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Box Score 2
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Kim Murl pitched a four-hit shutout in the opener and Kate Skokowski came on in the top of the seventh to shut the door in the nightcap leading host West Chester to a sweep of its non-league softball doubleheader on South Campus Monday afternoon.
West Chester (22-11) put an end to its three-game losing streak while halting a winning streak by Chowan (20-10) at the same time.
Murl (3-1) walked one and struck out three for the complete-game win. Jess Schuck recorded an RBI single in the first, scoring Kelly Anderson, while Jill Murray and Laura Altenburger each singled in a run in the sixth for a pair of insurance tallies.
Murl was in command throughout, allowing just two base runners through five innings. She kept the Hawks off balance all day at the plate. Schuck and Murray each were 2-for-3 with a RBI in the first game. Altenburger and Anderson had the only other hits for West Chester.
Alor Lincoln (10-10) suffered the loss inside the circle for Chowan in the opener. She allowed three runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out one in a complete-game effort.
In the nightcap, Chowan rallied for three unearned runs in the top of the sixth to pull within one, 5-4. However, senior Kate Skokowski came on in relief of Katie Erb with two runners on and two outs and got a flyout to end the threat. She then sent the Hawks down in order in the seventh to close out her second save of the year.
Devon Utterback (11-3) started the contest and threw the first five innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out three.
West Chester jumped on Chowan early with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and added another in the second. Back-to-back singles by J.P. Norris and Altenburger plated three unearned runs, which answered a Chowan run in the top half of the first. Schuck then hit a sacrifice fly in the second to give the Golden Rams a 4-1 advantage.
Norris later singled home Shauna Byrnes, who was running for Murray after the first baseman doubled with two outs in the fifth. That run proved to be crucial when the Rams allowed the Hawks to rally for three in the sixth.
Courtney Groce (9-7) suffered the loss in the second game for Chowan. She lasted two innings, yielding four runs – only one of which was earned – on four hits, she walked two and did not strike out a batter. Lincoln came on and pitched the final four innings, giving up one run on two hits.
West Chester returns to the diamond on Tuesday to face Millersville in a PSAC East showdown on South Campus. That doubleheader begins at 2:30 p.m.
