WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University softball team returns to action this weekend for the final two doubleheaders of the regular season against Shepherd on Friday in West Virginia before hosting Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day. Seventh in the PSAC East standings entering the week, the Golden Rams remain in the hunt for a spot in the PSAC Tournament next week, but will need important wins this weekend to climb from seventh into one of the five Tournament spots.
West Chester at Shepherd
Game Details: May 1 I 1 & 3 P.M.
Location: Sara Cree Field (Shepherdstown, W.V.)
Series: 27-21 (since 2008)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I
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WCU Links: NEWS I
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Shepherd Links: NEWS I
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West Chester vs Bloomsburg
Game Details: Saturday, May 2 I 1 & 3 P.M.
Location: WCU Softball Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 26-30 (since 2004)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I
Video
Bloomsburg Links: NEWS I
ROSTER I
SCHEDULE I
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Last Time Out
West Chester heads into the week after being swept in a pair of doubleheaders on South Campus last week, dropping a pair to Kutztown on Thursday by 10-1 (5 innings) and 9-3 final scores before losing dropping two more against East Stroudsburg on Friday afternoon, falling in game one by a 4-1 final before dropping the nightcap 5-4 in eight innings after being an out away from a 4-3 victory.
Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) led the team in this four-game set, going 8-for-12 (.667) at the plate with three doubles and a pair of runs scored, while
Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) was 4-for-8 with a pair of runs and three RBI. In the circle, West Chester pitched to a staff ERA of 5.96, and
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) led the way with an ERA of 4.42 in 6.1 innings of work over the course of the appearances and one start.
Flock Talk
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) is batting .393 (59-for-150) at the plate with 22 extra-base hits, including 14 doubles, seven home runs, and a triple, while also scoring 48 runs and driving in 30 more. Fitzpatrick is batting .350 at the plate, which is second best on the team with nine doubles and a home run, driving in 24 runs and scoring 25 more.
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) is third, batting .338 with 48hits, including seven doubles, a triple, and a home run, driving in 26 runs and scoring 29 more.
In the circle,
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) is a staff-best 10-9 on the year with a 3.25 ERA and a .303 batting average against with 72 strikeouts in 129.1 innings of work, including five complete games and four saves. Strehcay is 4-9 with a .355 ERA and a .288 batting average against with 48 strikeouts in 92.2 innings as she enters the final weekend of the regular season in her rookie campaign.
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) is 9-3 with a 3.74 ERA and a .262 batting average against with 38 strikeouts in 63.2 innings of work.
Thank You Seniors
Saturday's game will be Senior Day in West Chester as the Golden Rams will honor their senior class of
Gianna Liciardello (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy), Gia Borelli (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson), Avelyn Van Heyst (Aaronsburg, Pa./Penns Valley), Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon), Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin), and Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North). This senior class helped deliver a 2024 PSAC Tournament Championship to West Chester and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of their first three seasons together.
Playoff Picture
West Chester enters the week seventh in the PSAC East standings, although the Golden Rams are just a game out of a three-way tie for fifth with Shepherd and Bloomsburg, who enter the weekend at 15-13 in league action. The cleanest way for West Chester to make a return trip to the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2024 is for the team to go at least 3-1, including a sweep of Shepherd on Friday, and get some help from other teams around the league along the way to stay out of multi-team tiebreak scenarios, although the Golden Rams doubleheader split with Kutztown and series split with Shippensburg earlier this season could come into play.
Rank and File
West Chester appeared in the second Division II softball Atlantic Regional rankings of the year this week, checking in at ninth in the first numerical rankings as the first team out of the eight-team Tournament field if play began today. It bears noting that the CIAA did not have a team in either of the first two sets of regional rankings but will have a team qualify by virtue of an AQ for its Conference Champion.
Series History
Since 2008, West Chester is 27-21 against Shepherd, including a pair of losses to the Rams in West Chester after taking three of four from the Rams last season. Likely in need of a sweep in West Virginia on Friday to keep its postseason aspirations alive, West Chester is 11-9 away from home, although the Golden Rams have not swept a series from Shepherd in West Virginia since 2023.
Against Bloomsburg, West Chester is 26-30 against the Huskies since 2004, including a split in Bloomsburg earlier this season and a 5-4 loss in the regular-season finale last April. Before the Golden Rams 5-4 loss in Bloomsburg, West Chester was on a four-game winning streak against the Huskies. West Chester has not dropped two consecutive games to Bloomsburg since a four-game skid, which began in April 2008 and carried into April 2010.
Scouting Shepherd
Shepherd enters the weekend at .500 (20-20) on the year and 15-13 in East play with a slim one-game lead over West Chester for the potential final playoff spot heading into play on Friday. Shepherd split a pair of doubleheaders last week, earning a 3-0 victory over Shippensburg and a 1-0 win over Kutztown, with 9-1 and 11-2 losses to the Raiders and Golden Bears.
Offensively, Haylee Hartman and Samantha Colaw are first and second on the team, batting .364 and .310, while Brenna Collis is batting .304 with a team-leading five home runs and 18 RBI. Pitching has been the storyline for Shepherd this season as the Rams are led by Madelayne Ruffner, who is a three-time NFCA Division II Pitcher of the Week at 12-7 with a 1.19 ERA and a .159 batting average against with 244 strikeouts in 135.1 innings of work, including 15 complete games. Natalee Harvey has emerged as a clear number-two pitcher for Shepherd, as the Kutztown transfer is 6-8 on the year with a 4.45 ERA and a .231 batting average against, with 55 strikeouts in 72.1 innings of work.
Scouting Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg enters play this weekend at 25-17 overall and 15-13 in league play on a three-game winning streak after a split with Lock Haven and a Senior Day sweep of Mansfield on Sunday. Before visiting West Chester on Saturday afternoon, Bloomsburg will finish its home slate with a doubleheader against East Stroudsburg beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
Allie Wenrich is batting a team-best .361 on the year with 15 home runs and 43 RBI, along with 34 runs scored, while Jenna Kaufman is batting .359 with 19 RBI and 16 runs, followed by Alizabeth Schuler and Josie Straigis, batting .355 and .333, respectively.
In the circle, Sarah Yamrick is 11-5 with a 2.68 ERA and a .226 batting average against with 127 strikeouts in 104.2 innings of work, including 11 complete games and three shutouts. Straigis is 7-11 with a 4.94 ERA and a .299 batting average against with 56 strikeouts in 113.1 innings. Becca Varhula is 6-0 with a 3.45 ERA and a .281 batting average against in 46.2 innings of work, including two complete games.
Up Next
If West Chester can win its way into the PSAC Tournament, the Golden Rams will head to Binghamton, New York next week for the PSAC Tournament beginning on Wednesday.
