Game Notes
CHARLESTON, W.V.- After winning its third PSAC Tournament title and first since 2021, the West Chester University softball team (34-20) is finishing its preparations for the start of the 2024 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament when it gets underway this week in Charleston, West Virginia. Winners of eight of its last 10, West Chester, earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and drew a matchup vs. No. 7 seed and PSAC West rival Gannon (31-13) in the opening round of the Tournament on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

FAN INFORMATION

Charleston has launched a Tournament Central page, which is available here (all links will be added when they are made available). It includes links for live stats and video for fans who cannot make the trip to West Virginia to support the Golden Rams.

All tickets for fans traveling to West Virginia are general admission, with prices set at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, children, and students. Children under the age of two will be admitted free of charge. Tickets are only sold at the field, and all sales are cash only.

The softball field is located at 3511 Venable Avenue in Charleston, West Virginia 25304. For parking, fans should follow signage at the complex and may park directly next to the softball facility or in the community center parking lot. Fans are not permitted to park in the Charleston Area Medical Center Oncology lot; any vehicles parked in this lot will be subject to towing. Fans are also advised of a free shuttle service, which will run from the Innovation Center on the campus of the University of Charleston.

SERIES INFORMATION

West Chester is making its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024 and returning to the National Stage for the second year. Searching for its fifth regional title and first since 2021, which was also the last time WCU won a PSAC Tournament crown, the Golden Rams will be looking to improve upon their efforts from last year, which saw the group go 1-2. A season ago, WCU opened the Tournament with a convincing win over W.V. Wesleyan by a 6-3 final before falling to ESU and Wesleyan on day two to bring the 2023 season to a close.
 
West Chester and Gannon will face off for the 13th time in history today, with 11 of the 13 meetings coming in postseason play. West Chester fell to Gannon in Quakertown a year ago and dropped to 0-6 vs the Golden Knights at the conference tournament. West Chester is a perfect 3-0 against Gannon in the NCAA Tournament, sweeping a doubleheader from the Golden Knights in the Super Regionals in 2018 before also defeating them in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in nearby Institute, W.V. (WV State) in 2019 by an 8-2 final.
 
THE REGIONAL

West Chester is one of six PSAC teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2024, with Charleston (third seed) and Bowie State (eighth seed) being the lone two non-PSAC schools competing after winning Mountain East and CIAA Conference Titles and subsequently earning AQs to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The other half of the opening day at the Charleston (W.V.) regional will pit sixth-seeded Bloomsburg vs third-seed and host Charleston. The other half of the Atlantic Regional Tournament is being played at East Stroudsburg as the Warriors will host Bowie State on Thursday, while PSAC East rivals Kutztown and Shippensburg square off in a 4/5 matchup. The winner of the two pods on Saturday will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week at the home of the highest remaining seed in the Super Regionals with a spot in the National Finals on the line.
 
POWER SURGE

West Chester's bats caught fire a week ago in Quakertown as the Golden Rams batted a blistering .357 at the plate, outscoring opponents 37-15 on the week. Mairead Hopkins launched five home runs, including a pair in the conference title game, while Grace Aguilar hit three, along with two each from Katelyn Rittenbaugh and Danielle Ciliberto. West Chester hit multiple home runs in every game in Quakertown last week, hitting five vs. Seton Hill, two vs. ESU on Thursday, four on Friday vs. Kutztown, and four more on Championship Saturday vs. ESU. West Chester is 18-2 when hitting a home run this season and a perfect 12-0 when hitting two or more.
 
RED HOT HOPKINS

Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) enters the NCAA Tournament after a week for the ages last week in Quakertown, batting an unbelieve .533 (second on the team, trailing only Madison Melvin, who batted .563) with five home runs, nine RBI and seven runs scored. Melvin and Hopkins were two of five players with at least 10 at-bats to bat north of .400 at the PSAC Tournament. With this week in the books, Hopkins is now batting .354 on the year with 52 hits, including 14 extra-base hits (10 home runs, four doubles), while scoring 33 runs and driving in 39 more. Hopkins is second on the team in RBI, trailing only Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest), who has 51 RBI with a team-best 22 extra-base hits (eight doubles, five triples, and nine home runs).
 
DJ, TURN IT UP

Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) was outstanding a week ago at the PSAC Tournament in Quakertown, earning PSAC Tournament MVP honors with a perfect 4-0 week with an ERA of 4.05 while striking out 15 in the circle. In addition to her four wins, which included three complete games, Ciliberto, who routinely hits eighth in the West Chester lineup on her day to pitch, also mashed a pair of home runs at the Tournament (vs. Seton Hill, vs. Kutztown). Ciliberto (21-8) heads to the NCAA Tournament as the Golden Rams first 20-game winner since Amanda Houck went 31-7 during the 2018 season. The sophomore has pitched tremendously well in her second season in the circle for head coach Diane Lokey and the Golden Rams, posting a record of 21-8 with an ERA of 3.05 in 188.2 innings of work while striking out 137.
 
Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) has also pitched well for West Chester throughout the 2024 season, posting a record of 10-7 with a 3.96 ERA, striking out 101 in 125 innings of work. Edwards was clutch on Thursday, entering in relief of Ciliberto in the Quarterfinals vs East Stroudsburg and quieting the Warrior offense in her 1.1 in the circle, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out one to help West Chester complete its first 4-0 run through the PSAC Tournament since 2017.
 
RECORD CHECK

Graduate student Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) has continued to rewrite the record books in 2024, breaking PSAC records for career hits, runs, and stolen bases in 2024 alone. Melvin holds the WCU program record for longest hitting streak at 25 games in 2023 and is currently riding a team-best 17-game hitting streak entering the NCAA Tournament. Melvin has also reached safely in each of the last 20 games, which also leads the team. Melvin continues to lead the team in batting average (.417), hits (80), and runs scored (55). Melvin is just 11 hits shy of her program record 91 hits she recorded in 2023, while also sitting six runs shy of Bri Garber's single-season runs scored record of 61, which she set in the 2019 season.
 
JUST COME ON HOME

In Quakertown, West Chester batted .382 (13-34) as a team with runners in scoring position, including a stellar .625 with a runner on third with less than two outs. West Chester held its opponents to just .212 (7-33) with runners in scoring position last week, as the Golden Rams have held their foes to just 15 runs in four games.
 
START FAST

West Chester is 25-6 this season when tied or leading after six innings and has completed just two seventh-inning comebacks, playing to a record of 2-14 when trailing after six full. West Chester did erase a five-run deficit on Saturday vs East Stroudsburg and scored four in the home sixth to break a 7-7 tie to claim its third PSAC Tournament title.
 
SIX OR MORE, PLEASE

West Chester is 22-2 when scoring six or more runs this season while playing to a mark of just 12-18 when scoring five or less. West Chester earned one of its four wins in Quakertown by a 5-3 final, with the other three being 12-1, 9-4, and 11-7 finals.
 
WITH A WIN

With a win, West Chester will open the NCAA Tournament with a victory for the seventh time in 12 appearances and the fifth consecutive year in a row. West Chester will also advance in the winner's bracket to face the winner of Bloomsburg/Charleston on Friday at noon, looking for just one win to punch its ticket to the POD final on Saturday afternoon.
 
SCOUTING GANNON

Under the tutelage of sixth-year head coach Michelle Wiley, Gannon is preparing to make its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 on Thursday afternoon. The Golden Knights have advanced to the Super Regional round of the Atlantic Regional Tournament once, with that appearance coming in 2018, when West Chester handed Gannon a pair of losses to advance to the National Finals in what proved to be longtime head coach Tom Jakubowski's final game as head coach. Entering the Tournament, Gannon shows a record of 31-13 on the year after going 1-2 at the PSAC Tournament a week ago, suffering losses against Shippensburg (10-7) and California (3-2) while defeating Slippery Rock (6-4) in an elimination game before facing Cal.

Offensively, eight members of the Gannon starting lineup bat north of .300 on the year, led by Natalia Mallozzi, who is batting a stellar .448 on the year. Mallozzi has 21 extra-base hits to her name on the season, including 16 doubles, one triple, and four home runs, while scoring 36 runs and driving in 33 more. Emma Smerick leads the team in runs, scoring 43 on the year while batting .395 with 27 RBI on 60 hits, including 10 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. Gabi Vasi leads the squad in RBI, driving in 35 runs on the season, while ranking second on the team in batting average at .424, picking up 53 hits, including 10 extra-base hits (five doubles, two triples, three home runs). Alaina Whipskey is fourth on the team in batting average, batting a solid .351 on the year with an OPS of 1.021 as the fourth of four Golden Knights with an OPS north of 1.000. Whipskey leads the team in home runs, hitting eight so far this year and driving in 30 runs.

In the circle, PSAC West Pitcher of the Year Maggie Lenda is the Golden Knights's top arm, pitching a record of 15-3 on the year with a 2.48 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 115.2 innings of work. Lenda has limited opponents to a .235 batting-average against, which is the best on the staff, while also yielding 46 walks, showing a WHIP of 1.34. Katie Armstrong and Gabi Vasi have both pitched big innings for Gannon this year as well, heading to West Virginia with records of 6-3 and 7-5, respectively. Armstrong is second on the staff in strikeouts with 66 in 50.1 innings of work, holding opponents to a .236 batting average while posting an ERA of 3.34 and a WHIP of 1.15, which is the best on the staff. Vasi, who serves as the designated player when not in the circle, enters the Tournament with an ERA of 4.40 and a WHIP of 1.63 while striking out 36 in 62.0 innings of work as opponents bat an even .300 against her.