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EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – West Chester University plated 19 runs in the opener and then pushed across three runs in the top of the seventh inning of game two to sweep host East Stroudsburg and clinch a spot in the 2012 PSAC postseason softball tournament.
West Chester (28-23, 7-9 PSAC East) reaches the PSAC playoffs for the third consecutive season while East Stroudsburg (12-27, 5-9) must sweep Kutztown on Saturday to squeeze into the postseason.
The Golden Rams are currently in second place in the PSAC Eastern Division standings, one game ahead of Shippensburg and two games ahead of both ESU and Millersville. West Chester holds the tie-breaker over both ESU and Millersville by virtue of winning the season series 3 games to 1 on both occasions.
West Chester opened up game one with four runs in the top of the third that extended its lead to 6-0. Nicole Cruts and Abby Block each hit two-run homers in the frame. Jillian Murray then got into the act in the fifth with a two-run homer, her first of the season, during a five-run fourth that pushed the Rams’ lead to 11-3, after ESU plated three runs in the bottom of the third.
However, West Chester scored eight unearned runs in the top of the sixth to blow the game open. The 19 runs allowed by East Stroudsburg set a new school record for runs allowed in a single game.
Devon Utterback (14-11) picked up the win in the opener, tossing a complete-game four-hitter.
Charlotte Conaway hit a two-run triple in the seventh inning of game two, and J.P. Norris squeezed her home for the decisive runs that clinched the sweep and a playoff spot.
Kate Skokowski (7-7) relieved Utterback in the nightcap and earned the win in relief, throwing the final three innings.
West Chester, which concluded its regular-season slate on Friday, will wait and see where they finish in the final standings and who they will play in the first round of the PSAC Tournament. The Golden Rams can finish second or third in the Eastern Division.
The 2012 PSAC Softball Tournament gets under way next Wednesday in Hazelton, Pa.
