MANSFIELD, Pa.- Riding a three-game winning streak, the West Chester University softball team (15-8, 4-2) took to the road on Monday afternoon, looking to make it five in a row against Mansfield (11-5, 2-4). West Chester mounted a late-game comeback in both games and used this rally to earn a 5-4 victory in game one but fell by a 5-4 final in nine innings in the nightcap, splitting its doubleheader vs the Mountaineers.

Game One: WCU 5 Mansfield 4

Mansfield jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, pushing a run across in the first and three more in the third, which held up until the sixth inning when the Golden Rams scored four runs on three hits, including a pair of RBI singles by Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) and Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) to escape with a 5-4 victory.

Mansfield opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first and used another RBI double and a two-run home run in the third to claim an early 4-0 lead.

West Chester got a run back in the fifth when Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) reached on an error and drove in a run to give the visitors their first tally of the game.

Ciliberto cut the deficit in half with an RBI single in the sixth, and Kaitlyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) delivered a sac fly to score Meg Wolfe (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) and make the score 4-3 in favor of Mansfield. Melvin followed this up with a two-RBI single up the middle, which scored both Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) and Emma Zoldi (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North), thus, giving the Golden Rams a 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Ciliberto got the start and the win in the circle, working the first 5.1 innings, scattering four runs on seven hits, and striking out four to improve to 8-4 on the year.

Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) relieved Ciliberto in the sixth with one out and a runner on. She struck out each of her next two batters to keep the score locked at 5-4 heading into the seventh.

In the home seventh, Edwards got a quick first out but found herself in trouble soon after as the Mounties got their next two batters on, threatening to tie the game late. Edwards got a big strikeout to get her second out. Mansfield executed a perfect steal of third to get runners on the corners with two outs, but Edwards escaped the jam and earned her second save of the season with another strikeout, ending with a final line of two hits over 1.2 innings while striking out four.

Danielle Goff got the start and went the distance in the circle with just one earned run (five total runs) on eight hits while walking four and striking out three.

Game Two: Mansfield 5 WCU 4 (9 Innings)

Aguilar started scoring in game two with an RBI single in the first inning, which scored Madison Melvin, who had led off the game with a walk-and-stealing second to give West Chester an early 1-0 lead.

This lead did not last long as the Mounties used a two-run home run to left center in the home half of the first to jump out to an early 2-1 lead over the Golden Rams.

The hosts added another run in the home second, using an RBI double to left to take a 3-1 lead over the Golden Rams.

Edwards settled in nicely after this rocky start to her afternoon, shutting Mansfield down through the middle innings to keep the deficit right where it was and give her squad a chance to earn another comeback victory.

This paid dividends in the top of the fifth when Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) drove in a pair of runs with a single to center, plating both Aguilar and Hailey Melvin to tie the game at 3-3.

West Chester threatened to break the tie in the top of the sixth, getting runners on first and second with two outs but Mansfield tight-roped out of danger to keep things tied at 3-3.

Edwards worked a quick 1,2,3 sixth inning, keeping Mansfield off the basepaths and getting the Golden Rams back to the plate with the 2,3,4 portion of the lineup due up in the seventh.

Mansfield retired Hailey Melvin to start the inning, but Aguilar worked a walk and stole second, giving West Chester a runner on second with just one out in the top of the seventh. Hopkins followed this up with a walk, but Annabella Putnam worked around the early runners to keep things locked at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh, Edwards got a quick first out before yielding a single up the middle, giving Mansfield a chance to stun the Golden Rams on Monday afternoon.  Edwards worked around her seventh-inning runner, forcing extra innings to decide a victor.

After a scoreless eighth by both teams, West Chester scored a run in the top of the ninth thanks to a two-out RBI single by Alexa Peterson (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan). This gave the Golden Rams a slim 4-3 lead heading into the home ninth.

Mansfield struck quickly in the home ninth, using a solo home run to start the inning to tie the game before walking it off with another solo home run just two batters later to upset the Golden Rams by a 5-4 final.

Edwards pitched the full 8.1 innings on Monday afternoon and suffered the loss, allowing five runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out nine.

Opposite Edwards was Putnam, who was nothing short of outstanding for Mansfield, pitching nine outstanding innings, scattering just four runs (two earned) on seven hits and eight walks while striking out eight. Putnam found herself in trouble throughout the afternoon but continually worked around her baserunners to keep her team in the game and help them win.

Up Next:

West Chester will now shift its attention to a non-league foe in Wilmington as the Wildcats visit South Campus on Wednesday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m.