No. 7 West Va Wesleyan Upends No. 18 West Chester In Game 1 of Atlantic Super Regional

Box Score
West Chester University Press Conference
Game 1 Highlights

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – West Chester University jumped out to an early lead, but West Virginia Wesleyan came from behind to take game one of the Best-of-3 NCAA Division II Softball Atlantic Super Regional on South Campus Thursday.
 
Under a blistering sun with temperatures reaching into the 90s, West Chester (47-12) came out with its bats on fire. The Golden Rams plated two runs in the first inning aided by a pair of errors from West Virginia Wesleyan (48-7). However, the Rams managed just one hit the rest of the way while the Bobcats scored one run in the fifth and two in the sixth to steal game one.
 
Alyssa Herion (Avon Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) tripled in a run, and Cat Hammer (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) pushed home Herion with a groundout RBI in the bottom of the first as West Chester took a 2-0 lead.
 
Jr., left-hander Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) kept Wesleyan's hitters in check until the fifth inning. The Bobcats scored their run in the fifth on a suicide squeeze that went awry. Hammer's throw to Herion in the ensuing rundown was a little high, and the ball sailed off Herion's glove and into left field.
 
The Bobcats scored two runs in the sixth on four singles. Olivia Gore singled with runners on first and second and one to tie the game. Then, Jessica Rodriguez singled to left with two outs and runners at second and third to plate the eventual winning run.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan pitcher Hannah Vet tossed a complete game, controlling the Golden Rams after a tumultuous first. She allowed two hits and two unearned runs while walking one and striking out five.
 
Houck's final line was six-plus innings, seven hits, three runs, two of them earned. She struck out four and did not walk a batter. Brooke Harner (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett) thew one hitless inning.
 
West Chester and West Virginia Wesleyan will go at it once again Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. on South Campus in game two of the Best-of-3 series. The Golden Rams will have to sweep a doubleheader from West Virginia Wesleyan, if they want to advance to the Division II national championships in Salem, Va.