MANSFIELD, Pa. – Looking to stretch its winning streak to 10 in a row and complete the season sweep of Mansfield (10-24, 1-21), the West Chester softball team (31-12, 19-3) took to the road on Saturday afternoon for the second doubleheader of its season series against the Mountaineers. West Chester needed just 10 total innings to complete the sweep, earning a pair of five-inning victories with a 14-1 win in game one, before capturing game two by a 12-2 final, stretching its winning streak to 10 in a row, while also crossing the 30-win plateau.
Game One: WCU 14 Mansfield 1
West Chester got out to an early one-run lead with an RBI double by
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) in the first inning.
Mansfield countered in the home half with its lone run of the game, tying the score at 1-1 heading into the second.
The Golden Rams did not remain tied for long as West Chester broke the tie when
Olivia Mock (Clifton, Va./Paul V) scored on a passed ball before Rittenbaugh came through with a two-RBI double to make it a 4-1 lead heading into the home half of the second.
An RBI single by
Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) and a two-RBI double by
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) pushed the lead to 7-1 after three innings of play.
West Chester got an RBI triple in the fourth by
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca), another RBI double by
Madison Melvin, and an RBI single by
Abby Quinn (Cheltenham, Pa./William Penn Charter) to take a 10-1 lead.
With the game well in hand, West Chester tacked on four more runs in the fifth thanks in part to three RBI singles by Melvin, Quinn, and Best to stretch the lead to 14-1.
Two runs was all
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) needed as she turned in a tremendous pitching performance for her 12
th win of the year, surrendering just one run on four hits while striking out a pair in the victory.
Game Two: WCU 12 Mansfield 2
West Chester took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second after a sacrifice fly by Best brought home one run with a second run-scoring via a throwing error.
West Chester added to this early lead in the third, scoring five runs on six hits, including RBI singles by
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest), Mock, and Melvin, while
Meg Wolfe (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) came through with an RBI of her own on a sac fly to give West Chester a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
Mansfield answered back with a pair of runs in the home half of the third, closing the book on
Antonia Browning (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington), who finished the game with a final line of 2.2 innings pitched, surrendering two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out another.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) entered in relief and finished the game in the circle, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out three in the sweep.
West Chester ensured the game would come to an early conclusion in the fifth, scoring five more runs on four hits (including a pair of RBI singles by Best and
Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) along with a pair of costly errors to take a 12-2 lead.
Edwards allowed her lone hit of the afternoon to lead off the fifth but worked around the early runner, setting down the next three Mountaineers in order to help West Chester complete the doubleheader and season sweep of Mansfield.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Friday afternoon against East Stroudsburg beginning at 1 p.m. before hosting Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon, with that matchup also starting at 1 p.m.
