SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team wrapped up the week of action with a doubleheader split at Shippensburg Sunday afternoon.

Trailing 5-4 heading into the top of the seventh, the Huskies lineup rallied for five runs in the inning to grab a 9-5 lead for good. Josie Straigis (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) got Bloomsburg over the top with a three-run home run  Lillian Gray (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) picked up her first win of the season on the mound after pitching 4.1 innings of relief and surrendering one run.

The Huskies would strike first in game one with a two-run first inning but gave up 10 unanswered runs to the Raiders in a 10-2 defeat in six innings.

Bloomsburg moves to 24-15 on the season, with a 13-9 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Shippensburg sits at 28-10 overall with a 15-7 mark in conference action.

Game One: 
The Raiders took the first lead of game one in the bottom of the second. The home side used a pair of doubles to take a 1-0 lead before the Huskies could escape the inning, stranding two runners in scoring position. 

Emmie Rowe (Hetlerville, Pa./Central Columbia) led off the top of the third with a single and advanced to third base off a pair of groundouts. With two outs, Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) delivered Bloomsburg's first RBI base hit of the afternoon with a single through the infield to tie the game at 1-1.

Shippensburg retook the lead in the bottom portion of the inning with a three-run burst. The first two batters of the inning walked and a series of singles and walks allowed the Raiders' advantage to balloon to 4-1.

The Huskies responded with two runs in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit back to one at 4-3. After the first two baserunners reached and a fielder's choice to put two runners on with one out, Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) singled down the right-field line to drive in one and make it a two-run contest. With two outs, Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) drove a single of her own down the opposite line to bring the game within one.

Gray kept Bloomsburg in the contest, getting through her first 2.1 innings of the afternoon without allowing a hit. 

Errant play by the Shippensburg infield set up Rowe for the RBI opportunity, with the freshman coming through with a RBI single to tie the game at 4-4.

The Raiders did not go away, looking to defend the longest-active home winning streak in the PSAC. Shippensburg answered the Huskies' run in the sixth with one of its own off a sacrifice fly to take a 5-4 edge heading into the seventh. 

For the third game in a row, Bloomsburg saved its best for the final frame as the Huskies plated five runs with their backs against the wall. After Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) led off the inning with a single, the Huskies found themselves down to their final out with a runner on second. Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) reached on a hit-by-pitch facing a two-strike count to set up Straigis. The freshman delivered with the biggest swing of the afternoon, a three-run blast over the left-field fence to give Bloomsburg a 7-5 advantage. 

Forcing a pitching change, the Huskies did not let up on their two-out rally, scoring another two runs to ensure the win. Rowe recorded her second RBI single of the game to grow the lead to three and was backed up by a Culp single to set up two runners in scoring position. Weidlich smacked a hard-hit ball into the heart of the infield, allowing Rowe to score before Culp was thrown out at third to end the inning.

In the seventh, Gray remained in control to maintain the advantage. Despite giving up a four-pitch walk with two outs, the sophomore got the subsequent batter out via a 6-3 groundout to wrap up game one. 

Game Two: 
The Huskies jumped out to an early lead in game two, but the inability to convert with runners in scoring position throughout the contest allowed the hosts to pull away late.

In the top of the first, Culp and Weidlich singled to start the game before being bunted over to place two in scoring position. With two outs, Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) dropped a single into shallow left-center field to plate the lone two runs of game two for Bloomsburg.

The Huskies recorded two quick outs at the top part of the Raiders' lineup before three consecutive hits from the heart of the lineup tied the game at 2-2. Shippensburg regained the lead in the next inning from a single to grab a 3-2 edge. 

Through the next five innings of play, Bloomsburg left seven runners on base, five stranded in scoring position.

The Raiders doubled its lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth with another piece of timely two-out hitting.

In the bottom of the sixth, the game got away from the Huskies with the team unable to escape the inning before Shippensburg clinched the game via the run rule, 10-2.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies play their final non-conference doubleheader of the season on Tuesday, April 16, at 2:00 p.m. at Jan M. Hutchinson Field against Lincoln.