The Junior tallied five innings in the victory, giving up four hits while walking two. 

In the first, Eberly avoided any damage after walking two of the first three batters of the game, notching consecutive outs to set up the Bloomsburg bats.

The Huskies opened the game two with seven runs through two innings. In the first, Bloomsburg scored three runs in the first, all coming with two outs. With runners on the corners, Straigis singled down the left-field line for her base knock of the day and to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Bloomsburg learned from its mistakes in game one, as Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) came through with a bases-loaded two-RBI single to make it a 3-0 game and chase the Raiders' starter out.

In the second, the runs kept on coming, again with Bloomsburg piecing together clutch at-bats with two outs. Kranzley and Sage Weidlich (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) each recorded a single to put runners on the corners with one out to play with. Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) drove in the first run of the second with a single. Straigis stepped into the box and hammered a ball over the fence in left field to raise the Huskies' advantage to 7-0 and force the second pitching change of the day. 

Shippensburg put one on the board in the top of the third following a pair of consecutive hits from the second and third spot in the visitors' lineup to cut the margin to 7-1.

Bloomsburg secured the deciding runs in the bottom of the fourth, with none other than Straigis knocking in the runners. Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) opened the inning with a walk, followed by Weidlich's second hit of the day before a fielder's choice put one on the board. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance as the Raiders recorded out number two. The Greensburg, Pa. native shined once more with another piece of timely hitting, dropping a two-RBI single into left center to set the difference at eight runs.

With the lead and a stout defense behind her, Eberly calmly retired the side in order to clinch the win.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies are back at Jan M. Hutchinson Field for another PSAC doubleheader on Sunday, March 24, beginning at 1:00 p.m. against Shepherd.