Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
NEW CASTLE, Del. – Jr., left-handed pitcher
Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) threw a five-inning perfect game in the opener, and visiting West Chester scored three runs in the ninth inning of game two, as the Golden Rams swept a non-league softball doubleheader at Wilmington Thursday.
West Chester (17-5) upped its winning streak to eight straight and has now won 10 of its last 11. Wilmington dropped to 11-8 on the season. Houck's perfect sheet in game one marked the first time that West Chester did not allow its opponent a hit since Sam Brinkselle and Micaela McSpadden combined for a no-hitter on April 9 against Bowie State in the second game of a doubleheader.
The last complete-game no-hitter was Kate Skokowski versus St. Michael's on March 16, 2012. Her perfect game was spoiled with a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth. The last perfect game was pitched in 2006 by Adina DeHainaut against Bloomfield College on the team's spring trip to Florida. That perfect game was a seven-inning affair.
The Golden Rams scored four runs in the top of the first, added two more in the second and another pair in the fourth to reach the eight-run differential that halted the game early.
Alyssa Herion (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) accounted for six of the team's eight RBI, hitting a three-run homer in the first, a two-run single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Cat Hammer (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) hit a RBI triple in the fourth, before scoring on Herion's sac fly.
Sara Ercolani (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) and
Sarah Walasavage (Minersville, Pa./Minersville) each finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored.
In the nightcap, it was Ercolani and Walasavage in extra innings that propelled the Golden Rams to victory. Ercolani doubled in two runs in the top of the eighth that broke a 1-1 tie. She then came around in the ninth and singled home a run that made it 7-3 at the time. Ercolani was responsible for three of the six runs that West Chester scored in extra innings.
Both Ercolani and Walasavage were 3-for-5 in the second game, finishing the doubleheader 5-for-8 overall.
A game that saw a combined two runs scored in regulation, witnessed nine runs cross the plate in two extra frames.
Houck started the game and threw 7.1 innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits.
Brooke Harner (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett) came on in relief to get the win – her third of the season. She threw 1.2 innings, yielding one unearned run on one hit.
West Chester returns home Saturday for a non-league doubleheader with Chowan (N.C.) beginning at noon.
