Softball Clinches Fourth Straight PSAC East Softball Title

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – A six-run sixth in game one, and a four-run seventh in game two lifted No. 20 West Chester to its fourth straight PSAC Eastern Division crown Sunday afternoon at Shippensburg with a 6-1 victory in the opener and an 8-5 triumph in the nightcap at Robb Field
 
West Chester (40-10, 13-3 PSAC East) finishes the regular season in a tie for first place with Kutztown. However, the Golden Rams earn the No. 1 seed out of the East in next week's PSAC Tournament by virtue of a better won-loss record against common non-league opponents. Shippensburg (26-21, 8-8) earns the third seed out of the Eastern Division entering the PSAC Tournament.
 
The Golden Rams did it in cardiac fashion, plating six unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning of game one to erase a 1-0 deficit and pick up the first win. In the second game, West Chester scored four runs in the top of the seventh to erase a 5-4 deficit and clinch the title.
 
Jr., left-hander Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) pitched well in both games to earn a pair of wins and up her record on the season to 27-3. She now holds the school record for wins in a single season while also setting the school's career wins record with her 62nd and 63rd victories Sunday afternoon.
 
With the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning of game one, Sara Ercolani (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) reached on a fielding error by Shippensburg's second baseman. That allowed one run to score to tie the game at 1-1. However, more importantly, it opened the door for a big inning. Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) then singled in a pair of runs for all the support Houck would need. But, the Rams were not done.
 
Courtney Stump (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) reached on an error that loaded the bases for Micaela McSpadden (Spotswood, N.J./Spotswood), who delivered a bases-clearing single to center.
 
Houck tossed a complete game, four-hitter. She yielded one run while walking one and striking out two. Garber finished 3-for-3 in the opener with a pair of RBI. McSpadden went 2-for-3 with her three-run single.
 
The seventh inning was the fateful frame for Shippensburg in the nightcap as West Chester loaded the bases with nobody out trailing 5-4. Garber then delivered a RBI single, followed by a two-run, pinch-hit single from Stump. The Golden Rams' fourth run of the inning scored on an error.
 
Houck, who came on in relief of starter Brooke Harner (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett), pitched 4.2 innings, surrendering two runs on four hits. She walked three and struck out one.
 
West Chester actually jumped out on top first with a three-run third. However, Shippensburg responded with four runs in its half, chasing Harner in the process. The Golden Rams tied the game at 4-4 on a RBI single in the fifth.
 
The PSAC Tournament gets under way on Wednesday at Veteran's Park in Quakertown, Pa.