WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester softball team (10-7) returned to action on Saturday afternoon for a non-league doubleheader against the College of Staten Island (4-10). West Chester had to mount a comeback in each game but did so with ease, capturing a 7-6 victory in game one before cruising to a 14-1 victory in game two in five innings.
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) had a huge day for West Chester, going 4-for-7 at the plate with four runs scored and five RBI over the course of the doubleheader sweep for the Golden Rams.
Game One: WCU 7 College of Staten Island 6
Aguilar got the first hit of the game with two outs in the bottom of the first before stealing her way to the first run of the game, swiping second and third before eventually taking home on a double steal with
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) to give the Golden Rams their first run of the afternoon.
The visiting Dolphins countered quickly with a six-run second inning, using a series of infield singles to score a pair of runs and load the bases so Annisa Acosta could unload them with a grand slam over the fence in left-center to take a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the second.
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) helped cut the deficit in half with a two-RBI triple to left, making the score 6-3 in the bottom of the second. Aguilar followed this up with an RBI single, which scored Melvin.
Hailey Melvin helped West Chester even the score at 6-6.
Samantha Klug (East Norriton, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) got the start and pitched a scoreless first but ran into trouble in the second, eventually being lifted with two outs in the second after surrendering six runs on five hits while walking one and striking out a pair.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) entered in relief and got West Chester out of the inning.
West Chester retook the lead in the fourth off a sac fly from
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove), which scored
Madison Melvin, who had singled to open the inning before moving up to third on a stolen base and an error earlier in Rittenbaugh's at-bat.
Looking to expand upon its one-run lead before the seventh, West Chester got a pair of runners on with just one away in the sixth, but Staten Island worked out of trouble, trailing by just one heading into the seventh.
Ciliberto, who entered in relief in the second, was dominant in the circle on the way to her third win of the season, striking out seven while holding the Dolphins hitless over her 5.1 innings of work in the game-one victory.
Alexandra Frenza started for Staten Island and worked the first two innings, allowing six runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two before exiting in favor of Kelsey Strayer. Strayer suffered her first loss of the season, tossing the final five innings, scattering three hits and one unearned run.
Game Two: WCU 14 CSI 1 (5 Innings)
The Dolphins jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a solo home run down the left-field line.
West Chester did not trail for long, tying the game in the home half with an RBI double by Aguilar before taking a 2-1 lead after a sacrifice fly to left from
Hailey Melvin, carrying a 2-1 lead into the second.
West Chester extended its lead in the second on a fielder's choice, moving it to 3-1 before a sac fly by Rittenbaugh extended it to 4-1. Aguilar continued her big day later in the inning, driving a single into right, which scored two and gave West Chester a 6-1 lead.
Haleigh Karcher (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) kept the line moving with a two-RBI single through the right side to stretch the lead to 8-1 and close the book on Alexis Miramontes for the Dolphins.
Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) added to the lead with a grand slam to left, which gave the hosts a commanding 12-1 lead.
Miramonte (3-4) ended with a final line of 2.2 innings pitched with six hits and 10 runs (nine earned) while walking a pair.
West Chester tacked on a run in the third and another in the fourth to push its lead to 14-1 en route to a convincing game two victory over the Dolphins.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) dominated the nightcap on Saturday, pitching the full five innings in the circle, allowing just the one run in the first inning, while scattering three hits and striking out nine to improve to 3-3 on the season. Edward's nine strikeouts is the most by a Golden Ram since Reilly Gearhart fanned 10 against Walsh on March 11, 2020.
Alyssa Zangrilli entered in relief of Miramonte and worked the next 1.1, allowing four runs on three hits, while Annisa Acosta, who delivered a home run in both games for the Dolphins, finished the game in the circle, tossing the final inning, allowing two hits, while striking out a pair along the way.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at home against Holy Family beginning at 12 p.m.
