WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) broke the career stolen base record in game two as West Chester (22-20) raced past Chestnut Hill on Sunday afternoon, capturing the first game by a 10-2 final before taking game two by an 11-0 final. Both games were shortened games as West Chester needed only six (5.1) innings to secure the game one victory before taking game two in just five innings, marking the third and fourth time this week that West Chester has swept its doubleheader with both games being shortened games.
Game One: WCU 10 CHC 2 (6 Innings)
After a scoreless top of the first, West Chester jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the home half on two hits, including an RBI single from
Haleigh Karcher (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) and a pair of costly Chestnut Hill errors to carry a solid 3-0 advantage into the second inning.
In the second,
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) reached with one out in the inning and made her way up to second with two outs, which allowed her to score on an RBI single by
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove), which extended the lead to 4-0. Rittenbaugh moved up to second on the throw home, which allowed her to score on an RBI double from
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) and give West Chester a 5-0 lead heading into the third.
In third, Karcher led the inning off with a triple to left center before being lifted for a pinch runner in
Audrey Kochanowicz () who scored moments later on an RBI double back to the wall off the bat of
Emily Kim (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) who came around to score moments later on an RBI single from Mock to make the score 7-0. West Chester added another run before the end of the inning after
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) reached on a bunt and a bad throw by the Griffins pitcher sent the ball into right field, giving WCU a commanding 8-0 lead heading into the fourth.
In need of a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to extend the game to at least another inning and the Griffins got exactly what they needed, taking full advantage of a West Chester error with one out, eventually scoring a pair of runs to make the score 9-2.
In the home half of the fifth, West Chester got a runner over to third with two outs in the inning but Chestnut Hill tight-roped out of danger and send the game to the sixth inning.
Anna Torrens (Holmes, Pa./Ridley) (4-3) carried a no-hit bid until there was one out in the fifth before Chestnut Hill broke through for its first hit of the contest, an RBI double to right center. Torrens ended the game with a final line of 5.0 innings pitched scattering two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out two and walking five in the victory.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) entered in the sixth and tossed a scoreless 1,2,3 inning to send the game to the home half of the sixth with West Chester leading 9-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kopinetz hit her second home run of the afternoon, this time hitting a solo shot down the left field line to lift West Chester to a shortened 10-2 victory in game one.
For Chestnut Hill, Madison Petroski got the start in the circle and went the full 5.1 surrendering 10 runs (7 earned) on 13 hits while walking one and striking out four as she fell to 5-14 on the year.
Game Two: WCU 11 CHC 0
After a scoreless top of the first, West Chester exploded for eight runs on four hits and two errors to carry a commanding 8-0 lead into the second inning. After Melvin and Rittenbaugh each worked walks to open the game, it was their speed which allowed West Chester to score its first run games as they executed a perfect double steal and capitalized on a throwing error to score the first runs of the game. Later in the frame, Karcher drove home another run via a sac fly to right field, which scored Aguilar who had a drawn a walk of her own earlier in the inning.
Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) followed this up with a two-RBI double before
Tess Smiley (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) hit an RBI single to score Mock and move Picozzi up to third, making the score 6-0 in favor of West Chester. Melvin followed this up with an RBI single, which scored Picozzi to extend the lead to 7-0. West Chester scored its final run of the frame on a failed pickoff attempt as the throw from the Griffins catcher sailed into left field, which allowed Smiley to score easily and give West Chester its commanding 8-0 lead.
After a scoreless second, Smiley came through with her second RBI of the single today to score Mock who had singled earlier in the inning, extending the lead to 9-0. Later in the frame, Smiley and Melvin found their way home on a two-RBI single from Rittenbaugh to give West Chester a commanding 11-0 lead heading into the fourth.
With a comfortable lead in hand, West Chester made a pitching change as Picozzi entered from the DP spot in relief of
Antonia Browning (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) who had pitched three scoreless innings to start the game, scattering two hits while striking out one to improve to 2-4 on the year.
Picozzi entered in the fourth and allowed a pair of singles within the first three batters of the inning but worked out of danger with a pair of groundouts to end the inning and keep the Griffins off the scoreboard. In the fifth, Picozzi found herself in early trouble once again after yielding back-to-back one out singles as the Griffins again had runners on the corners with one out in the inning before working out of trouble once again, getting the final out of the game on a line drive back to the circle to give West Chester the 11-0 victory.
Notes:
With her one steal in game one, Melvin tied Meghan Kelly for first all-time in career steals before passing her in game two with three stolen bases on the afternoon. The junior now has 88 stolen bases on her career, needing only 108 games to reach this milestone.
Up Next:
West Chester will now shift its attention to a pivotal doubleheader with Shepherd at home next Friday afternoon before heading to Kutztown for the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon.
