MELBOURNE, Fl.- The West Chester University softball team (11-4) concluded its Spring Break trip to the Sunshine State with a pair of wins over the University of Illinois-Springfield on Wednesday morning. The team captured game one by a 6-2 final before using a comeback to win the nightcap by a 4-2 final.

West Chester jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in the first game of the day vs the Prairie Stars but had to erase a two-run deficit late in the sixth inning of the nightcap to leave Florida with its winning streak intact.

Game One: WCU 6 UIS 2

Alexa Peterson (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) started West Chester's offense in the first inning with a two-RBI single through the right side, giving Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) early run support in the circle.

Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) doubled the lead in the second with a two-RBI single of her own, which plated both Madison and Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) to give the Golden Rams the early lead.

Illinois-Springfield cut into the deficit with a daring double steal in the home second and used a throwing error in the third to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Picozzi got the start in the circle and tossed the first 3.1 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, walking two, and striking out a pair before exiting in favor of Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton). Edwards improved to 3-0 in the circle as she tossed the final 3.2 innings without allowing a run, yielding just one hit while striking out a pair in the victory.

West Chester gave Edwards additional run support in the fourth, as Melvin drove in Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) with a hard-hit single up the middle. Best extended the lead with an RBI single of her own in the fifth, giving WCU a 6-2 lead, which the Golden Rams would never relinquish.

Game Two: WCU 4 UIS 2

In the nightcap, UIS jumped out to an early lead after a leadoff triple in the top of the first, storming out to a 2-0 lead heading into the home first.

Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) (7-2) settled in nicely after this. The sophomore went the distance in the circle, scattering just six hits while striking out four in her complete-game victory.

Alexis Carroll matched Ciliberto for much of the afternoon, but the Golden Rams offense finally broke through in the home sixth, scoring four runs on four hits and one error to storm back and earn a 4-2 victory after a 1,2,3 top of the seventh.

Hailey Melvin got the offense moving again in the sixth, tripling to left, which scored older sister Madison and cut the deficit in half. She scored moments later off a single by Aguilar, which tied the score at 2-2. Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) doubled home a run to give West Chester a decisive 3-2 lead. Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) gave West Chester a potentially critical insurance run with a sac fly to right, which scored Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), who had reached on an error earlier in the frame.

With her first lead of the afternoon, Ciliberto made short work of the Prairie Stars in the seventh, getting three quick groundouts to lift the Golden Rams to the 4-2 comeback victory.

Up Next:

West Chester will begin its journey back to Pennsylvania and prepare for a home doubleheader on Sunday afternoon against Pace. West Chester will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of its 2014 Regional Title team during this doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at the West Chester University softball field.