STROUDSBURG, Pa.- Following an exciting victory over West Virginia Wesleyan, which saw fourth-seeded West Chester (37-17) hold off a late-game comeback bid by the fifth-seeded Bobcats, West Chester has shifted its attention to its next opponent in top-seed ESU tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. at Creekview Park.
The two PSAC East rivals split the season series with two wins apiece and will meet tomorrow in one of the bigger games between the two rivals in recent memory. With a victory, West Chester will advance to the Pod Final and be just a win away from returning to the Super Regionals next week, while a setback would force the Golden Rams to win an elimination game on Friday afternoon and win twice on Saturday in order to advance out of the pod. West Chester achieved an important milestone today, winning its first game of the Tournament for the fifth year in a row, avoiding a loss, which would have made advancing out of the opening pod challenging to say the least.
How They Got Here
East Stroudsburg and West Chester meet in a winner's bracket game in the first game of the day on Friday morning, beginning at 11 a.m. after ESU dispatched Bowie State (6-2) in its opener, while WCU topped West Virginia Wesleyan (6-3).
Fan Information
Ticket sales will be cash only and will only be available on site with general admission tickets being $10 for the day while students with ID, seniors 65+, veterans, first responders will be $5 per day and children under the age of two will be admitted free of charge.
Series Information
West Chester enters play on Friday with a 45-14 record against the Warriors dating back to the 2008 season, although the two teams split the season series in 2022 with each team taking a game in the two doubleheaders. West Chester and ESU have met in the NCAA Tournament only once before with that meeting coming during the Golden Rams last Tournament appearance, a game, which West Chester won by a 2-1 final to capture its fourth Atlantic Region Title back in 2021.
Flock Talk
Today's victory over West Virginia Wesleyan marked the fifth year in a row that West Chester has opened the NCAA Tournament with a victory, coincidentally, each of the previous four seasons in which this happened, West Chester went on to win the Pod, winning the Regional Crown in three of those four seasons. Today's victory also halts a two-game losing streak for West Chester, erasing bitter memories of a pair of setbacks at the PSAC Tournament a week ago.
West Chester continues to be a dangerous team early in the game, entering play on Thursday with 52 runs to its credit in the first inning, the most runs the team has scored in any inning this season, WCU added six to this total with its first-inning outburst against WV Wesleyan. This early surge proved to be all West Chester would need to improve to 37-17 on the year and an impressive 23-1 in games in which the Golden Rams score at least six runs (4-0 in games when scoring six runs exactly). WCU also improved to 25-7 when scoring first and 16-8 when in scoring in the first inning.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) who was a First Team All-PSAC East honoree and NFCA Second Team All-Region pick, turned in another strong effort in the circle on Thursday, scattering just three runs on nine hits while striking out four to improve to 13-4 on the year. Fellow First Team All-PSAC East selection and First Team All-Region honoree
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) also kept a pair of streaks alive on Friday, extending her hitting streak to 24 games in a row, while also leveling her on-base streak up to an even 30 games as she closes in on Bri Garber's 38-game reached base safely streak.
Scouting ESU
East Stroudsburg enters play coming off a 6-2 win over Bowie State in the first game of the Regional Tournament, jumping out to an three-run lead through the first two innings en route to the victory. ESU pushed across a pair of runs in the first inning before adding another in the second, two more in the fourth, and one insurance run in the home sixth to hold off the upset-minded Bulldogs. Paige Zigmund led the way in the circle for ESU as she has throughout the season, striking out 11, while scattering just two runs on four hits and one walk to help limit the Bowie State offense. Seven different Warriors registered a hit in the opening win, including Jada Smallwood who was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI, along with Reilly Vicendese, and Maddy Pritchard, who both registered RBI doubles in the victory.
Zigmund has been the Warriors top arm throughout the season, pitching to a record of 22-5 with a 2.22 ERA over the course of 29 appearances and 26 starts. Zigmund was responsible for both of the Warrior's wins over the Golden Rams this season, limiting the potent West Chester offense, which was on full display on Thursday afternoon to just three runs on 11 hits, while striking out 10 in 14 innings of work. Vicendsese has been the Warriors offensive leader throughout much of the season, entering play with a .381 batting average with 69 hits on the year including 15 doubles, six triples, and one home run. Vicendese's 15 doubles is second best on the team, trailing only freshman first baseman Jada Smallwood, who leads the way with 18, while also leading the team in home runs with eight, entering play on Friday with 49 RBI and a .333 batting average.
Up Next:
With a victory on Friday morning, West Chester would advance to the Pod Final on Saturday morning while a loss would force WCU to win the nightcap on Friday, needing a win over the Bowie State/West Virginia Wesleyan game winner from the second game on Friday.
