West Chester at Goldey Beacom (Single game)
Game Details: February 28 I 2 P.M.
Location: Wilmington, Del.
Coverage Links: Live Stats
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
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West Chester vs Holy Family
Game Details: March 1 I 12/2 P.M.
Location: WC Softball Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
HFU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester started its season with a split at No. 4 Wilmington on Sunday afternoon as the Golden Rams returned to the field for the first time since May 11, 2024, when West Chester wrapped up its season with a pair of losses to eventual Atlantic Region Champion, Charleston (W.V.) in West Virginia. Despite an early 3-0 lead in the first inning of game one thanks to a bases-clearing three RBI double by Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock), West Chester fell victim to a five-run fourth inning in the 6-4 loss. Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) suffered the opening day loss after yielding five runs (four earned) on six hits while walking two in 3.2 innings. Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) entered in relief in the fourth and pitched the final 2.1, allowing one run on one hit and a walk while striking out four.
In the nightcap, Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored on an RBI single by Marabell in the top of the first, giving West Chester an early lead. Wilmington answered with two runs in the second to take a 2-1 lead before a Julia Miller (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) double in the fourth tied the game at 2-2 heading into the home fourth. In the seventh, West Chester threatened throughout the inning and eventually took a decisive 5-2 lead after a three-run home run by Marabell, which gave her seven RBI on the day. Ciliberto got the start and allowed two runs (one earned) in 4.1 innings before Edwards entered and pitched the final 2.2 without allowing a run, scattering just two hits and one walk while striking out six to move to 1-1 on the year.
Flock Talk
Kane leads the team in batting average and OPS after the first doubleheader of the season, batting .500 (3-for-6) on the year with a 1.292 OPS, including a double, while also scoring a run. Marabell, Miller, and Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) are all batting north of .300 on the year, with Marabell leading the group at .375, while Miller and Best bat .333. Best leads the team in runs scored with two.
On the mound, Ciliberto and Edwards split the opening day nearly evenly as Ciliberto pitched 6.2, allowing three runs (two earned) to post a 2.10 ERA and a .240 batting average while striking out four. Edwards was the lone WCU pitcher to record a decision on Saturday as she posted a record of 1-1 with a 4.42 ERA and a .308 batting average against with six strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.
New Faces
As always, head coach Diane Lokey and the Golden Rams welcomed several new faces to the roster in 2025, including Miller and Ella Heap (York, Pa./Central York), who both earned opening day starts along with Holly Muni (Hamilton, N.J./Allentown), Presley Foote (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury), and Madison Peck (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) who made their Golden Ram debuts on Sunday off the bench. Miller had an excellent first two games as a Golden Ram, picking up her first two collegiate hits, including an Rbi double, while also scoring a run to post a .333 batting average and a .929 OPS, helping lead WCU to an opening-day split with Wilmington.
Marabell’s Mark
After a strong rookie campaign, which saw her start behind the plate for much of the season, Marabell had a great opening day on Sunday, going 3-for-8 (.375) at the dish with seven RBI, including a three-RBI double and the game-winning three-run home run in the nightcap to get her sophomore campaign off to a fast start.
Upset Alert
West Chester picked up its first upset win of the year on Sunday as the Golden Rams earned an important split against No. 4 Wilmington to open the 2025 season.
Busy Days Ahead
Friday’s game at Goldey Beacom will be the Golden Rams first of three game days in five days as the team faces the Lightning in a single-game on Friday afternoon before opening its home slate with a doubleheader against Holy Family on March 1 and visiting Georgian Court for another doubleheader on March 4 before heading to Florida for the Space Coast Games beginning on March 8. West Chester will open its time in Florida against Southern New Hampshire on Saturday, the 8th, before facing Felician and Columbus State on Sunday, March 9, Bloomfield and Mercy on Tuesday, March 11, and Ursuline and Goldey Beacom on Wednesday, March 12.
The Golden Rams will open league play when they return from Florida on Tuesday, March 18, vs Millersville beginning at 1 p.m.
