DENVER, CO- For the second time in as many years, the West Chester University softball team (39-21) will enter day two of the Division II Softball National Finals in need of a victory to stave off elimination with a pivotal matchup opposite six-seeded UC San Diego. West Chester enters off a hard fought 5-1 defeat at the hands of No. 2 nationally-ranked and second-seeded West Florida while No. 14 UC San Diego enters off of a 8-0 defeat at the hands of No. 15 Augustana. First pitch in this evening's elimination game is set for 6:30 p.m. local time (MDT) and 8:30 p.m. Eastern from the Regency Athletic Complex in downtown Denver.
This evening's matchup is the first known matchup between the two programs, and it is hard to find a bigger stage for this matchup as each side is in desperate need of a win to extend its stay in the Mile High City by at least one more day.
Against West Florida, West Chester matched the Argos in an array of statistical categories including hits (six each), however, these hits did not result in a plethora of runs for the purple and gold as the Golden Rams pushed across just one run in the four-run setback. West Florida opened the scoring early capitalizing on some defensive miscues and other mistakes by the Golden Rams during the first two innings of play to claim an early 2-0 lead. The Golden Rams answered back with a run of their own thanks to smart base running and fielding error by West Florida during the fourth, which cut the deficit in half making the score 2-1.Unfortunately, West Florida was able to answer as the Argonauts scored one run in the fifth and two more in the home half of the sixth to claim a commanding 5-1 lead, which they would go on to win by.
Maegen Kavanagh (Easton, Pa./Easton) got the start for West Chester and lasted five innings surrendering just five runs (four earned) on six hits while fanning three in the Finals opening setback.
After the first game of the Tournament, West Chester has already matched and passed its hit total from a year ago as the Golden Rams registered just four hits in the 2018 edition of the National Finals while the Golden Rams also snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak in the National Finals yesterday afternoon when
Heidi McCollester (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) scored the lone run of the contest for West Chester.
Playing the final game of the afternoon on Thursday, No. 14 UC San Diego squared off against another ranked foe in No. 15 Augustana. Augustana connected on a solo home run in the opening frame to claim an early 1-0 lead and never looked back as the Vikings raced out to an early 7-0 lead through three innings of play before extending its lead to 8-0 in the fourth and winning by this score in four and a half innings. The third batter in the San Diego lineup-Keila Bosinger recorded the lone hit of the contest for the Tritons when she shot a double into the outfield during the top of the third to give her side some life midway through the contest. Unfortunately, her teammates were unable to bring her around as the Tritons fell in a one-hit shutout.
Robyn Wampler (24-8) got the start in the circle and lasted just two innings surrendering five runs on seven hits while striking out a pair before exiting in the third inning in favor of Dominique Acosta who did not record an out while allowing three hits and a pair of runs in the third inning. Alanna Phillips closed out the contest for San Diego as she tossed the final two innings surrendering one run on one hit while walking one and striking out another.
 Wampler has been the ace of the UC San Diego staff this season as she has pitched to a record of 24-8 with an ERA of just 1.99 with 25 complete-games and three shutouts to her credit entering play this afternoon. Beyond Wampler, UCSD has a relatively young staff as Alanna Phillips enters play with a record of just 9-7 and an ERA of 3.99 while Dominique Acosta is 4-0 with an ERA of 4.08 entering play this evening.
Bossinger has been the offensive leader for UCSD this season as she enters play batting .385 with team-highs in both home runs (6) and RBI (30). Sherriah Harrington is the only other Triton to bat north of .300 on the season as she enters play batting .340 with 52 hits, 26 runs, and 27 RBI to her credit at this stage of the 2019 season. Maddy Lewis is the team's leader in runs scored as she has crossed the plate 37 times this season despite batting just .282 on the season.
With a victory, West Chester will advance to the third day of the National Finals for the second time in program history and the first time since 2014 opposite the loser of the West Florida/Augustana matchup on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. local time.
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