West Chester at Mansfield
Game Details: April 18 I 2/4 P.M.
Location: Helen Lutes Field (Mansfield, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 31-7 (since 2006)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Mansfield Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
West Chester vs Shippensburg
Game Details: April 19 I 1/3 P.M. SENIOR DAY PREGAME
Location: WCU Softball Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Watch
Series: 44-83 (since 1988)
SHIP Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
LAST TIME OUT
West Chester picked up an important split at No. 16 Kutztown on Tuesday afternoon, dropping game one by an 8-0 final before winning the nightcap by a 4-1 final after jumping out to a 4-0 lead through the first four innings of play. Danielle Ciliberto moved to 13-5 on the year in the nightcap, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out two. Ciliberto was also a team-best 3-for-4 with an RBI in the victory, while Paige Marabell was 2-for-3 with an RBI of her own in the game two triumph.
FLOCK TALK
Offensively, Marabell, Hopkins, and Ciliberto continue to lead the way, batting .367, .363, and .356 on the year, while Best is a close fourth, batting .344 as the fourth and final every day starter batting north of .300. Marabell leads the team in RBI with 36 thanks to her seven home runs, which is tied with Hopkins for the best on the team, while Hopkins leads in runs scored with 32. Hailey Melvin is batting .288 in her final season and is second on the team in runs with 31, thanks in part to a team-best four triples.
In the circle, Ciliberto is 13-5 with a 1.86 ERA and a .247 opponent’s batting average in 120.2 innings of work, including eight complete games and two shutouts. Makenzie Edwards, who West Chester will honor prior to the game on Saturday, is 8-6 on the year with a 2.83 ERA and a .240 opponents’ batting average with a staff-best 76 strikeouts in 94.0 innings. Ciliberto is close behind in strikeouts with 75 of her own. Alyssa Tooley is in the midst of an excellent rookie season, pitching to a mark of 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and a .250 opponent batting average with 26 strikeouts in 34.0 innings of work over 14 appearances (five starts).
RANK AND FILE
West Chester appeared in the first Division II softball alphabetical rankings of the year on Wednesday afternoon, appearing as one of 10 teams under consideration for formal numerical ranking when those rankings begin next Wednesday afternoon. West Chester is in search of its third NCAA Tournament appearance in as many years. The NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Monday, May 5.
THANK YOU SENIORS
Prior to Saturday’s doubleheader, West Chester will honor its senior class of Hailey Melvin, Makenzie Edwards, and Casey Best for all their hard work and dedication to the Golden Ram softball program throughout their careers.
Late Inning Heroics
West Chester is 12-10 in PSAC East play after opening league action on March 18 with a split at Millersville. Six of these 20 games have been decided in extra innings, with two more (the 7-6 victory over Kutztown on March 25 and the 5-4 game two victory over Lock Haven on Monday) coming via a seventh-inning walk-off double by Hailey Melvin. West Chester nearly found itself in extra innings for a sixth time and second time in as many games in the nightcap with Bloomsburg on Wednesday, but Tooley entered in relief and got a big strikeout to help West Chester leave the Huskies' tying run stranded on second.
HEATING UP
After suffering a five-game losing streak in early April, which included a pair of losses at Shippensburg, West Chester has won 7-of-9, including splits against Shepherd, Millersville, and Kutztown and sweeps of Lock Haven and Bloomsburg. This run has vaulted West Chester back into the playoff picture, which remains as tight as ever with Shepherd (13-8-1), Bloomsburg (11-9), West Chester (12-10), and Shippensburg (13-11) all vying for three spots in the five-team PSAC Tournament field. East Stroudsburg leads the East at 18-5-2 with Kutztown in second at 14-8.
SERIES HISTORY
Since 2006, West Chester holds a 31-7 lead in the series against Mansfield, including three wins in four meetings against the Mounts a year ago and a sweep at home this season. A 5-4 loss in nine innings at Mansfield last March was the Golden Rams' first loss to the Mounties since an 11-10 setback at Mansfield in April 2022.
Since 1988, West Chester trails Shippensburg 44-83 in the all-time series despite winning the final two games of the series in West Chester a year ago. Shippensburg holds a slim 6-4 lead in the last 10 meetings, thanks in part to a three-game winning streak from the end of 2023 through the first meetings in 2024.
SCOUTING MANSFIELD
Mansfield (8-22, 6-16) is preparing for a busy weekend, which will see the Mounties play six games in the next three days, beginning with a doubleheader against Bloomsburg this afternoon at 12 before facing West Chester tomorrow and Shepherd on Saturday afternoon. Mansfield enters play on Thursday with a record of 8-22 overall and a mark of 6-16 in league play after sweeping a doubleheader from Millersville at home on Monday by 7-6 and 9-8 finals. This sweep of the Marauders halted a six-game losing streak for Mansfield, which had included sweeps at the hands of nationally-ranked foes East Stroudsburg and Kutztown as well as Lock Haven.
Melissa Demo and Sarah Shupp lead the way offensively for Mansfield, batting .345 and .314 on the year with 29 and 27 hits, respectively. Shupp leads the team in extra-base hits with 11 (six doubles, four triples, one home run) while also leading in RBI (18) and runs (15). Caydence Macik is first on the team in home runs with four, along with six doubles, as 10 of her 24 hits (.296; 24-for-81) have been extra-base hits.
Annabella Putnam is 5-11 in the circle with a 3.58 ERA and a .251 opponents’ batting average with 81 strikeouts in 92 innings of work, including 10 complete games. Reilly Storer is 2-6 on the year with a 4.98 ERA and an opponent batting average of .326 in 52 innings, while former Golden Ram, Emma Maurer, is 1-5 with a 5.09 ERA and a .260 opponents’ batting average.
SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG
Shippensburg (24-16, 13-11) following a well-deserved Friday off after playing doubleheaders against Millersville and Bloomsburg on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Raiders swept a doubleheader from Millersville on Tuesday to run their winning streak to five in a row, which included a sweep of East Stroudsburg before being swept by Bloomsburg at home on Wednesday afternoon. Saturday’s doubleheader is the lone doubleheader of the weekend for the Raiders as they do not return to the field again until a Tuesday afternoon clash with Mansfield in Shippensburg.
Caitlyn Martell has continued her exceptional career in 2025, batting .442 on the year with 61 hits, including 10 doubles, four triples, and five home runs for a team-high 37 RBI on the year, along with 33 runs scored. Emily Lafferty is close behind, batting. 373 with 50 hits and 38 runs scored while Sarah Sabocsik, Brie Wilmont, and Aryanna Bridell bat .356, .333, and .330 on the year, respectively. Wilmot leads the team in home runs with six, while Briddell has hit six home runs of her own this season.
In the circle, Alicia Ball and Dani Hayward have started and pitched the majority of the innings for Shippensburg this season, going 9-8 and 8-5 with ERAs of 2.93 and 3.73 and opponent batting averages of .223 and .266 on the season. Ball has 131 strikeouts in 13 complete games to her credit with 110 innings pitched, while Hayward has fanned 72 in 80.2 innings of work, which includes six complete games and a save.
