Softball to Face Kutztown in PSAC Tournament Clash on Friday Morning
Tournament Central
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QUAKERTOWN, Pa.- Off to its best start at the PSAC Tournament since its 2017 PSAC Championship run, the West Chester University softball team (32-20) will return to the field tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for its third game of the week vs PSAC East rival Kutztown (33-20) with a spot in the PSAC Championship game up for grabs.
Fan Information
Ticket sales are online only and will be cashless throughout the 2024 PSAC Softball Tournament. Day passes for Friday and Saturday will cost $10. Children 12 and under and students from PSAC member institutions with current, valid IDs will be admitted free of charge. Fans must purchase their tickets online via this link.
The Bracket
The winner of tomorrow's semifinal will advance directly to the PSAC Championship game on Saturday morning and will need only one win on Saturday to be crowned PSAC Tournament Champions. The loser of Friday morning's semifinal will remain very much in the hunt for a PSAC Tournament crown; however, they will need to win a 3 p.m. elimination game on Friday afternoon vs. the winner of the Seton Hill/East Stroudsburg game, which is to be played at 12:30 on Friday afternoon.
Series Information
Since 2008, West Chester has played to a record of 35-33-1 vs Kutztown, including a split of the 2024 season series and an even split of each of the last 10 meetings. In contrast to ESU, whom West Chester also had a significant regular-season history with but no PSAC Tournament history before today, the Golden Rams and Golden Bears have squared off many a time in the PSAC Tournament, with that series being even at 3-3. Most recently, West Chester took two of three from Kutztown in the 2021 PSAC Tournament when the Tournament was played on campus sites en route to an eventual PSAC Tournament Championship after taking two of three at Seton Hill later that season.
How They Got Here
West Chester improved to 2-0 at the PSAC Tournament for the first time since the 2017 season with an impressive 5-3 victory over East Stroudsburg on Thursday morning at Veteran's Park. West Chester continued its Quakertown power surge on Thursday, hitting two more home runs, a pair of two-run shots, which combined with another excellent pitching performance from both Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) and Makenzie Edwards (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) allowed the Golden Rams to pull the upset.
Similarly to West Chester, Kutztown has been red hot offensively to begin its time in Quakertown, winning its opening game yesterday over Cal by a 12-1 final in five innings before posting a 13-11 victory over Shippensburg earlier today. Kutztown raced out to a 7-0 lead in this game and led 10-5 heading into the sixth, but a sixth-run sixth inning by Shippensburg gave the Raiders an 11-10 lead late, thus requiring late-game heroics for Kutztown to survive the upset-minded Raiders. Enter Hannah Reimel. With the game tied at 11-11 after a game-tying RBI double by Emily Henn, Reimel launched a two-run home run to left, thus lifting the second-seeded Golden Bears to a dramatic 13-11 victory on Thursday afternoon. Haley Gravish got the start and went the distance in the circle, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) on 13 hits and five walks while striking out five to improve to 19-9 on the season.
Scouting Kutztown
Entering play with a record of 33-20 on the year, Kutztown has started the PSAC Tournament by scoring 25 runs, outscoring opponents 25-12 through its first two games. Offensive has been the calling card of the Golden Bears throughout the season as Emily Henn leads the team in several major categories, including batting average (.383), extra-base hits (24), home runs (8), RBI (48), and slugging percentage (.633), all while ranking second in runs scored with 43. Henn, who batted a blistering .462 against West Chester this season with a pair of home runs and seven RBI, is one of four Golden Bears to bat north of .300 entering Friday as Brianna Stocklin (.365) is second, followed by Alexa Stevens (.350) and Naya Darnowski (.329) in third and fourth. Stevens and Darnowski also hit north of .400 in the four games between the Golden Rams and Golden Bears earlier this season, batting .455 and .429, respectively. Darnowski picked up six hits in the regular season series, with half of those being home runs, driving in six runs while scoring five more.
Gravish has been the best option in the circle for Kutztown throughout the year, entering Friday with a record of 19-9 with 20 complete games, including four shutouts. With an ERA of 4.13, Gravish has held opponents to a .274 batting-average against, while striking out 111 and allowing just 35 free passes. Gravish has also had success against West Chester this year, going a perfect 2-0 in the circle with a 1.15 ERA and a .197 batting-average against, while striking out six in 15.2 innings of work. Natalee Harvey is 0-2 against West Chester this year with an ERA north of 7.00 (7.15) and a .313 batting-average against. On the year, Harvey is 12-11 in the circle with a 4.33 ERA and a .275 batting-average against, while striking out 74 against 42 walks.
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