MELBOURNE, Fl.- After starting its stay in the Sunshine State with a split against Franklin Pierce on Saturday afternoon, the West Chester University softball team (7-4) was back in action on Sunday against Felician (3-11). West Chester swept the doubleheader by a final of 11-1 in game one and 12-3 in game two, registering 28 hits over the course of the sweep, led by seven from Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca), including a 5-for-5 effort in the nightcap.

Game One: WCU 11 Felician 1

Felician struck first, pushing an early run across in the top of the first with an RBI single to right, but West Chester countered with five runs of its own in the bottom of the first on five hits and a pair of errors. In the first inning, West Chester batted around and, in the process, got RBI singles from Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin), Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock), and Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) to race out to a 5-1 run.

Hopkins came through with another RBI single in the second before Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) had a two-RBI single of her own in the third to give West Chester a commanding 8-1 lead.

West Chester tacked on two more runs in the third, thanks in part to another RBI single, this time from Alexa Peterson (Exton, Pa./Shanahan), to carry a 10-1 lead into the fourth.

In the fourth, Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) extended the lead one step further with a sac fly, stretching the lead to 11-1, which West Chester won by in five innings.
West Chester pounded out 13 hits in game one, led by multi-hit games from Madison Melvin, Hailey Melvin, Hopkins, and Peterson. Nine Golden Rams registered hits in the victory.

In the circle, Mary Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) was dominant. She pitched five strong innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run while striking out four for her first victory of the Spring.

Game Two: WCU 12 Felician 3

In the nightcap, West Chester's offense continued to fire on all cylinders, as the Golden Rams picked up 15 hits, led by Madison Melvin's 5-for-5 effort at the plate, as she continued her pursuit of Bri Garber's career hit record. Melvin was one of five Golden Rams to record a multi-hit game in the victory. Hailey Melvin, Aguilar, Hopkins, and Lauryn Kane (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) also accomplished this in the victory.

West Chester wasted little time in gaining an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning after Melvin and Kane's pair of RBI singles and Katelyn Rittenbaugh's RBI groundout (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove).

Felician countered with two runs of its own in the home first, quickly cutting the WCU lead to 3-2.

In the second, Melvin picked up her second of a team-best four RBI in the game with another RBI single, while Aguilar picked up another sac fly RBI to stretch the lead back to 5-2.

West Chester added three more in the fourth, with another RBI from Hailey Melvin, an RBI single from Hopkins, and yet another sac fly RBI from Kane, to carry a commanding 8-2 lead into the home fourth.

After two scoreless innings, Felician cut into the lead again, getting a run back in the home sixth and sending the game to the seventh, with West Chester leading 8-3.

The Golden Rams scored four more runs in the seventh, courtesy of a pair of sac flys from Melvin and Aguilar and a pair of RBI singles from Hopkins and Kane, to take a commanding 12-3 lead.

Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) picked up her fifth win of the year in the circle, pitching into the sixth and allowing two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out another. Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) entered in relief in the sixth and pitched the final two innings, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out three to close the sweep.

Up Next:

West Chester will have a well-deserved off day tomorrow before squaring off against Molloy and Post on Tuesday afternoon beginning at 12:15.