WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) was outstanding in the circle for West Chester, pitching a no-hitter in game one to lead the Golden Rams to a split with East Stroudsburg, capturing game one by a 1-0 final before dropping game two by a final of 2-1.
Prior to the game, West Chester honored its lone graduating senior
Emily Kim (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) for her contributions to the program throughout her Golden Ram career.
Game One: WCU 1 ESU 0
Edwards was brilliant in the circle for West Chester, tossing a complete-game, no-hitter to stymie the East Stroudsburg offense. Edwards ended with two strikeouts and two walks as she improved to 6-5 earning a crucial victory for the Golden Rams.
East Stroudsburg's best opportunity came in the third inning when the Warriors got a runner over to third base with just one out before having runners on the corners with two outs in the inning but
Edwards was able to work out of danger and keep the game scoreless. Over the next four innings, East Stroudsburg managed just one baserunner as Edwards kept the Warriors off balance throughout the game.
With the game threatening to go into extra innings in the late innings, West Chester broke through in the sixth, beginning with
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) reaching on a single and advancing to second on a throwing error. This allowed Melvin to score moments later on an RBI single from
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) before advancing to third following an East Stroudsburg throwing error to keep the pressure on the Warriors with just one out in the inning. East Stroudsburg walked Kim to put runners on the corners with two outs but the Warriors escaped the inning with no further damage to keep the score at 1-0 heading into the seventh.
For East Stroudsburg, Katie Zaun got the start in the circle and pitched very well in her own right, going the distance allowing just the one run on three hits and two walks while striking out seven in a tough-luck loss.
Edward's no-hitter was the 16
th no-no in program history and the first since
Mary Picozzi twirled a no-hitter on March 21, 2021 in a 10-0 victory over Holy Family. Edward's seven-inning no hitter is the first complete-game no hitter by a Golden Ram pitcher since Adina DeHainaut over Bloomfield in March 2006.
When asked about her effort on Saturday afternoon, Edwards said, "The first win was a great, crucial win for us. We knew today was big day for us and we really wanted to get a win. I think the defense did a great job behind me today and it all came together for a great win," concluded the freshman right-hander.
Game Two: ESU 2 WCU 1
After three hitless innings to open the game, Molly Nies gave the Warriors their first hit of the afternoon with one-out single in the fourth but
Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) struck out her next two batters to end the inning with the score locked at 0-0.
In the home fourth, Rittenbaugh led off the inning with a single to left before finding her way to second on a wild pitch with no outs in the inning.
Asia Barnard (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) entered as a pinch runner, which later allowed West Chester to take a 1-0 lead after she scored on a sac fly from Kim to give the Golden Rams a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth.
After registering its first hit of the game just an inning prior, East Stroudsburg scored its first runs of the contest with a two-run home run to left field in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. Picozzi with two outs in the fifth with a runner on first in favor of
Antonia Browning (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) who got the final out of the inning to send the game to the home half with West Chester trailing by a run (2-1).
In the home half of the fifth, West Chester threatened to tie the game after a one-out double from Picozzi, which narrowly missed being a home run going off the center field wall but ESU was able to work out of danger and retain a slim 2-1 lead heading into the sixth.
West Chester attempted to mount a late comeback but East Stroudsburg held on for a 2-1 game two victory and split of the afternoon with the Golden Rams.
Browning finished the game in relief, tossing the final 2.1 in relief of Picozzi, scattering just two hits over the course of her two-plus innings of work. Picozzi took the loss in game two, falling to 8-7 on the year with a final line of 4.2 innings pitched surrendering two runs on four hits while striking out three.
Paige Zigmund improved to 9-0 for ESU, pitching four innings scattering two hits and one run while striking out one before exiting in favor of Leigh Ann Jenkins who pitched the final three innings to earn the save, scattering just one hit over her three innigns of work while striking out three.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action next on Thursday at Lincoln beginning at 2 p.m.
