WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University softball team (8-8) swept its third doubleheader in a row on Thursday night with an exciting sweep of Jefferson (8-6) at the West Chester Softball Field. West Chester erased an early deficit in both games on Thursday, climbing out of an early one-run deficit in the first game for a 9-1 win in five innings before erasing a six-run deficit in the nightcap for a 12-8 victory and doubleheader sweep of the visiting Rams.
Game One: WCU 9 Jefferson 1 (5 Innings)
WP: Danielle Ciliberto (5-4)
LP: Delaney Alix (2-3)
Jefferson took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with a solo home run.
In the second inning,
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) narrowly missed a two-run home run as her double bounced off the yellow fence cap on the top of the left field fence and came back into play, but it was enough to score
Julia Miller (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) and tie the game at 1-1.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) gave herself a lead with an RBI single, which scored Kearney before
Ceara O'Neal (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) blasted her first home run as a Golden Ram to left to give West Chester a 5-1 lead.
In the third,
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) doubled home a pair of runs to give West Chester a 7-1 lead before scoring on a two-run blast off the bat of Ciliberto moments later to give West Chester the final 9-1 lead.
Ciliberto was exceptional in game one, striking out seven and allowing just one run on four hits in five innings of work to move into a tie with Shannon Padula for second on the career wins chart in team history.
Delaney Alix suffered the loss for Jefferson, allowing five runs on four hits and six walks on 1.2 innings of work.
Game Two: WCU 12 JEFFERSON 8
WP: Alyssa Tooley (3-0)
LP: MaryKate Armstrong (1-2)
After a scoreless first inning, Jefferson exploded for six runs on four hits, including a grand slam, which chased
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) with one out in the second.
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) entered in relief and managed the damage, getting the final two outs to escape the big inning.
West Chester got its first two batters of the third on via errors before Ciliberto singled home the Golden Rams' first run of the game with a hard-hit single through the infield. O'Neal followed this up with a one-out double down the left field line, which scored another run and gave West Chester runners on second and third with just one out.
Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart) kept the comeback going with a perfectly placed bunt, which scored pinchrunner
Presley Foote (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) and cut the deficit in half.
Gianna Liciardello (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) kept the comeback alive with a two-RBI single into the left-center field gap before Miller laced a single up the middle to tie the game at 6-6 with one out in the third. Miller found her way to third via the throw, which eventually became a throwing error, but West Chester was unable to score her, sending the game to the fourth tied at 6-6.
Hopkins led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to right center before back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs. O'Neal gave West Chester its first lead of the nightcap with an RBI single before Fitzpatrick narrowly missed a grand slam with a two-RBI double to center, which gave West Chester a 9-6 lead in the home half of the fourth. A wild pitch stretched the lead to 10-6 before a perfectly-placed bunt by Miller gave the Golden Rams an 11-6 lead heading into the fifth.
After a two-out double in the top of the fifth, Jefferson got a run back via a wild pitch to cut the WCU lead to 11-7 before Tooley escaped the inning with a strikeout. An O'Neal single in the fifth helped West Chester take a 12-7 lead, and it appeared for a moment as if the Golden Rams were in a strong position to win another shortened game with runners on the corners with no outs. Delaney Alix, who had entered game two earlier in the inning, worked out of danger and kept the game alive heading into the sixth inning as she began what all-in-all was a successful appearance in game two.
Wilmington got a run back in the sixth with a pair of doubles before Ciliberto entered for her second appearance of the day and worked out of the inning quickly with a pair of fly balls to right to keep the lead at 12-8.
Alix worked a 1,2,3 sixth inning for Jefferson before a quick seventh inning by Ciliberto, including a pair of strikeouts to finish off a marathon 12-8 comeback victory over the Rams.
Tooley earned her third win of the season and remained unbeaten in relief with a four-inning effort, which saw her scatter two runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out a pair. Ciliberto pitched a hitless 1.2 with two strikeouts to finish off the doubleheader sweep.
Lauren Bernaiche got the start for Jefferson and allowed six unearned runs on seven hits and two strikeouts in 2.2 innings. MaryKate Armstrong suffered the eventual loss after allowing five runs on three hits and two walks. Bailey Maloney was charged with an unearned run in the fifth, allowing two hits and a walk, while striking out a pair before Alix finished off the final two innings.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday at home against Lock Haven to open PSAC East play against the Bald Eagles, beginning at 1 p.m.
