WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Winners of four in a row, the West Chester University softball team (6-8) is preparing to return to action on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons at Holy Family (4-8) for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. at Bensalem High School before hosting Jefferson (6-4) in a rescheduled doubleheader at home on Thursday beginning at 2 p.m.
West Chester at Holy Family
Game Details: March 18 I 2 & 4 P.M.
Location: Bensalem High School
Series: 24-7 (Since 2005)
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West Chester vs Jefferson
Game Details: March 19 I 2 & 4 P.M.
Location: West Chester Softball Field
Series: 23-6 (Since 2004)
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Last Time Out
West Chester enters play on Wednesday on a four-game winning streak after finishing its trip to Florida with a split-doubleheader sweep of Franklin Pierce and Malone and a home opener sweep of Wilmington (10-0, 4-3) on Sunday afternoon. On Sunday against Wilmington, West Chester scored four in the first inning before adding another in the second and five more in the third to jump out to an early 10-0 lead.
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin), Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon), Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy), and Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) all picked up two hits in the win, with Hopkins scoring a team-best three runs. Ciliberto was sharp in the circle, allowing just two hits while striking out in five scoreless innings of work.
In the nightcap, the game stayed scoreless through the first four-and-a-half innings before a double steal with Kearney and Fitzpatrick gave West Chester an early 1-0 lead. Wilmington countered with three unanswered runs, including a solo home run in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead into the home half of the seventh. Down to its last out in the seventh, Ciliberto laced a double to center, which scored a pair and tied the game at 3-3.
Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) played the hero with an RBI double to left, which lifted West Chester to the 4-3 comeback victory.
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) got the start and finished with a no-decision, allowing four hits and two walks, while striking out one in five scoreless innings. Ciliberto earned her second win of the day and fourth of the year in relief as she pitched the final two innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, while striking out three to improve to 4-4 on the year.
Flock Talk
Fitzpatrick continues to lead the team in batting average at .400 (12-for-30) on the year with seven runs scored and five RBI, while Hopkins is batting .391 (18-for-46) with four doubles, one triple, and one home run, scoring 13 runs and driving in seven more. Kearney, Ciliberto, and
Ceara O'Neal (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) are all batting north of .300 at .359, .310, and .308, respectively.
In the circle, Ciliberto is 4-4 on the year with a 4.13 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 42.1 innings of work, including a complete-game shutout in game one against Wilmington on Sunday afternoon. Strechay is 0-4 with three saves on the year and a 2.25 ERA with nine strikeouts in 28 innings of work.
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) is 2-0 on the year with a save and a 3.50 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 20.0 innings of work. Tooley also has the best batting average against of anyone on the team at .243 on the season.
Late-Game Drama
West Chester earned its first walk-off win of the season on Sunday with Marabell's double down the left field line after finding itself on the wrong end of three extra-inning affairs to open the season. West Chester erased a two-run deficit with two outs in the seventh on Sunday after a two-RBI double by Ciliberto and the eventual walk-off double by Marabell.
Tune Up Time
West Chester will play back-to-back non-league doubleheaders on Wednesday and Thursday against Holy Family and Jefferson before opening PSAC East play against Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon in West Chester, beginning at 1 p.m.
Know the Foe
Aside from being a regular non-league opponent for West Chester, Holy Family is also led by a Golden Ram alum and former volunteer assistant coach, Jill Murray. Murray, who is in her seventh season at the helm, was part of the 2014 Golden Ram squad, which won the team's first Atlantic Regional Championship.
Series History
Since 2005, West Chester is 24-7 against Holy Family, including a split with the Tigers last March for the Golden Rams' first loss to Holy Family since a 10-9 setback on the road in a split with the Tigers in March 2022. West Chester has never lost two straight against Holy Family, with its last loss before 2022 coming at home in 2013 by a 6-0 final in the second game of a doubleheader against the Tigers.
Since 2004, West Chester is 23-6 against Jefferson with wins in each of the last 10 meetings, including a 7-0 and 5-3 sweep at Jefferson last March, along with an 8-0 and 7-0 sweep of Jefferson at home in 2023, which was the last time the Rams visited South Campus. West Chester has not lost to Jefferson since a 2-1 setback at home in March 2017 in a doubleheader split against the Rams when they were still known as Philadelphia University.
Scouting Holy Family
Holy Family is 4-8 on the year and looking to halt a two-game losing streak after dropping a pair at Kutztown on Saturday afternoon by 7-4 and 11-3 finals after returning North from its Florida trip with a sweep of Lincoln (W, 14-2/W, 3-0). Rylee Hobel leads Holy Family offensively with a .417 (15-for-36) batting average with 11 runs and five RBI, while Madison Grubb is a close second at .370 (10-for-27) with three doubles and two triples for seven RBI and three runs scored. Kylee Jones leads the team in home runs and RBI as she has two home runs and 10 RBI on the season. Jones is batting just .171 (6-for-35), but four of her six hits have been for extra bases.
In the circle, Molly Moore is 2-3 with a 2.60 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 29.2 innings of work, including a staff-best three complete games. Paige Tidaback and Kinsley Hall are second and third on staff at 1-1 and 1-3 with ERAs of 4.12 and 6.63 in 18.2 and 19.0 innings of work, respectively.
Scouting Jefferson
West Chester was originally slated to host Jefferson before its spring break trip south, but Mother Nature had other ideas, postponing the series to March 19 as a tune-up ahead of PSAC East play beginning on Saturday. Jefferson enters a Tuesday doubleheader at the College of Staten Island (CSI) at 6-4 on the year after splitting a doubleheader in Lock Haven on Sunday with an 8-4 loss in game one and a 13-2 win in the nightcap.
Offensively, Liv Stevens is batting a team-best .520 (13-for-25) on the year with two doubles, a triple, and three home runs, along with eight runs scored and seven RBI. MacKenzie Wards is second on the team offensively, batting .382 (13-for-34) with a double, a triple, and a pair of home runs along with six RBI and six runs scored. In the circle, Lauren Bernaiche is 3-0 on the year with a complete game with 14 strikeouts in 26.2 innings of work over the course of five appearances (four starts). MaryKate Armstrong is 1-1 on the year with a 4.94 ERA and seven strikeouts in 11.1 innings, while Delaney Alix is 1-2 with a 6.60 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 23.1 innings of action over the course of five starts, including one complete game.
Up Next
Following Thursday's doubleheader with Jefferson, West Chester will shift its attention to its PSAC East opener against Lock Haven on Saturday at 1 p.m.
