LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The West Chester University softball team (43-13) was back in action this morning against Lock Haven (38-14) in the Atlantic Regional 1 Softball Championship game. West Chester entered play needing just one win to take the Championship while Lock Haven would need to win twice in order to collect some hardware and eliminate the top-seeded Golden Rams. West Chester played extremely once again and picked up the 4-0 victory over Lock Haven to capture the Atlantic Regional 1 Championship.
Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) got the start once again for West Chester squaring off against Lock Haven ace Bekah Slattery in a crucial game for both sides. Houck was sharp all day as she went seven innings scattering just three hits and two walks while striking out three and forcing a lot of weak contact resulting in pop outs and foul pop outs throughout the day to keep Lock Haven in check. Slattery went the distance for Lock Haven surrendering six hits and four runs while walking one and striking out just one. This win also gave Houck her 100th career win.
Lock Haven made some noise in the first inning, as the leadoff hitter reached on a single and advanced to second on a groundout, but Houck mowed down the next two Lock Haven batters to escape the inning unscathed.
In the third inning, it was West Chester's turn to make some noise scoring four runs thanks to a two-RBI double from
Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) and a towering two-run home run from
Madison Kelly (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) to give West Chester a commanding 4-0 lead heading to the fourth.
This is all the Golden Rams would need as they allowed just two base runners over the course of the final four innings of play to secure the victory.
This victory will send West Chester back to the Super Regionals for the second year in a row and the fourth time in team history. This is also the third time in team history that the Golden Rams will host the Super Regionals. West Chester will be doing some scoreboard watching this afternoon as Gannon and West Virginia Wesleyan are just underway (12 p.m. start) in the Atlantic Region 2 Championship series as they play for the right to make the trip to West Chester to battle it out for the chance to go to Salem to compete for a National Title.
