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Box Score 2
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – West Chester softball, ranked No. 13 in the latest NFCA rankings and No. 1 in the NCAA Atlantic Region, earned a PSAC East doubleheader sweep of Shippensburg on Senior Day on Thursday afternoon.
The Golden Rams shutout Shippensburg 5-0 in game one and took game two by virtue of a 10-1 (5 inn) mercy-rule win.
West Chester (45-5, 12-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one on a solo home run off the bat of
Sara Ercolani (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East). The homer was Ercolani's fifth of the season.
With the score still 1-0 in the fourth inning, an
Alyssa Herion (Avon Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) RBI single through the left side of the infield scored pinch runner
Shannon Gray (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and extended the WCU lead to 2-0.
Solo blasts from
Madison Kelly (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) in the fifth and
Laura Altenburger (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) in the sixth pushed the WCU advantage to 4-0.
Cat Hammer (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and
Micaela McSpadden (Spotswood, N.J/Spotswood) followed the Altenburger home run with back-to-back doubles giving the Golden Rams a 5-0 lead. Hammer's sixth inning double was her second of the game, and part of a three-double day for the sophomore catcher.
Brooke Harner (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett) baffled Shippensburg (16-25, 3-11) all game and held them hitless through four. Harner (18-1) finished the day tossing a two-hit complete-game shutout. The sophomore pitcher struck out eight batters. Harner's 1.13 ERA and .172 opponent's batting average on the season both lead the PSAC.
The Golden Rams' offense wasted little time in game two, scoring three runs in the first and another seven runs in the second. WCU led 10-0 after two innings of play.
Sarah Walasavage (Minersville, Pa./Minersville) went 3-for-3 at the plate in game two, including her fourth triple of the season, with two runs scored and two RBI. The junior outfielder also swiped her 29
th bag of the season.
Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) tossed the first three innings of the mercy-rule win. Houck (15-3) struck out five while allowing a lone hit. Senior
Katie Erb (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) tossed the final two innings for the Golden Rams.
West Chester travels to Kutztown on Saturday afternoon. The final 2016 regular season doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.
