WEST CHESTER, Pa.- As has become something of a habit for the Golden Rams as of late, 2021 was another historic season for the West Chester softball program (34-16) under the tutelage of the 2021 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Atlantic Region coaching staff of the year led by head coach
Diane Lokey, who is now her in 19
th season at the helm.
In 2021, West Chester celebrated its second PSAC Conference Championship since the 2017 season, along with its third NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championship in a row to make another trip back to the Division II Softball National Finals. In addition to the team accomplishments of the 2021 season, the Golden Rams also celebrated four PSAC All-Conference honorees and saw senior
Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) set the PSAC Career Hits record while
Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) became the first true freshman to start and win the PSAC Conference Championship game since Kristin Erb accomplished the feat for Lock Haven in 2006.
"2021 was an amazing year," opened Lokey. "Going from the potential of not playing to having a season and eventually making the late run that we did to win the PSAC and the Atlantic Regoin Championship, it was definitely a special season," continued Lokey. The 19th-year head coach was determined to make sure her Golden Rams did not rest on the laurels of the 2021 season, stating, "…with that year behind us, we have to reload for the 2022 season. We played a very competitive fall season, and we were excited by some of what we saw during that fall schedule against a number of good teams, including some strong Division I opponents," said Lokey.
West Chester returns five starters from its 2021 Regional Championship squad along with a pair of All-Conference performers in
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) and
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca), who was also named to the NFCA All-Atlantic Region team.
West Chetser has gotten early respect in the polls as its peers have picked the Golden Rams to finish atop the PSAC East once in 2022 while also earning the ninth spot in the NFCA Preseason Poll released earlier in January.
"I am not a big poll watcher," said Lokey when asked about the preseason rankings. "At the end of the day, we have to do it on the field, and we are only as strong as our weakest link, so right now, we are working hard and making sure to work on all of our individual parts to be the best team we can be," continued Lokey.
West Chester will kick off its 2022 season with a trip to South Carolina the first weekend in February to play doubleheaders against Francis Marion and Barton on February 5
th and 6
th.
In the Circle:
West Chester returns three talented pitchers in 2022 who all saw time in the circle for West Chester during the 2021 season as Picozzi,
Anna Torrens (Holmes, Pa./Ridley), and
Summer Williams (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink) all return for this upcoming season. Picozzi saw the most action of the trio in 2021, pitching to a record of 13-7 on the year, including the clinching win in the PSAC Championship, with an ERA of 4.21 with six complete games and two shutouts on the year. In total, Picozzi registered 109.2 innings pitched during her rookie season, striking out 48 while holding opponents to a batting average against of .266, which was the lowest on the staff. Williams and Torrens saw limited action during the 2021 campaign, appearing in 13 games and five games, respectively, with each pitcher making five starts. Torrens ended her season with a record of 2-0 with one complete-game shutout and a 4.57 ERA over her 15.1 innings of work, while Williams pitched to a mark of 0-3 with a 7.56 ERA and 14 strikeouts over her 33.1 innings on the year.
In addition, Picozzi, Torrens, and Williams, West Chester also welcomes a freshman pitcher in
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton)and a transfer arm in
Antonia Browning (Newark, Del./The Charter School of Wilmington).
"This year, it is going to be a full pitching-staff effort that will allow us to be successful in the circle. We are going to look to all of our pitchers to take care of some big innings for us when we need them to be successful in 2022. In 2021, we had a lot of young pitchers, so we think that the experience they gained and the growth they had throughout the year will play out on the field this upcoming season. We are very excited to add
Antonia Browning and
Makenzie Edwards, who both showed us some great things during our fall season," explained Lokey.
Behind the Plate:
Receiving pitches from the Golden Rams arms this year will be a strong stable of catchers led by
Haleigh Karcher (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) and
Abigail Quinn (Cheltenham, Pa./William Penn Charter) as
Trish Kopinetz (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) makes the move to first base. Last year, Karcher and Quinn also showed themselves as solid options behind the plate in limited action as Karcher appeared in 36 games with 24 starts while Quinn appeared in nine games with two starts. In her 36 appearances, Karcher registered a .310 batting average and a .896 on-base+slugging (OPS) percentage with 27 hits, including nine extra-base hits (five doubles, three triples, one home run) along with 20 RBI.
In addition to the return of Karcher and Quinn, West Chester also gets added depth from the return of
Gianna Fazio (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), along with the addition of newcomer
Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord), who can help ease the load as the season progresses.
