WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) pitched 9.2 outstanding innings to help lead the West Chester University softball team (22-11, 8-8) to a crucial PSAC East sweep of Bloomsburg (18-12, 8-8) at home on Wednesday afternoon. West Chester won the first game by a 2-1 final in eight innings before holding off a late-game rally by the Huskies for a 5-4 win in the nightcap.
Game One: WCU 2 Bloomsburg 1
WP: Danielle Ciliberto (9-5)
LP: Sarah Yamrick (6-3)
Bloomsburg took an early lead via a second inning solo home run to left off the bat of Emma Little to take a 1-0 lead.
This is how the game stayed into the home half of the fourth when
Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) tied the game with a double to right center, which scored
Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) and tied the game at 1-1.
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) got the start and pitched well through the first five innings, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks while striking out one.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) (9-5) entered in relief and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out a pair to earn her ninth win of the year.
West Chester took advantage of Ciliberto's outstanding effort in relief in the eighth when the team used a pair of Bloomsburg errors to score
Hailey Melvin from first with two outs and walk off with a 2-1 victory.
Sarah Yamrick (9-4) was a tough-luck loser in relief, allowing just two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven in 7.2 innings of work.
Game Two: WCU 5 Bloomsburg 4
WP: Ciliberto (10-5)
LP: Callie Sowers (9-4)
S: Alyssa Tooley (1)
Melvin helped West Chester threaten early with a one-out double to left before Best gave West Chester an early lead with a laser of a two-run home run over the left
center field fence.
In the second, West Chester scored its third run of the game when Melvin reached on an obstruction call, which scored
Julia Miller (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) before Ciliberto singled home a pair to give West Chester a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the third inning.
Things settled down from this point as both Ciliberto and Sowers found their stride in the circle and kept the offenses quiet heading into the top of the seventh.
In her 10
th inning of the day after pitching the last three innings of game one, Ciliberto ran into her first bit of trouble with two outs in the seventh as the Huskies scored four runs on four hits with three of those hits coming with two outs.
With its lead suddenly cut to just one and the tying run on second, head coach
Diane Lokey turned to her bullpen and brought in freshman
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), who got a big last out via a strikeout to finish off the 5-4 victory and doubleheader sweep.
Ciliberto (10-5) earned both wins on Wednesday for West Chester, allowing four runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out five in the nightcap.
Sowers fell to 9-4 for Bloomsburg, allowing five runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out three. Kelly Eberly entered in relief and allowed just one hit and one walk in four shutout innings while striking out five.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action bright and early tomorrow as the Golden Rams take on Millersville beginning at 11 a.m. in an effort to get the games played prior to rain moving into the area tomorrow afternoon.
