KUTZTOWN, PA –
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) went 4-for-4, and
Annamarie Hartman (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep.) went 3-for-4, to lead West Chester to a come-from-behind 10-3 victory over Claflin in the NCAA Atlantic Regional opener at North Campus Field in Kutztown Wednesday afternoon.
West Chester (31-14) advances to take on Shepherd Thursday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. Claflin (8-2) played East Stroudsburg in an elimination game shortly after the completion of their contest with West Chester.
Trailing, 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning, West Chester plated three runs to move in front for good, and then proceeded to score two in the fourth, one in the fifth and four more in the sixth for insurance. The Golden Rams scored 10 runs on 16 hits, but committed four errors in the game. Claflin scored three runs on five hits and had a pair of miscues.
Three infield singles in the third loaded the bases with nobody out.
Jaime Klemas (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) hit a two-run single, and
Trisha Kopinetz (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) hit a sacrifice fly to put West Chester on top, 3-2.
The Golden Rams added two more in the fourth when Hartman led off with a double and was sacrificed to third by
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest).
Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) singled in Hartman and then stole second. Melvin then singled, moving Garber over to third, who finally scored when Melvin stole second and Claflin's catcher threw the ball into center field.
In the fifth, Kopinetz hit a one-out double, and
Sierra Marsteller (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) ran for her at second.
Haleigh Karcher (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) doubled home Marsteller to make it a 6-2 advantage.
Gillian Thomas (Spring Mills, WV/Williamsport) led off the sixth with a pinch-hit triple.
Emily Kim (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright), who was pinch-hit for, re-entered and scored on a double down the left-field line by Melvin. Klemas followed with a single to move Melvin to third, and
Courtney Stump (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) singled home Melvin. Karcher closed out the Golden Rams' scoring with a sacrifice fly later in the frame.
Senior righty
Jen Hanshaw (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) improved to 16-4 on the season with a complete-game win. She scattered five hits over seven innings, allowing three unearned runs. She struck out two and did not walk a batter. Bre'Zhay Chambers (3-2) suffered the loss for the Panthers. She lasted 4.1 innings, surrendering six runs, only four earned, on 11 hits. She struck out one and did not walk anybody. Shaniya Thomas came on in relief and went the rest of the way, giving up four runs on five hits. She walked one.
The first three batters in West Chester's order (Garber, Melvin and Klemas) accounted for eight of the team's 16 hits. They combined to go 8-for-12 with four runs scored and four RBI. Claflin's Chaston Huntly finished 2-for-3 with two RBI.
