SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- The West Chester University softball team (18-11, 7-5) returned to action on Friday afternoon at Shippensburg (22-6, 11-3) for an important PSAC East doubleheader vs the perennially strong Raiders. West Chester dropped game one by an 11-2 final in six innings before seeing its seventh-inning rally fall just short in a 4-2 setback in the nightcap.
Game One: Shippensburg 11 WCU 2 (6)
Shippensburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first and added five more runs to its tally in the second to carry a 7-0 advantage into the top of the third.
Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) worked a walk to open the third, and
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) and
Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) followed with back-to-back singles as West Chester loaded the bases with no outs.
Alicia Ball got a big first out with a clutch strikeout of
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) but was unable to keep the shutout intact any longer as younger sister
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) worked a walk to score the Golden Rams first run of the game.
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) drove in the Golden Rams second run with a two-out RBI infield single as West Chester cut the Shippensburg lead to 7-2 heading into the home third.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) got the start and pitched the first 1.2, allowing seven runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out a pair.
Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) entered in relief and escaped the second inning before working a scoreless third to keep the deficit right where it was.
Shippensburg tacked on runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 9-2 lead over West Chester heading into the sixth. The Raiders ended game one early with a two-run home run in the home sixth, their fourth long ball of the afternoon, to post an 11-2 victory over the Golden Rams in the first game of the season series between the rivals.
Edwards suffered the loss, falling to 7-3 on the year, while Ball improved to 12-1 after allowing just two runs on five hits while walking four and striking out three.
Picozzi pitched well in relief, scattering four runs on six hits over 3.1 innings while striking out four in the game-one setback.
Game Two: SHIP 4 WCU 2
In the top of the first, West Chester saw the Melvin sisters both reach to start the game, giving the Golden Rams runners on first and second with no outs, but Madalyn Dyer settled in nicely and worked out of trouble quickly to keep the game scoreless early.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when Shippensburg scored its first run, capitalizing on a defensive miscue earlier in the inning to carry a 1-0 lead into the fifth.
West Chester once again got a runner on to start the fifth, but Dyer worked around the runner quickly to keep the Golden Rams scoreless heading into the home half of the fifth.
West Chester got a quick first out to open the home fifth before the Raiders doubled their lead with their fifth home run of the doubleheader to take a 2-0 lead over the visiting Golden Rams.
Shippensburg doubled its lead in the sixth, using an RBI single followed by an RBI double to take a 4-0 lead into the seventh.
This four-run cushion proved important as
Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) cut the lead down with one swing as she sent a 2-0 offering soaring over the center field fence to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) kept the comeback going with a double, which led to a pitching change for Shippensburg. Katelyn Minney entered in relief for the Raiders and walked her first batter in Zoldi, bringing the top of the Golden Ram lineup to the plate with runners on first and second and no outs.
Madison Melvin moved the runners to second and third with a ground ball to the right side of the infield, which helped
Hailey Melvin drive in a run with a sac fly to left, cutting the deficit to 4-2. From this point, Minney worked out of danger, getting the final out of the game with a pop-up to second as the Raiders completed a sweep of the visiting Golden Rams for just the second time since the 2015 season.
Dyer pitched well throughout the afternoon, keeping West Chester off the scoreboard until the seventh, scattering just six hits and three walks, and striking out six to improve to 6-0. Minney picked up her second save of the year as she got all three outs in the seventh to help the Raiders hold on for the 4-2 victory.
Ciliberto (10-6) suffered the loss for West Chester after allowing four runs (three earned) with one strikeout in her six innings of work.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Shepherd at 1 p.m. on South Campus.
