WILMINGTON, Del.- After opening its season with a split at No. 4 Wilmington on Sunday afternoon, the West Chester University softball team (2-1) returned to Delaware on Friday afternoon for a rare single game vs Goldey-Beacom (6-1) to begin a busy weekend of softball. West Chester trailed 1-0 early but erased the deficit in the third inning and took the lead in the fifth en route to a 2-1 victory over the Lightning.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) started in the circle and pitched the first 5.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out four to improve to 1-0 on the young season.
Ciliberto allowed two of her four hits and the lone run in the first inning when Goldey-Beacom started the game with a single to right and drove in its first run of the game with an RBI double just two batters later. Ciliberto worked out of the inning quickly, getting a groundout and a strikeout looking to keep the deficit at 1-0.
West Chester threatened throughout the early innings, but it wasn't until the third that the Golden Rams broke through when
Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) singled home
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca),
who had a singled and stolen a base earlier in the frame. Best's RBI single came with two outs in the frame, and West Chester could not score anything else as the game remained tied heading into the home third.
In the top of the fifth, West Chester got an early runner when
Lauren Daniels (Drums, Pa./Hazleton) singled to start the frame before being retired on a fielders choice off the bat of
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin). With one out, Hopkins swiped second and third in short order and scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Melvin to give West Chester a 2-1 lead.
Ciliberto worked a scoreless fifth to keep the lead intact and get West Chester back up to bat. The Golden Rams threatened in the sixth, getting a leadoff single from Best but could not push anything across to extend the lead.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) entered in relief of Ciliberto in the sixth and picked up the six-out save, allowing just one hit and walking one, while striking out another in her two innings of relief.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at home against Holy Family, beginning at 12 p.m.