"Trish is making the move to first base, so it'll be Karcher and Quinn as the leading returners behind the plate. Best, who joined us as a transfer in time for Spring season, and Fazio will also be important for us behind the plate, and we know that we have Trish over at first who can move back behind the plate if we ever need her to do so. Haleigh caught some big innings and made some big plays for us behind the plate late in the season last year, so we will be excited to see her take that experience and continue to grow and improve in 2022," explained Lokey.
Around the Infield:
The Golden Ram infield will once again have a different look in 2022 as the Golden Rams return two key members while also transitioning to a pair of relatively new faces around the infield. Aguilar, an All-Conference selection from a year ago, and
Olivia Mock (Clifton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) are expected to share the third-base duties, while
Emily Kim (Bel Air, Md./Milton C. Wright) will continue her duties as the Golden Rams shortstop for the fourth year in a row.
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove), who saw time for West Chester a year ago, predominantly splitting time at third base, is expected to make the move to second base, a role which Lokey indicated she will share with Mock and newcomer
Tess Smiley (Havertown, Pa./Haverford)) who Lokey suggests would each be capable of filling in almost anywhere in the Golden Ram infield. The Golden Ram infield will also get added depth as the season goes on with the return of two-sport standout
Abby Penjuke (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton), who is currently starring for the Golden Rams on the basketball court, averaging 4.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a starter for the women's basketball team.
West Chester has seen its infield versatility pay dividends a few times already in recent years, not least of which was during the 2021 postseason when Mock stepped into the shortstop role to replace an injured Kim to help West Chester earn its second PSAC Tournament title since the 2017 season.
In addition to their defensive efforts in 2021, Aguilar, Kim, and Rittenbaugh also provided valuable offensive contributions, batting .333, .340, and .324 on the year. Aguilar registered 52 hits on the year, including six extra-base hits (five doubles and one triple) while driving home 20 runs and scoring 44 more. Kim had 32 hits with seven extra-base hits (including her first collegiate home run), driving home 12 runs and scoring 26 more on the year. For her part, Rittenbaugh registered a .324 batting average with 24 hits, including a pair of doubles, while also driving in 11 runs and scoring 17 more in her sophomore campaign. Aguilar also showcased her game-changing speed throughout the season, finishing the year third in stolen bases with 15 steals on 16 attempts trailing only Garber and fellow All-Conference selection Melvin.
Kim, who is the member of the Golden Ram infield with the most experience entering the 2022 season, having been a mainstay at short stop throughout her Golden Ram career, is expected to return to this role and continue to be an impact player for the Purple and Gold in the upcoming year. When asked about Kim's continued development since her freshman campaign, Lokey said, "She has been a relatively silent superstar for us throughout her career. She has been someone who has been very consistent defensively and has made big plays when we have needed her to do so. In the fall, she batted fifth and was really driving the ball well, which if she can continue would be huge for us."
While the combination of Aguilar, Kim, Mock, and Rittenbaugh are expected to patrol second, third base, and shortstop again in 2022,
Trish Kopinetz (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) will make the move to first base, following the departure of
Courtney Stump (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown). Kopinetz appeared and started in all 50 games for West Chester last year, registering a .342 batting average and a team-best 23 extra-base hits, including a team-high 10 home runs. Kopinetz also registered 41 RBI on the year and scored 26 runs while also going 2-for-3 on stolen-base attempts. Defensively, Kopinetz was solid for the Golden Rams, ending the year with a .979 fielding percentage while also catching a pair of runners stealing when handling the catching duties for the Golden Rams. In addition to Kopinetz, West Chester also gets added depth over a first base with the assistance of
Meghan Kidd (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and
Alexa Petersen (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan).
In the Outfield:
All-Conference honoree Melvin is the lone returner in the Golden Ram outfield this season, coming off a 2021 junior season, which saw her bat a team-best (and second-best in single-season history) .438 on the year while tying for the team lead in both hits and runs scored with 70 and 52, respectively. In addition to her contributions at the plate, Melvin also showcased dangerous, game-changing speed for the Golden Rams throughout the season, successfully stealing 29 bases on just 30 attempts, which ranks fourth-best in single-season program history.
Outside of Melvin, West Chester will need to replace a pair of steady contributors in Jamie Klemas and Annemarie Hartman, who occupied left field and center field for much of their Golden Ram careers. West Chester has a number of viable options to patrol the outfield, including Aguilar, who saw time in center field a season ago in addition to
Sierra Marsteller (Orefield, Pa./Parkland), Brittany Lally (Howell, N.J./Freehold Township), and Melvin's younger sister
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca).
