WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University softball team (10-10, 2-2) is preparing for a busy stretch of games, which will see West Chester play three doubleheaders in three days against Mansfield (3-11, 0-6), Shippensburg (14-6, 4-2), and Kutztown (12-10, 3-1) on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, respectively. First pitch in all three doubleheaders is set for 1 p.m., with the Mansfield and Kutztown games being played on the road, while West Chester will host Shippensburg on Monday afternoon in a game originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
West Chester at Mansfield
Game Details: March 29 I 1 & 3 P.M.
Location: Lycoming Valley Intermediate School (Williamsport, Pa.)
Series: 33-7 (since 2006)
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West Chester vs Shippensburg
Game Details: March 30 I 1 & 3 P.M.
Location: WCU Softball Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 44-83 (since 1983)
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West Chester at Kutztown
Game Details: March 31 I 1 & 3 P.M.
Location: North Campus Softball Field (Kutztown, Pa.)
Series: 37-50 (since 2005)
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Last Time Out
West Chester saw its winning streak halted by Millersville on Tuesday afternoon as the Golden Rams dropped a pair to Millersville by 3-0 and 9-7 finals. Delaney Troxell was the story for Millersville in game one as she kept the Golden Rams off balance throughout the opener and worked around six hits and a pair of walks to earn a shutout victory and improve to 10-3 on the year. In the nightcap, West Chester took a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth when
Ceara O'Neal (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) laced a two-RBI double down the left field line as part of a three-run fifth inning but West Chester could not hold the lead, giving up ap air of runs in the sixth and four in the ninth in a 9-7 loss. Troxell earned her second win of the day and fourth in as many games in relief in game two, entering in the fifth and pitching 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out three to improve to 11-3 on the year.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) was saddled with the game one loss for West Chester, allowing three runs (one earned) in four innings on six hits, while striking out one.
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) finished game one with three scoreless innings of relief before suffering the loss in game two as she allowed four runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out two in 3.1 innings of work.
Flock Talk
Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) remains the team leader in batting average at .404 (19-for-47) with three doubles and a home run for nine RBI and 14 runs scored. O'Neal is second on the team, batting .387 (24-for-62) with 14 RBI, thanks in part to six doubles and three home runs, which is tied with
Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) for first on the team. Marabell is batting just .234 (15-for-64) on the season, but nine of her 15 hits have been for extra bases with five doubles, a triple, and three home runs, while also driving in a team-best 15 runs.
In the circle, Ciliberto is 6-5 with a 3.38 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 60.0 innings of work, including three complete games in nine starts. Tooley is 3-1 with a save on the year with a 3.60 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 35.0 innings of work, while
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) is 1-4 with three saves and a 3.47 ERA in 36.1 innings of work with 18 strikeouts in her rookie season.
Schedule Changes
West Chester has had a number of schedule changes in recent days as its Sunday doubleheader vs Mansfield was originally scheduled for Friday, March 27, at Mansfield, while its Monday doubleheader with Shippensburg was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 28, at home.
We Are Honored
O'Neal was recognized as the PSAC East Athlete of the Week last week after going 10-for-15 (.667) at the plate with five extra-base hits, including three home runs, with four runs scored and 10 RBI. Despite being swept by Millersville on Tuesday, O'Neal picked up two more hits and drove in a pair of runs with a two-RBI double in a 9-7 extra-inning loss in the nightcap.
That's Enough Free Softball
West Chester would likely say that it has had enough extra-inning softball for one season, as the Golden Rams fell to 0-4 in extra-inning games on Tuesday as Millersville used a late-game comeback to erase a Golden Ram lead and scored four runs in the top of the ninth to escape West Chester with a 9-7 victory over the Golden Rams.
Series History
West Chester is 33-7 against Mansfield since 2006, including a series sweep last season and wins in three of four meetings with the Mountaineers in 2024.
Since 1988, West Chester trails Shippensburg 83-44 in the all-time series despite winning three of the last four meetings in West Chester, including a Senior Day split last April.
