PHILADELPHIA- The West Chester University softball team (16-5) stepped out of conference play for the final time this spring to take on Jefferson (4-16) in a non-league doubleheader. West Chester got excellent pitching throughout the afternoon, coupled with timely hitting to roll to a sweep of Jefferson, capturing game one by a 5-3 final before rolling to a 7-0 win in the nightcap.
Game One: WCU 5 Jefferson 3
WP: Makenzie Edwards (7-2)
LP: Delaney Alix (2-6)
West Chester took the first lead of the game in the third inning on a fielding error off the bat of
Julia Miller (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), which allowed
Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) to score, while
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) was thrown out at the plate trying to make it a two-run swing.
The Rams erased the deficit with a two-RBI single up the middle in the home half of the third to take a 2-1 lead into the fourth.
Hopkins erased the deficit in the fourth with a two-RBI double, which scored
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) and
Holly Muni (Hamilton, N.J./Allentown) to make it a 3-2 Golden Ram lead.
Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) stretched the lead to 4-2 in the sixth with an RBI single, which scored
Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) before the Golden Rams took advantage of another defensive miscue by Jefferson in the seventh to take a 5-2 lead.
Jefferson got a run back in the seventh via a sac fly, but West Chester to the final out of the game on this play, doubling off a Ram runner, who tried to go second to third on the fly ball to
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham).
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) picked up her seventh win of the season in relief of
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon), who had pitched the first three innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits, while striking out three. Edwards pitched the final four innings, allowing just one unearned run on three hits, while walking two and striking out three.
Alix suffered the loss for Jefferson, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits, while striking out eight to fall to 2-6 on the year.
Game Two: WCU 7 Jefferson 0
WP: Jaelyn Silfies (1-0)
LP: Lily Hutt (2-4)
S: Alyssa Tooley (1)
Hopkins gave West Chester a second-inning lead with a towering three-run home run to left-center, taking full advantage of a pair of two-out walks by Jefferson.
This home run was the lone hit of the game for West Chester through the first four innings and one just two hits through six innings before exploding for four runs on four hits in the seventh to roll to the 7-0 victory.
Roxy Smithson (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) doubled home a run in the seventh, and Kearney added an RBI single up the middle along with an error by the Rams left fielder off the bat of Muni and a sac fly from Melvin helped West Chester more than double its lead in its final at-bats of the afternoon.
A one-run lead would have been enough for the Golden Rams on Saturday as head coach
Diane Lokey and company got an outstanding pitching performance from a pair of rookie arms in
Jaelyn Silfies (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) and
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham).
Silfies got the start and pitched five shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out one for her first collegiate victory. Tooley entered with a three-run lead in the sixth and finished the game in the circle, pitching two scoreless innings with two strikeouts to pick up the six-out save.
Lily Hutt (2-4) suffered the loss for Jefferson, allowing three runs on one hit and five walks while striking out a pair.
Up Next
West Chester jumps right back into league play on Tuesday with its home opener vs perennial power and Atlantic Regional finalist Kutztown (18-5, 2-2) beginning at 1 p.m.
