MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Pregame festivities honored the six Millersville seniors on Saturday afternoon and they went on to carry the Marauders to the win in game two.
Gabby D'Ottavio's two-run home run proved to be the difference while
Morgan Crutcher tossed five innings of three-run ball in the 5-3 victory.
GAME ONE:
Shippensburg jumped on Millersville starting pitcher
Alex Schaefer for five runs in the first inning. She would settle down after that, throwing three scoreless frames before allowing two more runs in the fifth.
Angelina Saverase took over to begin the sixth and delivered two shutout innings to close it out.
The entirety of the Marauders' scoring came with one swing of
Gabi Turner's bat. She lifted a solo home run just over the fence in left center to put her team on the board in the bottom of the fourth.
GAME TWO:
The Raiders took an early lead in the second game as well, but Marauder starting hurler Crutcher limited them to a lone run. She posted one of her best outings of the season on the afternoon, giving up two earned runs on eight hits over five innings of work.
Millersville answered right back in the bottom of the first with a run of their own and took the lead in the second with another tally. That second run came in the form of
Kendra Bumgardner, who doubled to lead off the inning and scored on
Victoria Fuss' single a couple batters later. The big blow was dealt by D'Ottavio in the Marauders' next at-bat. Turner started the inning with a single to bring D'Ottavio to the dish. She ripped a laser over the left field fence for her second home run of the season and a 4-1 Marauder advantage. They would add one more to that lead later in the third on a wild pitch.
Schaefer came in in relief of Crutcher to begin the sixth inning with the score 5-3. She allowed three Raiders to reach base but none to score to secure the six-out save and the Marauder victory.
GAME NOTES
- The Marauders' all-time record against the Raiders moves to 40-109 all time with the advantage going to Shippensburg.
- Millersville remains in the thick of the playoff hunt with a 13-13 conference record. The Marauders are two games back of West Chester for the fifth and final playoff spot.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JEN PROBST
- On bouncing back in game two: "It's always good to get a win on Senior Day, especially against a top team like Shippensburg."
- On her emotions during the festivities: "I've been emotional watching them all year. I have just such a history with them. Most of them I've known since their junior year in high school. Our fifth years, some of them I've known for eight years. They're the heart of this team, the heart and soul. I've made an effort to be present and soak up every moment all year, so today was no different."
UP NEXT
- The Marauders travel to Kutztown to take on the Golden Bears in a crucial series on April 23. Game one is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
