Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 Salem, Va. – The Millersville women's softball team swept the competition on Saturday at the Salem Softball Tournament to improve its record to 9-2 on the season. That mark is the best start to a season for a Millersville softball team since the 1994 squad opened the year with an 10-1 record.
 
The Marauders defeated W.Va. Wesleyan, Salem International, and Bluefield State by a combined score of 9-1. It is the first time since 2007 that Millersville has won three games on the same calendar day.
 
In the first game Millersville relied on one deep ball to take down West Virginia Wesleyan. A two-run home run by Jordan Sheffield in the top of the third was all the Marauders needed as Brianna Andraos pitched seven scoreless innings against the Bobcats. Andraos gave up just three hits throughout the game and has not allowed a run in 18 innings this season.
 
Through the first two innings both starting pitchers combined to allow only one run. Bobcat pitcher Kaitlyn Carey retired the first six Marauders she faced until the third inning.
 
After a single by Jamie Motsko in the third, Sheffield walked up to the plate as the first Marauder to face Carey with a runner on base. The Oxford native drilled the second pitch she saw to deep left center field to break the scoreless tie. The two-run blast was Sheffield's first collegiate home run and the third for Millersville in as many games.
 
Andraos shutdown Wesleyan's lineup for the duration of the contest. The freshman pitcher did not allow a base runner in three of the final five innings and only surrendered two hits the rest of the way. With the win she moves to 3-0 on the season and has amassed 13 strikeouts.
 
In the second game of the day, Millersville spread nine hits across six innings to defeat Salem International by a score of 3-0. Sophomore pitcher Sarah Bertoni threw all seven innings, allowing four hits, one walk and no runs. Sophomore Cara Nance went 2-for-3 with a RBI and run scored.
 
After three scoreless innings the Marauders were able to plate a run in the bottom of the fourth. Sheffield started the inning with a single to left field. First baseman Ashley Cantiello laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Sheffield to second. Nance came up to the plate and singled to left center to score Sheffield. A double by Taylor Odell-Smith allowed Nance to reach home easily from second and gave Millersville a 2-0 lead with three innings remaining.
 
Cantiello again sacrificed to help the Marauders score in the bottom of the fifth. With Berry on third Cantiello flied out to straight away center. Berry easily beat the throw to home plate as she scored the Black and Gold's final run of the game.
 
Bertoni limited the Tigers to just one hit in the final two innings to preserve the victory for Millersville. The Greater Nanticoke product forced Salem International into 12 groundball outs and had two separate streaks where she retired five consecutive batters.
 
In the final game of the day Cantiello became the third Marauder starting pitcher to go all seven innings and record a victory. Millersville defeated Bluefield State 4-1 behind a well executed offensive attack. The team's 12 hits and four stolen bases were the second most this season and the team's one strike out tied a seasonal best.
 
Bluefield State junior Shandi Myles pitched the entire game for the Blues and only surrendered two earned runs. Inopportune mistakes helped the other two Marauder runs score, but Bluefield was unable to find an answer against Cantiello.
 
The Black and Gold took an early 1-0 lead after the first inning. In the second, Stephanie Kulp batted in Yisleidy Minaya-Vargas from second on a single to right center field. The RBI was Kulp's fifth on the season, tying her for third best on the team in knocking in runs.
 
Teammate Danielle DiFilippo also recorded her fifth RBI of the year when she batted in Sheffield in the bottom of the sixth. Sheffield singled, advanced to second on a passed ball, and then stole third by just beating the throw and touching the bag before the tag. DiFilippo's single easily plated Sheffield and padded Millersville's lead to 4-0.
 
Bluefield State was able to do what no other team had done to Millersville on the day, score a run. In the seventh inning, a double by Allyson Hatfield and a throwing error by Millersville allowed Bluefield to tally its only run of the game.

The Marauders wrap up the Salem Tournament tomorrow morning when they play Ohio Valley at the James Moyer Sports Complex. Game time is set for 9 a.m.