Where to Find Us
All West Chester home games will be streamed on the PSAC Digital Network, which is available free of charge and has a number of OTT Apps, allowing fans to view them on their smart TVs at home. Fans can search PSAC Digital Network on their Smart TV app store and download the app for easy access to home WCU Athletic events all season long. Any road games against conference opponents will also be streamed on the PSAC Digital Network.
Welcome Back!
Saturday will be a Homecoming for Holy Family softball coach Jill Murray. Entering her sixth season at Holy Family, Murray was a four-year standout for the Golden Rams and was a member of the 2014 team, which won the Atlantic Regional Championship and advanced to the Division II National Finals for the first time in program history. Murray remains the PSAC record holder for career and single-season putouts and remains in the top 10 in Division II history, with 1,692.
Schedule Change
West Chester was initially set to play at home on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Due to cold temperatures and high wind in the forecast, Sunday’s doubleheader vs Pace has been postponed. A make-up date has yet to be announced.
Scouting Goldey-Beacom
Goldey-Beacom heads into Friday’s game a perfect 6-0, with all six victories coming against PSAC East competitors after sweeping Millersville, Bloomsburg, and Lock Haven to open the year. On Tuesday against Lock Haven, Goldey-Beacom picked up its latest sweep by the slimmest of margins, defeating the Bald Eagles 3-2 in game one before winning the nightcap 5-4 behind a walk-off wild pitch in the home half of the eighth.
In the first game of the afternoon vs Lock Haven, Goldey Beacom took an early two-run lead thanks in part to an RBI triple by Autumn Simpson down the right-field line in the home half of the first. Wynter Radcliffe earned the victory in the circle, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out three, while Alesia Doctor earned the three-inning save with two strikeouts. Simpson also drove in another run in the fourth inning, which broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Lightning to the game-one victory. Lock Haven jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the nightcap before a sixth-inning rally saw Goldey-Beacom tie the game at 3-3 on four hits to eventually force extra innings. Lock Haven got the lead in the top half of the eighth before a sac fly in the home eighth tied the game and set the stage for the winning run to cross via a wild pitch. Caitlyn Burch won the circle, allowing one unearned run on three hits and a pair of walks while striking out five in 5.2 innings of work to move to 4-0 on the season.
For the season, Burch leads the staff with a 4-0 record and a 0.65 ERA in six appearances with two complete games, including one complete-game shutout. She has struck out 16 in 212.2 innings of work and yielded just two extra-base hits in the 12 hits she has allowed. Morgan McLane and Wynter Radcliffe are 1-0 on the year, with 1.68 and 2.80 ERAs, respectively. Ariana Mirenda leads the team with a .556 (10-for-18) batting average, while Delaney Insinga is second on the team at .476 (10-for-21). Mirenda already has a team-best four triples to her credit this season and has scored a team-best six runs, while driving in four, which is tied with Autumn Simpson (.400; 8-for-20) for the best on the team.
Sam Ciasullo and Madison Grubb both enjoyed an excellent opening day at the plate as Grubb was 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Grubb was 3-for-6, including an RBI double.
Scouting Holy Family
Holy Family opened its season on Wednesday afternoon against Kutztown and is scheduled to play a doubleheader against Millersville at Bensalem High School on Friday afternoon before visiting West Chester in its final doubleheader up North before a trip to Florida begins with a split twinbill against Davenport and Wheeling on Monday. Against No. 23 Kutztown on Wednesday, Holy Family dropped a pair of close games, losing game one 3-2 before dropping the nightcap by a 4-2 final.
In game one against Kutztown, Holy Family got out to an early 2-0 lead in the home half of the first, scoring two runs on three hits, including an RBI double by Alexis Letizia to hold an early advantage. This lead held until the third when Kutztown scored three runs on three hits and two walks to take a 3-2 lead that the Golden Bears would never relinquish. Kinsely Hall got the opening day start and suffered the loss in the circle, allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out five in seven innings of work. In the nightcap, Kutztown grabbed an early two-run lead with a two-RBI single before Holy Family scratched across a pair of runs in the home second to tie the game at 2-2. The game did not remain tied for long as Kutztown broke the tie in the top of the third with a two-run home run, giving the visitors a 4-2 lead and closing out the afternoon scoring. Paige Tidaback started in the circle and allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out three.
