No. 18 West Chester Tops Shepherd In Atlantic Region 1, 5-3

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WISE, Va. - Jr., OF Madison Kelly (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to lift West Chester, the top seed in the region, to a 5-3 victory over Shepherd in the winner's bracket final at Cavalier Field Saturday afternoon.

With the win, West Chester (46-10) advances to the Atlantic Region 1 final on Sunday where the Golden Rams will await the winner of the loser's bracket, which will be determined Saturday night. That winner will have to beat West Chester twice in order to advance to the Super Regional. The Golden Rams are just one win away from their second Super Regional appearance in four years.
 
Shepherd (39-21) falls into the loser's bracket and will play the winner of UVA-Wise vs. Chowan later Saturday night.
 
The Golden Rams jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on solo shots from both Alyssa Herion (Avon Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) and Sarah Walasavage (Minersville, Pa./Minersville). Shepherd tied things up with a two-run homer of their own in the fourth inning, and then plated a go-ahead run in the fifth for a short-lived 3-2 lead.
 
That is when Kelly delivered her devastating blast to left with pinch runner Hayley Bollinger (Maytown, Pa./Donegal) scoring as well.
 
Herion finished 2-for-3 at the plate for the Golden Rams, including her 10th home run of the season.
 
Jr., left-hander Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) earned her 33rd win of the season inside the circle. She tossed a complete game, allowing three runs on five hits while walking three and striking out seven. Shepherd's Tara Hanson (2107) suffered the loss. She lasted 4.1 innings and gave up four runs on five hits.