Millersville, Pa. -Â Cassidy Pinchorski and
Brianna Andraos turned in a pair of dominant pitching performances on Sunday afternoon as the Millersville softball team cranked out a combined 16 hits in a two-game sweep of Shippensburg with scores of 4-1 and 6-2.
The Marauders earned their first two PSAC East wins of the season to improve to 10-11 overall and 2-4 in conference play while the Raiders fell to 8-7 on the season, 3-5 in league action and have dropped five of their last eight, all against PSAC East opponents. This marked the first time Millersville has swept Shippensburg in a two-game set since at least the beginning of the 1999 season.
The freshman Pinchorski (5-6) was in cruise control in the circle for the day's first game. The righty tossed a complete game with one earned run on five hits while striking out six batters and only walking one. Pinchorski has now had at least five strikeouts in a game five times this season and accomplished the feat for a third-straight start.
On the offensive end, the Marauders struck first in the second when
Brittany Smith doubled, stole third and then scored on an error by Ship's shortstop who was unable to catch the throw down to third base. The Black and Gold added another in the fifth when the bases were loaded and
Jordan Sheffield was hit by a pitch to force
Kelsey Campbell across the plate.
The Raiders scored their lone run of the contest in the next half inning to pull within one but the home team put the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a two spot of its own.
Danielle DiFilippo walked to start things up, B. Smith singled and after a fielder's choice bunt off the bat of
Gabbie Berry, Campbell singled to load up the bases for
Heather Lutz. Lutz came through in a big way with a single down the left field line that scored both Berry and B. Smith to give the hosts a 4-1 advantage.
B. Smith, Campbell and Lutz each notched two hits apiece while
Maria Spinosa and
Stephanie Kulp each added a base knock.
In game two, Millersville did all of its scoring in the fourth and fifth innings with a three spot in each frame. In the fourth, B. Smith blasted a two-run home run over the fence in left field to give herself four career round trippers and that same inning, Campbell brought in Berry with an RBI single.
In the fifth, DiFilippo singled to right and after the ball went beneath the right fielder's glove, it allowed both Spinosa and Sheffield to come across as the plate. The Marauders sixth and final run came when B. Smith singled home DiFilippo from third. The visitors scored their two runs in the sixth with a two-run single, but that was where the score would stand.
For the game, B. Smith was the lone Marauder with multiple hits as she was 2-for-3 with a run scored, three RBI's and her home run. The sophomore first baseman was a combined 4-of-6 for the doubleheader.
In the circle, Andraos (5-5) took care of business with seven innings pitched, two earned runs on four hits and six walks.
Next up, Millersville travels to Mansfield on Tuesday for a twinbill slated to begin at 2:30 p.m.