QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The East No. 3-seed Shippensburg University softball team erased a one-run deficit in the fourth inning with back-to-back two-out home runs from junior shortstop Taylor Weisman and sophomore second baseman Taylor Pattillo on Friday evening and never looked back in knocking off West top-seed and No. 12-ranked California (Pa.), 3-1, to earn a right to play for the PSAC Championship on Saturday from Veterans Park in Quakertown, Pa.
 
The Raiders (34-13) will play at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow against the winner of the 11 a.m. semifinal – California (32-5) vs. IUP/West Chester. If SU wins, it claims the title. If SU loses, the two teams will play again immediately afterward in a winner-take-all game for the conference crown.
 
Cal, IUP or West Chester will need to win three consecutive games on Saturday to win the conference title while the Raiders will need to win one of two games to win their fourth PSAC title and first since 2005.
 
"It probably means more than anybody would know because it's been quite a while since we've been in this situation and we've worked very, very hard with this group here," 14^th-year head coach Bob Brookens said. "And they've come together and they're a group that has been destined for good things. And they're just starting to feel it right now and it's an amazing feeling."
 
Shippensburg snapped Cal's 28-game winning streak on Friday – the Vulcans entered the tournament with a perfect 23-0 mark in the PSAC West – behind two home runs from Pattillo to give her four over the last two days. She and Weisman have now combined for seven home runs through SU's 3-0 start over the first two days of the tournament.
 
"We've been kind of telling them all year long that if they stay back a little bit and lift the ball just a little, they both hit the ball as hard as anybody in the league," Brookens said. "And for those two to come forward and be leading our team right now through this conference championships, it's a great thing and I'm so delighted."
 
SU also received its third complete-game effort of the tournament from senior pitcher Emily Estep, who struck out seven and gave up just four hits to the conference leaders in batting average (.345), slugging (.554) and on-base percentage (.412) entering the day.
 
The only run Estep surrendered came in the second after a lead-off single, a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over and an RBI single to center. Estep left one on base in the third and fourth and two on in the fifth with a swinging strikeout that followed back-to-back walks – her only free passes of the game.
 
Estep (23-2) has now given up three earned runs and struck out 26 batters in 21 innings over the last two days.
 
"We've kind of taken it just a little easy on her throughout the season, didn't allow her to throw too many games in a row, particularly without at least a day's rest," Brookens said. "And we made plans when we get to the PSAC Championship that it was time to go ahead and turn Emily loose. And she's an amazing pitcher and she's doing exactly right now what we thought she could do."
 
The Raider offense dealt Vulcan ace pitcher Alex Sagl just her third loss of the season as the only three hits the 20-game winner allowed were the long balls off the bat of Pattillo and Weisman. The only other Raider to record a hit was junior center fielder Tyler Thompson, who legged out a bunt in the seventh after Sagl was relieved by Kaity Davis following Pattillo's second homer.
 
Ranked No. 4 in the latest Atlantic Region rankings, SU has now beaten two higher ranked teams as well another also in the Top-8 over the last two days – No. 2 California (Pa.), No. 3 West Chester and No. 8 IUP.