SALEM, Va. - The University of Charleston relied on a big-inning in their final at-bat to open the Salem Tournament with an important 4-3 win over regional opponent Shippensburg, Friday evening.

In a true pitchers duel, Charleston (11-11) ace Emily Fultz (Germantown, OH) held her own against her Raider (5-10) counterparts as she limited Shippensburg to just six hits in 6.1 innings of action.

UC struggled to find open space at the plate for much of the contest with just two hits through five innings of play, but the top of the order came up big when it was needed to support Fultz's strong effort.

Shippensburg got on the scoreboard first by taking advantage of the first Fultz mistake with a two-run homerun in the top of the sixth, but the lead would not hold long as the Charleston hitters found their groove.

Leading hitter Logan Tretick (Round Hill, VA) made it hurt for SU with patients at the plate for a leadoff walk to open the top of the sixth inning. Ashlea Wallace (Winfield, WV) showed off her own strong will as a leadoff hitter last season using her former mindset to reach base herself by way of a walk to put two runners on with no outs in the inning.

Aspen Echelmeier (Auburn, CA) proved to be a difference maker in the contest by belting a three-run blast over the left field fence to destroy the Golden Eagle deficit and put Charleston ahead 3-2. Ayla Santos (Calvert County, MD) came to the plate with no outs and handed the University of Charleston the insurance run (4-2) it would need with a solo blast beyond the boarders of the left field fence.

A pitching change would quiet the bats for the Golden Eagles in the sixth, but the damage was done after the back-to-back blasts.

The Raiders threatened in their final at-bat by getting two runners on base, but head coach Ray Loeser went to his bullpen calling upon veteran Kelsee Blackwell (New Castle, IN) to seal the victory. Shippensburg managed to plate a run in the seventh, but Blackwell held strong to force popups for the final two outs of the game stranding the game-tying run at third.

Fultz improved her record to 8-4 on the season, while Blackwell earned her second save.