MANSFIELD, Pa.- The West Chester softball team returned to action on the road at Mansfield on Monday afternoon to conclude its PSAC East road trip. West Chester led for much of the first game of the doubleheader but it was Mansfield who stormed back in the late innings to escape with an 11-10 victory in game one. In the second game of the afternoon, West Chester took an early lead once again and continued to lead throughout much of the evening, winning by a 10-6 final in five innings after the game was called due to darkness.
Game One: Mansfield 11 West Chester 10
West Chester jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first via a pair of RBI singles from
Kaitlyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) and
Emily Kim (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) before Mansfield answered back with two runs in the bottom of the first to even the score at 2-2.
In the second inning, West Chester extended its lead, scoring six runs on five hits and two errors to take a commanding 8-2 lead. The scoring started when
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) singled to third, and the Mansfield pitcher made a poor throw following the single, which allowed
Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic), who had walked earlier in the inning, to come around to score, making the score 3-2. Rittenbaugh followed this up with an RBI single before
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) reached on a fielders choice, which scored Melvin and gave West Chester a 5-2 lead.
Trisha Kopinetz (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) followed this up with a two-RBI double before scoring on an RBI double from
Haleigh Karcher to give West Chester a commanding 8-2 lead.
In the home half of the second, Mansfield answered back with four runs of its own, trimming the deficit to 8-6 before the two sides traded runs again in the fourth thanks to an RBI single from Karcher as West Chester held a 9-7 lead heading into the fifth.
Mansfield erased the deficit in the fifth, scoring four runs on three hits and one West Chester error to take an 11-9 lead into the sixth, which the Mounties would never relinquish.
After a scoreless sixth, West Chester attempted to mount a comeback in the seventh, loading the bases and getting one run back when Karcher reached on a fielding error that allowed RIttenbaugh to score, trimming the deficit to 11-10. This is as close as the Golden Rams would get as Mansfield escaped the inning without any further damage to earn a narrow 11-10 victory over the Golden Rams.
Picozzi got the start and lasted just 1.2, surrendering six runs on four hits with three walks before exiting in favor of
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton), who eventually took the loss, falling to 5-5 on the year. Edwards pitched the next 3.1 innings, giving up five runs on six hits while striking out two before
Anna Torrens (Holmes, Pa./Ridley) pitched the final inning of regulation, a scoreless inning, which saw her scatter two hits and strikeout one in the loss.
Danielle Goff got the start in the circle for Mansfield and tossed a complete game, surrendering 10 runs on 13 hits while walking four and striking out seven in the victory.
Game Two: WCU 10 Mansfield 6 (5 Innings)
In the second game of the afternoon, West Chester jumped out to an early lead once again, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning via an RBI triple from Rittenbaugh, which Kim followed up with a sac fly to score her and give WCU the early advantage.
West Chester added three more in the second when Rittenbaugh hit yet another RBI triple, this time of the two-RBI variety to extend the lead to 4-0 before scoring on an RBI double from Aguilar, putting West Chester out in front by a score of 5-0 heading into the bottom of the second.
In the home fourth, Mansfield got two runs back via a two-RBI double, which trimmed the Golden Ram lead to 5-2 heading into the fifth.
In the fifth, West Chester tacked on five more runs to take a 10-2 lead and put the game out of reach of the upset-minded Mountaineers. West Chester scored its first run of the inning when
Tess Smiley (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) scored on a wild pitch after pinch running for Karcher who had singled to start off the inning. Later in the inning,
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) tripled to right center, which scored
Abby Penjuke (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) and
Asia Barnard (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy), which increased the lead to 8-2.
Madison Melvin followed this up with a sac bunt, which scored her sister to give West Chester a 9-2 lead. Kim drove in the final run of the game for West Chester with an RBI single, which scored Aguilar and moved the score to 10-2 in favor of the Golden Rams after Aguilar had reached on a fielders choice and advanced to second on a passed ball during Kim's at bat.
Anna Torrens (Holmes, Pa./Ridley) got the start and the victory, tossing 4.2 innings scattering six runs (two earned) on five hits while walking two and striking out three.
Summer Williams () entered in relief and surrendered a pair of hits without recording an out before
Antonia Browning (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) entered and struck out the final batter of the fifth, which would also prove to be the final batter of the game as the contest was called due to darkness heading into the sixth.
For Mansfield, Alexis Easling got the start and took the loss, surrendering eight runs on nine hits over four innings of work while walking four and striking out one. Maddy ean enterd in relief for the remainder of the fifth inning and got all three outs in the frame while giving up two runs on three hits in the game two setback for the Mounties.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Friday afternoon at home against Bloomsburg beginning at 2:30 p.m.
