WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University softball team (18-14) returned home on Thursday afternoon for its non-league finale against Felician (14-18) and picked up an important doubleheader sweep of the Falcons with a 2-0 victory in game one and a 6-5 comeback victory in the nightcap. West Chester captured the first game of the doubleheader on the arm of
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon), who turned in an excellent six-strikeout complete-game victory before using late-inning heroics in the nightcap, punctuated by a
Julia Miller (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) walkoff single to erase a 5-1 deficit after the fourth inning and earn a 6-5 comeback victory.
Game One: WCU 2 Felician 0
WP: Danielle Ciliberto (10-7)
LP: Mallory Shevlin (0-2)
Ciliberto turned in an outstanding pitching performance in game one, striking out six in a complete-game shutout, which saw her allow just two hits and a walk as she earned her 10
th win of the season.
West Chester got its first run of the day in the fourth on an error off a ground ball off the bat of Ciliberto, which scored
Tess Kearney (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), who had doubled to start the inning and stole third, which allowed her to score on a sharply hit ground ball by Ciliberto.
West Chester doubled its lead in the fifth when Kearney lined a single into center to score
Presley Foote (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury), who had pinch run for
Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North), who was hit by a pitch to open the inning.
Ciliberto and company were dominant down the stretch, allowing just one Falcon to reach from the sixth inning on. The only sign of trouble that West Chester encountered was early when Felician loaded the bases with one out in the first, but Ciliberto finished the first with a pair of strikeouts to keep the game scoreless early.
Mallory Shevlin was the tough-luck loser for Felician, allowing two runs on four hits, while striking out six in six strong innings as she fell to 0-2 on the season.
Game Two WCU 6 Felician 5
WP: Alyssa Tooley (6-1)
LP: Kelsey Vitalis (1-7)
Kimberly Torres led off game two with a solo home run to center to give Felician its first lead of the afternoon. Felician loaded the bases with one out before
Maci Strechay (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) worked out of trouble with a strikeout and a lazy fly ball to left to keep the deficit at 1-0 early.
Kearney led off the home first with a double to left and scored on a line drive single to left by Ciliberto to tie the game at 1-1. Ciliberto made her way to third with two outs via a delayed steal and a passed ball before Felician escaped the inning to keep the game tied at 1-1.
In the fourth inning, an error extended the inning, and Kimberly Torres helped Felician cash in on this with a grand slam to give the Falcons a 5-1 lead heading into the home half of the fourth.
West Chester got a pair of runs back in the fifth with an RBI single by
Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) and an RBI groundout by
Holly Muni (Hamilton, N.J./Allentown) as West Chester capitalized on a leadoff single by
Kayla Fitzpatrick (Carle Place, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) to make it a two-run (5-3) game heading into the sixth.
West Chester continued its comeback bid in the sixth with a sac fly by Hopkins and an RBI single by fellow senior captain
Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), which tied the game at 5-5 heading into the seventh as the Golden Rams took advantage of back-to-back singles to start the sixth by
Gianna Liciardello (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and Kearney.
After a quick 1,2,3 top of the seventh, West Chester got a runner on quickly in the home half of the seventh when Muni battled her way to a leadoff single and advanced to second on a passed ball to give West Chester an early runner in scoring position. Zoldi followed this up with a single of her own, giving West Chester runners on the corners with no outs.
Julia Miller (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) found herself down in the count quickly but battled back and eventually laced a single up the middle to score Kearney and lift West Chester to a 6-5 comeback victory after three consecutive hits to open the home half of the seventh.
Strechay got the start in the nightcap and pitched the first four innings, allowing just five runs (one earned) on three hits (two home runs) along with two walks and a pair of strikeouts before
Alyssa Tooley (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) entered in relief. Tooley pitched three perfect innings in relief, facing the minimum over those three innings as she kept her side in the game down the stretch and was rewarded with her sixth win of the season.
Jocelyn Moody got the start for Felician and allowed three runs on nine hits, while walking one and striking out a pair. Moody exited with a 5-2 lead and bases loaded in the fifth as the Falcons' game one shortstop, Kelsey Vitalis, entered in relief. Vitalis allowed one more run to cross, but escaped the inning without any further damage to keep the lead intact. Vitalis (1-7) finished the game on the mound, allowing three runs (two in the sixth and one in the seventh) to cross on seven hits, while striking out one, as what was once a chance for her first save of the year became her seventh loss of the campaign.
Hopkins, Ciliberto, and Muni were crucial to the comeback bid as Hopkins drove in a team-best two runs in the victory, while Muni and Ciliberto were both 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI each.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday at Lock Haven, beginning at 1 p.m. in the first game of the second half of PSAC East play for the Golden Rams. West Chester will officially finish its first half of PSAC East play on April 14 with a visit to East Stroudsburg for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
