WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Riding a 10-game winning streak, the West Chester softball team (32-13, 20-4) welcomed PSAC East rival East Stroudsburg (31-13, 19-7) to South Campus on Friday afternoon for an important doubleheader between two of the top team's in the PSAC East. Following a similar script to the first meeting between the two teams, West Chester dropped the first game by a 2-1 final before bouncing back to win game two by a 6-2 final after scoring four runs in the first inning to break the game open.
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) who went 2-for-6 in the doubleheader, had the distinction of being the lone Golden Ram to record an RBI in both games while
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) was the lone Golden Ram to record a multi-hit game in both ends of the doubleheader (2-for-3 game one, 2-for-4, 3R in game two).
Game One: ESU 2 WCU 1
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) and Paige Zigmund locked in a great battle throughout the first game of the doubleheader as runs were at a premium for both sides.
East Stroudsburg pushed across the first run of the game via an RBI single in the third and added another on a sac fly in the fifth, scoring a pair of unearned runs to take a 2-0 lead.
West Chester mounted a comeback in the home fifth, cutting the deficit in half with an RBI single by
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) which scored
Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) to make the score 2-1. West Chester continued to threaten with runners on the corners with two outs but ESU worked out of the inning to maintain its one-run lead.
After a scoreless sixth, the visiting Warriors started the seventh with a leadoff single, which closed the book on Ciliberto in favor of
Samantha Klug (East Norriton, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy)
Ciliberto (12-3) suffered her third loss of the season after scattering eight hits and two unearned runs while striking out a pair over her six innings of work. Klug worked a scoreless inning in relief, stranding the Warriors leadoff hitter to keep the deficit at 2-1 heading into the home half of the seventh.
Zigmund was effective for the Warriors allowing just one unearned run on four hits while striking out six, including a pair of Golden Rams in the seventh to improve to 17-3 on the year.
Game Two: WCU 6 ESU 2
West Chester plated its first run of the game on an RBI double by Rittenbaugh which scored
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) who had reached on an error to open the inning. West Chester extended its lead with a pair of RBI singles by
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) and
Haleigh Karcher (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson). Karcher scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to give West Chester a 4-0 lead heading into the second.
In the second, West Chester continued to extend its lead via aggressive baserunning as
Madison Melvin stole third and scored a poor throw by the Warriors catcher to make it a 5-0 WCU lead.
East Stroudsburg got one run back in the top of the fourth on a hit and an error, cutting the deficit to 5-1.
West Chester took advantage of another defensive miscue by the Warriors in the sixth to take a 6-2 lead into the seventh.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) got the start and pitched well for the Golden Rams, scattering just two runs and four hits over her seven innings of work while striking out one to improve to 7-5 on the season.
Leigh Ann Jenkins (8-6) started for ESU and didn't record an out, finishing with a final line of four runs (one earned) on three hits before Maddy Pritchard entered in relief. Pritchard went the rest of the way in the circle, allowing just two runs (one earned) on seven hits while walking two and striking out a pair in the game to setback.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action tomorrow morning vs Bloomsburg beginning at 11 a.m.