Since 2005, West Chester trails Kutztown 50-37 in the all-time series, although two rivals have split the last 10 meetings. In West Chester last year, West Chester dropped game one by a 6-3 final before winning the nightcap 7-6 in dramatic fashion. At Kutztown in the series finale, West Chester fell to Kutztown 8-0 before bouncing back with a 4-1 win in the nightcap for an important series split with the Golden Bears.
Scouting Mansfield
Mansfield heads into the weekend at 3-11 overall and 0-6 in league play, losing each of its last seven, including doubleheader sweeps at the hands of Kutztown, Millersville, and Lock Haven. Most recently, Mansfield dropped a pair at Lock Haven by 8-0 and 4-1 finals on Wednesday afternoon after falling in a pair of one-run games (3-2, 6-5) at Millersville last Saturday.
Paige Reichard is batting a team-best .390 (16-for-41) on the season with five doubles and seven runs scored, while Sarah Shupp is batting .310 (13-for-42) with a pair of doubles and four runs. In the circle, Britni Motter is 2-8 with a 4.40 ERA and a .305 batting average against in 43 innings with 12 strikeouts. Former Golden Ram, Emma Maurer, is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.00 and 21 strikeouts in 14.1 innings of work, but has not thrown since a March 14 appearance against Salem.
Scouting Shippensburg
Shippensburg heads for the weekend at 14-6 overall and 4-2 in league play after sweeping a doubleheader at Shepherd (3-0, 5-0) on Tuesday afternoon. This came on the heels of being swept by Bloomsburg (3-1, 11-6) and sweeping East Stroudsburg (8-3, 6-4) in their PSAC East opener on Friday, March 20. The Raiders are 8-2 away from home this year after their sweep of Shepherd and have not lost a true road game since a Sunday, March 1 loss to Wingate by an 8-2 final.
Leah Schwalm is batting a team-best .400 (20-for-50) on the year with four doubles and a triple, scoring eight runs and driving in nine more. Reagan Bauman leads the team in RBI with 19 and is batting .386 (22-for-57) with nine of those 22 hits being for extra bases with four doubles, a triple, and four home runs. Gianna Cimino leads the team in home runs with five and is batting .333 (24-for-73) on the year with 14 RBI and 13 runs scored. In the circle, Dani Hayward is 8-2 with a 2.57 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 68.0 innings of work, including two complete games and two shutouts. Mya Parkinson is 1-2 on the year with a 6.78 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 21.2 innings of work, including a complete game.
Scouting Kutztown
Kutztown heads into the weekend at 12-10 on the year and 3-1 in league action after sweeping Mansfield (3-1, 7-0) and splitting a doubleheader with East Stroudsburg (0-1, 6-4) on Tuesday afternoon. West Chester will be in good company on Tuesday when it takes the field for its fifth and sixth games in a three-day stretch, as the Golden Bears postponed matchups with Lock Haven and Bloomsburg originally scheduled for this weekend to Sunday and Monday as well. Kutztown is 4-0 at home this season with sweeps of Holy Family (7-4, 11-3) and Mansfield.
Offensively, Emily Henn and Morgan Slomkowski lead the team at the plate, batting .397 (31-for-78) and .338 (22-for-65), respectively. Henn has driven in 20 runs and scored 17 more, thanks in part to seven doubles, a triple, and three home runs, while Slomkowski has driven in 18 and scored 13 with five doubles, a triple, and a team-best four home runs. In the circle, Haley Gravish is 8-3 on the year with a 2.55 ERA and a .256 batting average against with 37 strikeouts in 77 innings of work, including eight complete games in nine starts. Amanda Slabicki is 2-5 with a 2.93 ERA and a .285 batting average against with 25 strikeouts in 40.2 innings, including four complete games in nine starts.
Up Next
After this gauntlet stretch, which will see West Chester play three doubleheaders in three days, West Chester will host Shepherd on Friday, April 3, before visiting Bloomsburg on April 4, ahead of its non-league finale with Felician on April 9.
