MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Winners of four of six last week, the West Chester University softball team (22-18, 12-10) is set to return to action on Tuesday at Millersville (19-23, 8-16) as the Golden Rams get the final two weeks of the 2026 regular season underway on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
West Chester at Millersville
Game Details: April 21 I 1& 3 P.M.
Location: Seaber Softball Stadium (Millersville, Pa.)
Series: 87-56-1
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Last Time Out
West Chester returned to action on Saturday at Shippensburg, hoping to extend its winning streak to six in a row and earn a series sweep against Shippensburg after taking a pair from the Raiders in West Chester earlier this spring. West Chester allowed 12 runs in the second inning on eight hits and three errors as the Raiders used this big inning to roll to a 14-0 win in five innings over the Golden Rams. In the nightcap,
Holly Muni (Hamilton, N.J./Allentown) doubled home West Chester's first run of the game, which appeared as if it may be the game-winning run, into the seventh inning before Shippensburg tied the game in the seventh on a Bri Wilmot single. West Chester left runners stranded in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, and Shippensburg eventually took advantage of this in the ninth when Wilmot hit a walkoff home run to steal a 2-1 victory and series split with the Golden Rams.
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) (4-8) suffered the loss for West Chester in game one, allowing 11 runs (four earned) on eight hits, while striking out in 1.1 innings of work.
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) got the start in the nightcap and allowed just one run on nine hits, while striking out one before exiting with two outs in the eighth inning.
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) (8-3) entered in relief and got the last out of the eighth and first out of the ninth before allowing the home run to Wilmot with one away in the ninth for her third loss of the season.
Dani Hayward earned the win in both games, her 17
th and 18
th of the season, as she went the distance in game one before entering in relief and pitching the final five innings, scattering four hits in the nightcap.
Flock Talk
Entering the final two weeks of the regular season, West Chester finds itself in sixth in the PSAC East standings, one spot out of a trip to Binghamton, New York, for the PSAC Tournament when play begins on May 6. West Chester has games remaining against three of the five teams it is chasing in Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, and Shepherd, as well as doubleheaders with Bloomsburg, which is also in pursuit of the final playoff spot.
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) is first on the team offensively, batting .397 with 52 hits, including 21 extra-base hits (13 doubles, seven home runs, and a triple), scoring 42 runs and driving in 29 more, all of which are best on the team. Ciliberto and
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) are close behind at .336 and .328 on the year with 23 and 21 RBI, along with 11 and 28 runs scored, respectively.
In the circle, Ciliberto is 10-7 with a 2.79 ERA and a .292 batting average against with 63 strikeouts in 110.1 innings of work, including four complete games, three saves, and a pair of shutouts. Tooley is 8-3 with a 3.05 ERA and a .251 batting average against with 36 strikeouts in 62.0 innings of work, while Strechay is 4-8 with a 3.34 ERA and a .288 batting average against with 43 strikeouts in 81.2 innings, including four saves, three complete games, and a shutout.
Chasing History
Hopkins hit a home run in a doubleheader sweep of Mansfield last Friday and, in doing so, moved into a tie for second in team history in career home runs with 28, matching Cat Hammer's career mark. The senior outfielder is one home run shy of tying Alyssa Herion and Kristin Smererczynski for first on the chart and two shy of taking over first place on the career home run chart after hitting 10 as a sophomore and nine more in her junior season.
Road Warriors
West Chester will play its fourth doubleheader away from home in its last five on Tuesday as the Golden Rams head to Millersville for the final two games of the season series against the Marauders after dropping a pair in West Chester in late March by 3-0 and 9-7 finals. West Chester is 6-8 in true road games this spring and 4-6 in neutral site games, showing a record of 10-14 in games played away from South Campus. The Golden Rams dropped a pair at Lock Haven and Shippensburg each of the last two weekends, but took a pair at East Stroudsburg in a Tuesday afternoon clash last week.
The Home Stretch
West Chester is 22-18 overall and 12-10 in league action with 10 league games to play, with six of those 10 games coming this week as the Golden Rams visit Millersville on Tuesday before hosting East Stroudsburg and Kutztown this weekend in West Chester. The Golden Rams will conclude their regular season next weekend with a visit to Shepherd on May 1 and a home doubleheader with Bloomsburg on May 2.
Get it Done
Extra-inning games have not been friendly to West Chester this spring, as the team is 0-6 in such games, including a loss in nine innings to Millersville earlier this spring and a 2-1 loss in nine innings at Shippensburg on Saturday afternoon.
Series History
West Chester holds an 87-56-1 lead in the all-time series against Millersville, including a pair of splits with the Marauders last Spring and a pair of losses to the Marauders in West Chester earlier this season. West Chester will be looking for its road sweep of Millersville since April 2024, when the Golden Rams won 9-6 and 9-7 at the Seaber Softball Stadium.
Scouting Millersville
Millersville enters play on Tuesday at 19-23 overall and 8-16 in league play after a senior day split with Bloomsburg as Lexi Pickett hammered the 1-0 offering with her team down one in the seventh inning of the nightcap to lift the Marauders to the 6-5 victory. This victory halted a three-game losing streak and was the Marauders' first win since an April 15 split with Bowie State, as Millersville dropped game one by an 11-8 final before capturing the nightcap 5-3.
Pickett is first on the team in most offensive categories, batting .442 (50-for-113) with 16 home runs and 12 doubles, driving in 41 runs and scoring 36 more, while Cameron Witte is batting .439 with 26 hits, including eight doubles as the lone two Marauders batting north of .300.
In the circle, Delaney Troxell is 14-10 with a 3.42 ERA and a .273 batting average against with 86 strikeouts in 135 innings of work, including 10 complete games and a shutout as the clear ace of the Marauder staff. Nicolina Pezzone is the only other Marauder to hit statistical minimums so far this spring and is 2-10 with a 7.27 ERA and a .358 batting average against with 33 strikeouts in 51 innings of work over 18 appearances and 13 starts.
Up Next
West Chester will return home this weekend for back-to-back home doubleheaders against East Stroudsburg and Kutztown, with Saturday's doubleheader against the Golden Bears scheduled as Senior Day for the Golden Rams.
