CLERMONT, Fla. – The West Chester University softball team (13-5) continued its Spring Break trip to the Sunshine State on Thursday morning squaring off against Caldwell (3-8) in its first game of the day. West Chester won by a final score of 7-2 to extend its winning streak to six consecutive wins.
West Chester got off to a fast start in the first inning, as
Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) led the game off with a triple to right.
Annamarie Hartman (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep) was next and she delivered with a double into the left center gap to score Garber and give West Chester the 1-0 lead.
Cat Hammer (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) added to the lead as she drove the 1-2 pitch to right for an RBI double of her own scoring Hartman and giving West Chester an early 2-0 lead. West Chester struck one more time as Hammer came into score, which gave West Chester a 3-0 lead.
In the second inning, West Chester struck once again when
Sara Ercolani (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) drove a single through the right side to score Garber and
Heidi McCollester (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), which gave West Chester a 5-0 lead. This lead grew once more when Hammer recorded another double that scored Ercolani and Hartman giving WCU the commanding 7-0 lead.
Caldwell managed to get two back in the top of the sixth, which cut the deficit to 7-2 heading to the seventh.
Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) got the start and went six innings surrendering just three hits, two runs (one earned), while striking out four.
Jen Hanshaw (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) entered for the final inning did not allow a hit over the course of her inning of work.
West Chester is back in action later this afternoon against Purdue Northwest beginning at 1:00 p.m.
