SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- Fresh off a convincing sweep of non-league foe Lincoln on Thursday, the West Chester softball team returned to action on Saturday vs PSAC East rival Shippensburg in a doubleheader with major playoff implications. West Chester led briefly in game one before a late inning rally by the hosts gave Shippensburg a 5-3 win before falling in a heartbreaker in game two by a final of 1-0.
Game One: Shippensburg 5 WCU 3
Shippensburg jumped out to an early lead off the strength of an RBI single back up the middle in the first inning before West Chester just bounced back in the third with a pair of RBI singles from
Haleigh Karcher (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) and
Trisha Kopinetz (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) to erase the deficit and take a 2-1 lead.
This lead did not last long as Shippensburg answered back with a run of its own in the home half of the third, evening the score at 3-3.
This score held up until the top of the sixth when Kopinetz continued her big afternoon at the plate, launching a solo home run to center field, which broke the tie and gave West Chester a 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately, Shippensburg was not finished offensively as the Raiders countered with a three-run home run of their own in the home half to take a 5-3 lead, which they would never relinquish en route to the victory.
Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) got the start and pitched the first four innings of the game, scattering nine hits and a pair of runs before exiting in favor of
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton). Edwards pitched the final two innings, giving up three runs on two hits while striking out, as she was saddled with the game one loss, falling to 7-6 on the year.
Alicia Ball got the start for Shippensburg and pitched the first 5.0 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four before exiting for Emma Flattery who picked up her ninth win of the season in relief, surrendering just one hit while striking out one in the final two innings of the contest.
Game Two: Shippensburg 1 WCU 0
In the second game of the doubleheader it was a true pitchers dual as both sides managed four hits through the first five innings but neither West Chester starter
Antonia Browning (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) nor Shippensburg pitchers Maddie Ushock and Emma Flattery allowed a run to cross through these first five innings, sending the game scoreless into the sixth.
In the sixth,
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) singled to left as West Chester tried to break the tie but the Golden Rams were unable to bring her around, sending the game to the home half of the sixth locked at 0-0.
In the top of the seventh,
Olivia Mock (Clifton, Va./Paul VI) doubled to center, giving West Chester the potential winning run at second with two outs in the inning but Shippensburg tight-roped out of danger once again to keep the game scoreless.
In the home half of the seventh with the game appearing destined for extra innings, Taylor Myers came through with a clutch RBI single into left, which scored the winning run and gave Shippensburg a walkoff victory for a sweep of the Golden Rams
Browning, pitched well, going 6.1 scattering seven hits and one run while striking out two before exiting in favor of Edwards. Edwards entered in relief and got one out in the seventh before eventually giving up the game-winning RBI single in the 1-0 setback.
For Shippensburg, Flattery earned her second win of the afternoon and 10
th on the year after entering in relief of Ushock in the fourth tossing the final 3.1, scattering three hits while striking out one in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action tomorrow afternoon vs Chestnut Hill beginning at 1 p.m.
