MELBOURNE, Fl.- The West Chester University softball team (0-4) will return to action this weekend at the Space Coast Spring Games in Melbourne, Florida, as part of its annual Spring Break trip to the Sunshine State. West Chester will begin its stay in Florida tomorrow with a doubleheader against Southern New Hampshire at 10 a.m., then play eight games in five days, concluding with a split doubleheader against Franklin Pierce and Malone on Wednesday.
Game Schedule:
3/7 Southern New Hampshire 10 A.M./12:15 P.M.
3/8 Bentley 10 A.M.
3/8 U Indy 12:15 P.M.
3/10 Winona State 10 A.M.
3/10 Nova Southeastern 12:15 P.M.
3/11 Franklin Pierce 10 A.M.
3/11 Malone 12:15 P.M.
Last Time Out
West Chester will look to get in the win column for the first time in 2026 after dropping split doubleheaders against Fairmont State and Barton in Wilson, North Carolina, to open the season on February 14-15. West Chester dropped two of these four games in extra innings (3-2 vs Barton on both Friday and Saturday), along with a 7-4 loss to Fairmont State in the season opener and a 9-0 loss in five innings to Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon.
Ceara O'Neal (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) is first on the team in batting average at .500 (4-for-8), followed by
Emma Zoldi (), who is batting .400 (4-for-10) with a team-best two doubles and a run scored, along with an RBI.
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) started her senior season with a solo home run against Fairmont State on February 13 and leads the team in RBI with four, along with her .231 (3-for-13) batting average to open the year.
In the circle,
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) is 0-3 to start the year with a 5.09 ERA and 11 runs on 19 hits in 11.0 innings of work, while striking out three.
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) made her collegiate debut on opening weekend and is 0-1 with a 2.21 ERA, allowing four runs on 11 hits, while striking out four in 6.1 innings.
Alyssa Tooley (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) boasts the best ERA on the squad so far this season at 1.11, allowing just seven hits and one earned run, while striking out six in 6.1 innings of work over three appearances and one start.
Gee Thanks Mother Nature
It would seem that Mother Nature has made it her personal mission to wreak havoc upon the Golden Rams' spring schedule this year, as the team was scheduled to play five games in Pennsylvania before its trip south, but all five have been postponed due to inclement weather and resulting field conditions. West Chester will now play its home opener on Sunday, March 15, against Wilmington after the Golden Rams return from sunny Florida.
On the Horizon
West Chester will have three non-conference doubleheaders against Wilmington (3/15), Holy Family (3/18), and Jefferson (3/19) when it returns from Florida before opening league play against Lock Haven on March 21 at 1 p.m. as the middle doubleheader of a six-game homestand, which will conclude with two at home against Millersville on March 24.
Scouting the Opposition
Southern New Hampshire (4-4)
Southern New Hampshire enters Friday at 4-4 on the year after splitting a doubleheader for the third day in a row on Thursday against Walsh and Gannon, heading into a doubleheader with Bemidji State and Roosevelt on Friday. SNHU will conclude its Spring Break with West Chester on Saturday morning, beginning at 10 a.m. Charlotte Donovan leads SNHU offensively at 9-for-18 on the year with four RBI and three runs scored, while Kaysie DeMoura is batting .400 (10-for-25) with a double and two RBI, along with five runs. In the circle, Julianna Colbert is 1-2 on the year in the circle with a 4.04 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25.1 innings of work, including two complete games.
Bentley (1-5)
Bentley returns to Florida for Spring Break this weekend after going 1-5 in the Sunshine State earlier in the month with losses to East Stroudsburg, Barry, and Nova Southeastern, along with a 10-6 win over Saginaw Valley State. The Falcons will begin their trip south with a doubleheader against Bridgeport and Saginaw Valley State on Saturday. Michelle Diaz boasts the top batting average on the team at .286 (4-for-14) with a double and an RBI. Taylor Zajac has the lone win on the year for Bentley and is 1-2 with a 6.07 ERA in five appearances and two starts, including a complete game. Zajac has allowed 13 runs on 24 hits, while walking 10 and striking out four in 15.0 innings of work.
U Indy (13-1)
Indianapolis will begin its trip South with a doubleheader against West Chester and Winona State on Sunday afternoon. The Greyhounds head into the week winners of three of four and 13 of 14 to start the year, including a 2-0 win over Purdue-Northwest on March 1 in Marion, Illinois. Christina Stankus and Brooklyn Willis enter play batting north of .400 (.458 and .426) on the year with 11 RBI, respectively. Stankus has five doubles and 11 RBI with eight runs scored, while Willis has a team-best 23 hits, including three home runs, two triples, and two doubles, scoring 15 runs and driving in 11 more with a 1.212 OPS. In the circle, Caitlin Bunte is 6-1 with a 0.98 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 35.2 innings of work, while Cheyenne Eads is 7-0 with a 1.63 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 47.1 innings of action.
Winona State (13-2)
Winona State also heads to Florida at 13-2 on the year with wins in six in a row heading into its opener with Charleston (W.V.) on Friday, March 6, after sweeping a weekend of action in Kansas against Missouri Western, Quincy, Fort Hays State, and Pittsburg State last weekend. Bryn Elsenpeter is batting .400 (18-for-45) with half of her hits being extra-base hits as she has five doubles and four home runs, scoring 14 runs and driving in 15 more. In the circle, Izzy Howe is 7-0 with a 1.94 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 47 innings of work, including six complete games and three shutouts with a .203 batting average against.
Nova Southeastern (11-11)
Nova Southeastern enters the weekend at 11-11 overall, ahead of games against Central Missouri on Saturday and Kutztown on Sunday, ahead of the Golden Rams game against the Sharks on Tuesday. NSU snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday with a doubleheader sweep of Flagler, taking game one by a 6-1 final and game two by a 9-7 final. Destiny Lewis is batting a team-best .353 (24-for-68) with 11 extra base hits, including five doubles, two triples, and four home runs, scoring 20 runs and driving in 17 more. In the circle, Avery Desner is first on the team at 4-2 on the year with a 2.38 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 35.1 innings of work. Gracelyn Wallace leads the team in strikeouts with 61 K's in 81.1 innings of work, including 11 complete games and a pair of shutouts.
Franklin Pierce (0-0)
Picked to finish fourth in the Northeast 10 Conference preseason poll, Franklin Pierce will open its season this weekend in Florida, beginning with a Sunday doubleheader against Concordia-St. Paul and Gannon Sunday, March 8, before facing Ashland and Northwood on March 9, ahead of its game against West Chester on the 11
th.
Malone (4-2)
Malone enters the weekend at 4-2 on the year after splitting its last four games against West Liberty (L, 4-1), King (W, 5-3), and Salem(W, 3-0; L, 3-2). Lacie Quarles leads the team at the plate, batting .444 (4-for-9) with five runs, a double, and an RBI, while Sidney Conti is second, batting .333 (5-for-15) with four runs scored and two RBI. In the circle, Mia Rose is 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA and 17 strikeouts against 20 hits and five earned runs on 19 innings of work, including three complete games.
