SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Freshman Danielle Shields (Laurel, Del./Sussex Tech) pitched a three-hit shutout to lead the Shippensburg University softball team to a 7-0 win over Bloomsburg University in the championship game of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Softball Championship on Saturday at Robb Field.
The win gave Shippensburg (40-3) its third consecutive PSAC Championship, as well as its second consecutive 40-win season.
Shields was named Most Valuable Player after totaling a 2-0 record and 21 strikeouts. She pitched 17 consecutive scoreless innings in wins over Lock Haven on Friday and against Bloomsburg. Shields held Bloomsburg (40-7) to just three hits in the game while giving up one walk. She struck out nine and raised her record to 13-1.
The Lady Raiders provided plenty of run support as senior Jessica Miller (Easton, Pa./Easton) led Shippensburg at the plate, going 2-for-2 with three RBI. She also scored a run.
Shippensburg took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Senior Liz Corr (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) led off the inning by beating out the throw on a grounder to short. She scored when senior Beth Rudai (Glen Mills, Pa./University High Ill.) tripled to left field, driving in what proved to be the game-winning run.
Senior Jaime Dacey (Langhorne, Pa./Archbishop Wood) followed with a RBI-single through the left side to score Rudai. After stealing second, Dacey scored when Miller hit a single to right field.
The Lady Raiders scored two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. Miller led off the fourth with a walk and scored when senior Fawn Gaidos (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) tripled to right field. Gaidos crossed the plate on a Liz Corr single to center field, giving Shippensburg a five-run lead.
In the fifth inning, back-to-back singles by senior Ann Corr (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) and Dacey put runners on first and second with one out. Senior Sarah Costa (Laurel, Md./Atholton) hit into a ground out to move the runners into scoring position, leading up to Miller's two-RBI single to put the lead at 7-0.
Dacey went 2-for-3, scored two runs and had one RBI. Liz Corr also had two hits.
For Bloomsburg, Ashley Lynn pitched four innings, but suffered the loss to go to 7-2. Amanda Breon had two of the Huskies' three hits.
Earlier in the day, Bloomsburg defeated Lock Haven in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory for the right to face Shippensburg in the championship game.
As the conference champion, Shippensburg receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship for the ninth time in school history, inlcuding the team's fourth-straight appearance. The NCAA regional seedings and sites will be announced on Sunday, May 8.
Game 1
Bloomsburg 3, California 1
Game 2
IUP 6, Kutztown 2
Game 3
Lock Haven 5, Bloomsburg 1
Game 4
Shippensburg 10, IUP 2
Game 5
Kutztown 4, California 2
Game 6
Bloomsburg 2, IUP 1
Game 7
Shippensburg 1, Lock Haven 0
Game 8
Bloomsburg 3, Kutztown 0
Game 9
Bloomsburg 3, Lock Haven 2
Game 10 - Championship Game
Shippensburg 7, Bloomsburg 0