WILSON, N.C.- After dropping a pair of extra-inning games to open the season on Saturday afternoon, the West Chester University softball team (1-3) returned to action on Sunday for another split doubleheader against Frostburg State (2-2) and Barton (6-6). West Chester dropped its first game of the afternoon against Frostburg State by a 4-1 final before posting a convincing 13-2 victory over Barton in the weekend's final game.
Game One: Frostburg State 4 WCU 1
Frostburg State got out to an early lead in the first inning, using an RBI triple and subsequent RBI groundout to jump out to an early 2-0 lead.
After surrendering two early runs,
Emma Maurer (Hegins, Pa./Tri-Valley) settled in the circle, keeping the Bobcats off the scoreboard throughout the middle innings as the score remained locked at 2-0 heading into the fifth.
Opposite Maurer, who was making her collegiate debut, was senior Sydney Theobald, who looked in control for much of the afternoon against the Golden Rams.
West Chester's best opportunity of the first four innings came in the top of the fourth when
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) laced a triple into the gap, giving West Chester a runner on third with only one out in the frame. Theobald settled back in quickly, getting the next two Golden Rams out in short order to preserve the shutout.
Frostburg State doubled its lead in the fifth with a two-run home run to left center, making the score 4-0 heading into the sixth.
In the sixth, West Chester continued its comeback bid, loading the bases with just one out before plating its first run of the game thanks to an RBI single by
Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North), which cut the deficit to three while also keeping the bases loaded. This RBI single closed the book on Theobald, who had pitched tremendously well to that point, scattering six hits and two walks while striking out four over 5.1.
Junior Allyssa Albright entered in relief of Theobald and got a big second out as she forced
Gia Borelli (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson) to fly out before getting a crucial strikeout to end the threat and close out Theobald's day with just one earned run.
Maurer worked into the sixth and got one out before allowing a walk, which ended her afternoon as
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) entered in relief of her freshman teammate. Edwards got the next two outs quickly, sending the game to the seventh with West Chester still trailing 4-1.
In the top half of the seventh, Frostburg State ensured extra innings would not required on Sunday as the Bobcats set the Golden Rams down in order to earn the 4-1 victory and split sweep of West Chester.
Theobald earned the victory in the circle, her first of the season, while Maurer suffered the loss in her collegiate debut. Albright picked up the unconventional five-out save in the victory, helping her team navigate a bases-loaded jam in the sixth before working a scoreless top of the seventh.
Game Two: WCU 13 Barton 2
Five Golden Rams recorded multi-hit games, led by a 4-for-4 effort from
Hailey Melvin with three runs scored and a 2-for-4 effort by
Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), who led the team with six RBI in the 11-run triumph.
West Chester jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning after a well-executed steal of home by
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca), along with a three-run home run by Kane and a two-run shot by
Alexa Peterson (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan).
West Chester continued to extend its lead in the second as
Hailey Melvin laced an RBI single to plate older sister Madison before Madison registered an RBI single of her own in the third, which stretched the lead to 8-0.
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) kept the good times rolling for West Chester in the fourth, driving in another run with an RBI single of her own, which gave the Golden Rams a commanding 9-0 lead.
Barton cut into the deficit in the home fourth, getting a pair of runs back with a two-RBI single to center. West Chester countered quickly in the top of the fifth as Peterson belted her second home run of the day, a solo shot, which gave West Chester a 10-2 lead before Kane cleared the bases with a three-RBI single, which gave West Chester a 13-2 lead.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) got the start and picked up her first win of the spring (1-1) after pitching five stellar innings, allowing just two runs on one hit while fanning five. For Barton, Kerrigan Wonder was saddled with the loss, lasting just the first inning, allowing four runs on two hits and three walks in the weekend-concluding setback.
Up Next:
West Chester will return home after this weekend and travel to Holy Family next Saturday for a doubleheader against the Tigers beginning at 12 p.m.
