LOCK HAVEN, Pa.-Winners of three in a row after a doubleheader sweep of Felician to finish non-league play on Thursday, the West Chester University softball team (18-14, 8-6) is set to return to action on Saturday at Lock Haven (17-13, 7-7) for the start of its second time through the PSAC East with first pitch set for 1 p.m. at Lawrence Field in Lock Haven.
West Chester at Lock Haven
Game Details: April 11 I 1 & 3 P.M.
Location: Lawrence Field (Lock Haven, Pa.)
Series: 30-17 (since 2005)
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Last Time Out
West Chester picked up a sweep of Felician on Thursday afternoon in West Chester, winning game one by a 2-0 final thanks to an excellent six strikeout, complete-game shutout by
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) and a strong day at the plate by
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham (2-for-3, 1 run, 1 RBI) before mounting a late-game comeback to capture game two by a 6-5 final. In the nightcap, West Chester never led until the seventh as the Golden Rams and Falcons traded runs in the first, and Felician scored four in the fourth on a grand slam by Kimberly Torres for her second home run of the afternoon. West Chester went to work from this point, scoring two in the fifth on an RBI single by
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) and an RBI groundout by
Holly Muni (Hamilton, N.J./Allentown) and two more in the sixth on a sac fly by Hopkins and an RBI single by
Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) to tie the game at 5-5 heading into the seventh. West Chester battled in the seventh and picked up three consecutive two-strike hits, including an eventual walk-off single by
Julia Miller (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), which plated Muni, who had singled to start the seventh inning.
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) earned the win in the circle, her sixth of the season, in relief of
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) as the sophomore delivered three perfect innings of relief to keep the Felician offense quiet in the comeback victory.
Flock Talk
Hopkins is now batting .406 (43-for-106) on the year with 16 extra-base hits (10 doubles, five home runs, and a triple) with 32 runs scored and 21 RBI, both of which are best among active players on the squad.
Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and Ciliberto are second and third on the team offensively, batting .349 (29-for-83) and .348 (31-for-89), respectively. Fitzpatrick has scored 19 runs and driven in 16 more with four doubles and a home run, while Ciliberto has scored eight runs and driven in 20 with three doubles and a pair of home runs to her name.
In the circle, Ciliberto hit the 10-win plateau on Thursday and is 10-7 with a 2.78 ERA and a .295 batting average against with 54 strikeouts in 93 innings of work, including four complete games and two shutouts, along with two saves. Strechay is 2-6 with a 2.75 ERA and a .265batting average against with 35 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of work, including a pair of complete games and four saves. Tooley improved to 6-1 on Thursday and lowered her ERA to 3.08 and batting average against to .236 with three perfect innings in relief. The sophomore has 30 strikeouts in 50.0 innings of work, which includes one save.
Keep It Exciting
West Chester is 0-4 in extra-inning games this season but has won via walkoff twice (Wilmington and Felician) and taken a seventh-inning lead on the road against Kutztown for an important split with the Golden Bears in late April.
That's Done
Thursday's game was West Chester's final non-league matchup of the 2026 regular season as the team finished non-league play with a sweep of Felician and a record of 10-8 against non-PSAC East opponents.
Chasing 800
Head coach
Diane Lokey continues the pursuit of her 800
th collegiate victory as she picked up career wins 780 and 781 on Thursday with a doubleheader sweep of Felician, including a walk-off victory in the nightcap as West Chester won by a 6-5 final to cap off a four-run comeback.
Series History
West Chester holds a 30-17 lead in the series over Lock Haven with wins in five of six, including a 3-1 series win last season and a doubleheader sweep in West Chester to begin the series in 206. West Chester's lone loss to Lock Haven was on the road last year as the Golden Rams won game one by an 18-2 final before dropping the nightcap 3-2 to split what was the first doubleheader of the season with the Bald Eagles.
Scouting Lock Haven
Lock Haven heads into play on Friday against Millersville at 17-13 overall and 7-7 in league action in the midst of a three-game winning streak, which includes a split at Shippensburg and a sweep of Holy Family on Wednesday afternoon. Before Lock Haven can focus on West Chester, the Bald Eagles will look to even and potentially win the series with Millersville after splitting the first doubleheader at Millersville on March 20 with a 12-1 win in game one and a 13-8 loss in the nightcap.
Offensively, Blaire Balestrini and Olivia LaMeau are both batting .361 on the season, while Hailey Irwin is third at .310. Irwin leads the team in RBI and home runs with six home runs and 20 RBI, while Balestrini leads the team in runs with 20. Balestrini also has 11 extra-base hits to her name so far this season, with five doubles, four home runs, and a pair of triples. LaMeau has scored 10 runs and driven in 19 more with nine doubles and three home runs in her 83 at-bats on the year.
In the circle, Talia Ross is 11-4 with a 2.65 ERA and a .203 batting average against with 107 strikeouts in 82 innings of work, including seven complete games and three shutouts. Faith Persin is 4-3 with a 5.95 ERA and a .354 batting average against, while Marissa Horn is 1-2 with a save and a 5.06 ERA, along with a .303 batting average against.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Tuesday at East Stroudsburg, beginning at 1 p.m., before hosting Mansfield on Friday, the 17th, in another doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
