MELBOURNE, Fl.- The West Chester University softball team (4-8) wrapped its spring trip to Florida on Wednesday with a pair of wins over Franklin Pierce (4-1) and Malone (7-5). West Chester overcame an early deficit in a 3-2 win over Franklin Pierce before jumping out to a 4-0 lead and never looking back in a dominant 7-3 win over Malone in its spring break finale.
Game One: WCU 3 Franklin Pierce 2
WP: Danielle Ciliberto (2-4)
LP: Danica Nielsen (0-1)
S: Maci Strechay (2)
Franklin Pierce got out to an early 1-0 lead after back-to-back hits to start the game, followed by an error by the Golden Ram infield that pushed across the first run of the game, giving the Ravens an early 1-0 lead.
This is how the score remained until the fourth inning when
Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) laced a double to center field, which scored
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) and tied the game at 1-1.
West Chester took its first lead of the day in the fifth with an RBI double by
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), which Hopkins followed up with an RBI single to give West Chester a 3-1 lead heading into the sixth.
In the sixth, Franklin Pierce started the inning with a sinking liner that dropped in for a leadoff single and took advantage of this quickly with a double to left that cut the lead to 3-2, prompting a pitching change for the Golden Rams.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) got the starting nod for West Chester on Wednesday morning and pitched the first five innings plus, before exiting for
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), who got an important first out via a sky-high pop-up just past the second base bag. Strechay got her second out on a fly ball to right and escaped the inning with an exciting play as
Roxy Smithson (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) recovered from a bobble defensively at first to throw the runner out at the plate and keep a one-run lead intact.
This effort by Strechay helped Ciliberto remain in line for the win with a final line of two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out one over the course of her five innings of work. Strechay pitched a clean seventh inning as well, working around one walk to earn her second save of the season.
Danica Nielsen suffered the loss for Franklin Pierce, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits, while Kennedy Morris pitched the final 1.1, getting the lone strikeout of the day for Franklin Pierce.
Hopkins had two of the Golden Rams' four hits in the win and also scored a run (the tying run) and drove in the eventual winning run in the two-run fifth inning.
Game Two: WCU 7 Malone 3
WP: Alyssa Tooley (2-0)
LP: Mia Rose (3-3)
S: Maci Strechay (3)
Hopkins led off game two with a triple and scored on an RBI double by
Ceara O'Neal (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) to give West Chester a 1-0 lead. Marabell reached on a hit-by-pitch and later scored on a passed ball to help West Chester take a 2-0 lead. The Golden Rams extended their lead to 3-0 with a daring double steal before
Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) drove home another to give the Purple and Gold a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.
In the bottom of the second, Malone got a run back after a single and a double gave the Pioneers runners on second and third with one out before a sac fly foul ball cut the Golden Rams' lead to 4-1.
West Chester tacked on two in the top of the fifth with an RBI double by Ciliberto and a passed ball before Kearney added another run in the sixth with an RBI single to give West Chester a 7-1 lead.
Malone got two runs back in the sixth via a pair of RBI singles, but could not get any closer than this as West Chester rolled to the 7-3 victory.
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) earned her second win of the season with four strong innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out one. Strechay entered in the fifth and earned her third save of the year and second of the day with three innings in relief, allowing two runs (one earned) on just three hits in the victory.
Mia Rose suffered the loss for Malone, allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and eight strikeouts.
Hopkins had a strong day at the plate once again in game two, going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, while Kearney and Fitzpatrick added two each in the win.
Up Next
West Chester will return to North later today and play its long-awaited home opener on Sunday afternoon against Wilmington, beginning at 12 p.m. in West Chester.
