WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Looking for its third straight sweep after returning to Pennsylvania from its annual Spring Break visit to the Sunshine State, the West Chester University softball team (17-10) squared off against Chowan (6-19) in a non-league doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. West Chester registered the sweep once again as the Golden Rams took game one 9-4 before winning the second game 9-1 to improve to 17-10 on the year.
Game One: WCU 9 Chowan 4
- In the bottom of the first, West Chester raced out to an early 3-0 lead after a two RBI single from Annamarie Hartman (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep) and an RBI groundout off the bat of Courtney Stump (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) to give the purple and gold the early advantage.
- Chowan answered back with a run of its own via a home run to left center field during the top of the second, which trimmed the lead to 3-1 but West Chester answered back quickly with a run of its own off as Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter Strasburg) reached on a fielding error by the shortstop to score Tori McCoach (Langhorne, Pa./Conwell Egan), thus, giving West Chester a 4-1 lead.
- In the top of the fourth, Chowan registered another two runs via another home run to left center, which cut the West Chester lead to just one at 4-3.
- In the bottom of the fourth, West Chester grew its lead once again as Gillian Thomas (Spring Mills, W.V./Williamsport) came through with a two RBI double to center before Emily Kim (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) found her way in via a wild pitch, which gave the Golden Rams a commanding 7-3 lead.
- Chowan registered one more run during the top of the fifth with a solo shot to right field, which made the score 7-4 heading to the bottom of the fifth.
- West Chester answered back with another two runs during the home half of the fifth thanks to another RBI double from Emily Maseth (Westminster, Md./Westminster) and a fielding error by the Hawks on another sharply hit ball from Garber, which increased the West Chester lead to 9-4.
- Kelly Tinsman (Ewing, N.J./Notre Dame) (3-3) got the start for West Chester and went the six innings  for the Golden Rams scattering just five hits and four runs (three earned) while striking out a pair. Jen Hanshaw (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) entered for the final inning of work and allowed just one hit while striking out one to secure the victory for the Golden Rams.
Game Two: WCU 9 Chowan 1 (5 innings)
- In the top of the first, Chowan capitalized on an array of fielding miscues by West Chester as the Hawks claimed their first lead of the afternoon at 1-0 heading to the home half of the first.
- This early lead lasted until the second inning of play when Jaime Klemas (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) doubled to right center to plate Stump and even the score at 1-1.
- In the home half of the third, West Chester scored another three runs via an RBI double from Garber, an RBI groundout from Heidi McCollester (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), and an RBI single from Hartman, which extended the lead to 4-1. West Chester added one more run before the end of the inning courtesy of a fielding miscue by the Chowan center fielder on a ball hit into center by Stump, which plated Hartman and made the score 5-1.
- In the home half of the fourth, West Chester connected on a pair of home runs as McCoach began the inning with a solo shot down the left field line before Maseth connected on a two-run home run of her own to almost the same spot down the line to extend the lead to 8-1.
- The Golden Rams put the game away during the home half of the fifth as Olivia Bernstein (Glenside, Pa./Abington) recorded an RBI single on a line drive to center, which scored pinch runner Elizabeth Moore (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) to give the Golden Rams the 9-1, thus, ending the game early via the eight-run rule.
- Hanshaw (4-1) was masterful inside the circle for West Chester as she pitched five innings scattering just five hits and one unearned run while striking out a pair to earn the victory in the circle.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Sunday afternoon on the road at Jefferson with that doubleheader set to begin at 12 p.m.
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