The Golden Rams, who are 1-3 in the PSAC East and 7-12 for the season, lost a tough game this past Tuesday in a double header against the Shippensburg Red Raiders. The Rams were crushed in both games. The first game they lost 9-1 and the second game they were shut out 10-0. WCU was trying to break a five-game losing streak with a win against the Red Raiders, but this was not the best team to break a losing streak record to, as the Red Raiders are undefeated in the PSAC East. At the top of the first inning in game one WCU started off by scoring early. Unfortunately it all seemed to trickle downhill from there. The Golden Rams did make some nice plays at the bottom of the first inning using teamwork to get the last out, which brought the WCU team up to bat at the top of the second inning. Neither team at the top of the second or at the bottom accomplished anything. The game started to pick up with the momentum shifting to Shippensburg. At the top of the third inning the Red Raiders tied up the game 1-1. On top of Shippensburg scoring and tying up the game, they ended up taking the lead 2-1 by the bottom of the third.
The Rams pitcher and third baseman Jackie Ludwig had a pretty good game. The problem was not that Shippensburg scored nine times; it was that WCU never scored after the first inning. When the Rams were in the field there were very few errors. It was just the fact that the Red Raiders hit the ball in inopportune spots, which stopped the Rams from converting plays to outs and Shippensburg consistently scored. By the time the top of the fifth inning came around, Shippensburg began to really show why they are undefeated in the PSAC East. With the bases loaded, a Ship player hit a ground ball that resulted in sending three other Ship players home, making the score 5-1 at the top of the fifth. In the sixth and final inning of game one, WCU came up to bat and quickly there were three outs and they were back on the field again to start the bottom of the sixth. Even though Ship had already won the game they added four more runs to their lead and ended game one beating WCU 9-1.
In game two, both teams led with different pitchers. WCU led with Kristen Zabawa, who did a decent job until the top of the fourth inning. That’s when things really started to fall apart for the Golden Rams. Every time there was a glance up at the scoreboard the Red Raiders had extended their lead. By the time the fifth inning came around, the score was 4-0. In order to stop Shippensburg from scoring and for the Rams to actually have a chance to win, they had to get Shippensburg’s players out quicker and Rams’ players at bat scoring. Unfortunately, events did not unfold that way. They actually went exactly the opposite. By the end of the bottom of the sixth inning, the Red Raiders had shut the Rams out 10-0. Even though the second game was a shut-out it was a much better effort by the Golden Rams. Although the Rams basically knew that Shippensburg had their “number,” they never gave up. Coach Diane Lokey kept switching up pitchers, trying to give WCU a chance, but her efforts were in vain. Realistically, there was nothing WCU could do at that point to win.
This coming week, on April 14, the Golden Rams will face off against Mansfield in an away game at 2:30 pm.