BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) picked up four hits to tie Bri Garber's PSAC career hit record (320), while
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) logged three hits of her own to help West Chester (27-18, 15-11) to a doubleheader split at Bloomsburg (27-16, 14-10) on Saturday afternoon. West Chester dropped game one by a 4-3 final before rolling to a 6-2 victory in game two of the twinbill to split the doubleheader and win the season series 3-1 over the Huskies.
Game One: Bloomsburg 4 WCU 3
Bloomsburg got out to an early 4-0 lead after scoring four runs on three hits, including a two-RBI triple. This early advantage proved to be all Bloomsburg needed as Callie Sowers was sharp throughout the afternoon, allowing just three unearned runs on four hits and five walks while striking out five to improve to 18-4 on the year.
West Chester got to Sowers for its three runs in the top of the fourth, using an RBI single by
Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) to score its first run of the game before cutting the deficit to just one after a two-RBI single by
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) for the first of her two hits on the afternoon.
The Golden Rams threatened to repeat their late-game heroics from the first doubleheader between the two teams, getting runners on first and second with just one out in the seventh, but Sowers worked out of the jam nicely to escape with a one-run victory over the Golden Rams and avoid a potential season-series sweep.
Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) got the start and took the loss, falling to 3-2 on the year after allowing four runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out three in five innings of work.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) entered in relief and worked a scoreless sixth to keep West Chester in the game late.
Game Two: WCU 6 Bloomsburg 2
After a scoreless first, West Chester scored three runs in the second courtesy of an RBI single off the bat of Melvin before an RBI double from
Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) gave West Chester a commanding 2-0 lead.
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) stretched the lead one run further after reaching on a fielders choice as the Golden Rams carried a 3-0 lead into the third.
Rittenbaugh's RBI double also led the fifth-year infielder into the record books as she became the latest Golden Ram to join the 200-hit club after entering the day just three hits shy of the milestone.
In the sixth, Melvin tied both the PSAC and WCU career-hit record with a single up the middle before coming around to score along with RIttenbaugh on a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Aguilar. West Chester extended its lead to 6-0 moments later when
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) laced a single into center to plate Aguilar.
Bloomsburg got two runs back in the home sixth via a two-RBI double, but this was as close as the Huskies would get, as the Golden Rams pulled away for the 6-2 victory.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) got the start in the circle and worked into the sixth, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four to improve to 16-8 on the year. Edwards entered in relief in the sixth and worked out of the jam, pitching the final two innings allowing just one walk, while striking out one to secure the doubleheader split and the series victory for the Golden Rams.
Kelly Eberly got the start and took the loss in the circle, allowing three runs on five hits in 2.1 innings of work. Lindsay Reinoehl entered in relief and didn't fair much better in her 2.2 innings of work, allowing three runs on three hits, before Lauren Gray pitched the final two innings, allowing just two hits and no runs to keep her side in the game down the stretch.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Tuesday afternoon against Shippensburg beginning at 1 p.m.