West Chester will also have added depth in both the outfield and infield this season with a number of utility players as
Tess Smiley (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), Hannah Slicer (Landenberg, Pa./Kennett), Audrey Kochanowicz (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven), and
Asia Bernard (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) who will all be able to plug in and help the Golden Rams wherever needed in 2022.
"Aguilar also played a good centerfield for us last year, so she will be another option to help out with our outfield depth this season. Overall, it'll be Aguilar and
Madison Melvin who will head up our returning outfield group this season, while freshman
Hailey Melvin along with Asia Bernard and
Sierra Marsteller, will also be important for us in the outfield this season. Smiley is another player like Aguilar, who can play a lot of different positions all over the field, so she could see time in the outfield along with
Hannah Slicer and
Audrey Kochanowicz to help us win some games this season."
When asked about the continued development of Melvin following a strong sophomore campaign, Lokey said, "2021 was a great confidence builder for her, and she did a lot of good things for us all over the field. This season, I'll look for her to keep finding her way on base and stealing some bases in addition to adding dimensions to her hitting, to continue to open up the field. She didn't come in as an outfielder, but we have been happy with her development in that regard, and she played a very strong center field during the fall for us, which was good to see," explained Lokey.
The Upcoming Slate:
After opening its season with a visit to South Carolina to face Francis Marion and Barton, West Chester will return home for a few weeks before returning to the South, this time to Glenville, West Virginia, for a weekend Tournament at the home of the Pioneers from February 25-26.
"We will only have nine practices before our first game on Saturday," noted Lokey. "Despite the short practice time leading up, we will be just fine. We will go out and see where we are and what we need to do and look to keep improving as we head into the long season. This weekend will provide us a great benchmark for our pitching staff as we open the season. As a whole, I think our junior class will be critical to our development and success this year. They had some good seasons last year as sophomore's but this season, we need them to take that next step and do things with confidence for us to have a good year," said Lokey.
On February 25
th, West Chester will begin its stay in Glenville with a 12:30 matchup against Salem University before facing Glenville State at 3:30 in the second and final game of the day. On Saturday the 26
th, West Chester will be back in action early with a 9:30 game against West Virginia State before facing PSAC West foe Mercyhurst at Noon in the final game of the weekend.
Upon returning home, West Chester will shift its attention to a doubleheader at Jefferson on March 6
th, beginning at 12 p.m., before departing for the Sunshine State to take part in THE Spring Games. West Chester will begin its time at the Spring games on Friday, March 11
th, with a twinbill against Southern New Hampshire beginning at 1:30 before visiting a local team in Rollins on March 12
th for a doubleheader starting at Noon. With this set for Rollins in the books, the team will renew acquaintances with a familiar foe in Molloy on Sunday the 13th, starting at 10 a.m. West Chester will have its lone day off on Monday the 14
th before facing Bentley in a doubleheader on the 15
th, beginning at 2:30 p.m. This doubleheader vs the Falcons will be the team's final doubleheader against the same opponent of the trip as they will face Felician and National Finals foe Saint Anselm on the 16
th before squaring off against Minot State and Post on the 17
th in their final day of competition.
Once West Chester returns home from Spring Break, the Golden Rams will play their home opener vs U Sciences on Friday, March 25
th, beginning at 2 p.m., before traveling to Holy Family and Wilmington on the 26
th and 28
th. After visiting Wilmington, West Chester jumps into PSAC play with a home doubleheader against Millersville on April 2
nd before hosting Wilmington in a return trip on Tuesday, April 5
th. After this, West Chester will return to PSAC play with visits to Mansfield and Lock Haven on April 8
th and 9
th before hosting Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg on the 15
th and 16
th. After hosting its perennial rivals in ESU on the 16
th, West Chester will take a brief break from league play, visiting Lincoln on April 21
st before traveling to Shippensburg for an important PSAC doubleheader on the 23
rd. After visiting with the Raiders, West Chester will return home on the 24
th to host Chestnut Hill in its final non-league set of the year before hosting Shepherd on Friday the 29
th in its final home game of the 2022 slate. West Chester will conclude its 2022 schedule on the road on Saturday, April 30
th with a visit to rival Kutztown before shifting its attention to the PSAC Tournament, which will be back in Quakertown from May 4
th to May 7
th.
Visit wcupagoldenrams.com all season long for all the latest Golden Ram news, stats, and scores throughout the 2022 softball season.
