Softball to Face East Stroudsburg in PSAC Championship Game on Saturday Morning at 10:30
Game Notes
QUAKERTOWN, Pa.- Off to its best start at the PSAC Tournament since 2017, the West Chester University softball team (33-20) is finishing its preparations for a rematch with rival East Stroudsburg (45-14) in the PSAC Championship game on Saturday morning in Quakertown beginning at 10:30 a.m. Should West Chester capture game one, only one game will be played as the Golden Rams will be crowned PSAC Tournament Champions for the third time and first time since 2021. If West Chester falls in game one, a second if-necessary game will be played later in the afternoon.
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.
CHAMPIONSHIP KNOWLEDGE
West Chester will need to win only once tomorrow in order to secure its third PSAC Championship in five appearances and its first since 2021. Tomorrow's Championship series, which pits two PSAC East programs against one another, marks the third All-PSAC East Championship game in Tournament history, and the second year in a row this phenomenon has occurred. Shippensburg and Bloomsburg were involved in each of the two previous such games, with Shippensburg emerging victorious in both 2003 and 2023.
SERIES INFORMATION
No strangers to one another, West Chester and East Stroudsburg will meet for the sixth time in 2024 and the 171st time overall on Thursday morning, with the Warriors holding a shrinking 88-82 lead in the all-time series vs the Purple and Gold.
Despite 170 meetings between the two foes, West Chester and East Stroudsburg have only met once in the PSAC Tournament and have only faced each other in postseason play six times, with WCU holding a 4-2 lead all-time. The first meeting between ESU and WCU in the PSAC Tournament came earlier this week as West Chester emerged victorious by a 5-3 final. The two sides met three times in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Regional Tournament in 1977, a Tournament West Chester won, thanks in part to a pair of wins over ESU. The two sides also met in the 2021 and 2022 NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournaments, with West Chester winning the 2021 meeting while East Stroudsburg advanced in 2022.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
WCU 9 Kutztown 4 Box Score Recap
Off to its best start at the PSAC Championships since 2017, West Chester continued its matching start with a 9-4 victory over Kutztown on Friday morning, punching its ticket to its first PSAC Championship game since 2021. The Golden Rams continued their power surge with four home runs, including the third of the week from Mairead Hopkins and the second in as many days from Katelyn Rittenbaugh. Danielle Ciliberto pitched another complete-game in the circle, striking out three in her seven innings, while also launching a solo shot in the second inning to help lead the Golden Rams to their first 3-0 start in Quakertown since 2017.
ESU 9 Kutztown 1 Box Score
East Stroudsburg scored six runs in the first and added runs in the second, third, and fourth, while keeping Kutztown off the scoreboard until the fifth inning to earn its second elimination game victory of the day and third in the last two days over Kutztown by a 9-1 final in four-and-a-half innings. Sarah Davenport (25-6) was sharp in the circle as the freshman picked up her 25th win of the season surrendering one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out seven in the triumph.
POWER SURGE
West Chester's bats have caught fire this week in Quakertown as the Golden Rams are batting a blistering .319 at the plate, outscoring opponents 26-8 on the week with 11 home runs, including three from Mairead Hopkins and two each from Katelyn Rittenbaugh, Grace Aguilar, and Danielle Ciliberto. West Chester has hit multiple home runs in every game so far in Quakertown, as the Golden Rams hit five vs Seton Hill, two vs ESU, and four more on Friday vs Kutztown. West Chester is 17-2 when hitting a home run this season and a perfect 11-0 when hitting two or more.
DJ, TURN IT UP
Danielle (DJ) Ciliberto has been nothing short of amazing for West Chester so far this week, pitching to a tremendous record of 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA while striking out 10 in 19.2 innings of work, while also hitting a pair of home runs (vs. Seton Hill; vs Kutztown) to help her cause in the circle.
START FAST
West Chester is 24-6 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.
SIX OR MORE, PLEASE
West Chester is 21-2 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 three wins so far in Quakertown by a 5-3 final, with the other two being 12-1 and 9-4 finals.
JUST COME ON HOME
In Quakertown, West Chester is batting .409 (9-22) as a team with runners in scoring position, including a stellar .625 with a runner on third with less than two outs. West Chester has held its opponents to just .174 (4-23) with runners in scoring position this week as the Golden Rams have held their foes to just eight runs.
Latest Top Athletics News
- No. 7/8 West Chester Concludes 2024 Season with 9-3 Loss to IUP in Atlantic RegionalWEST CHESTER, Pa.- Needing a win to stave off elimination and ensure its season would continue until at least Saturday afternoon, the top-seeded No. 7/8 West Chester University baseball team (43-9) returned to action on Friday afternoon vs fifth-seed Indiana (Pa.) (35-15). The Crimson Hawks got a stellar complete-game effort from sophomore Derrick Shields and rode this effort to a 9-3 upset victory over the top-seeded Golden Rams.
- No. 2 West Chester Hosts No. 11 East Stroudsburg in Atlantic Region Final SaturdayWEST CHESTER, PA – West Chester looked almost perfect during a 19-3 dismantling of fourth-seeded Seton Hill Thursday afternoon. That win, coupled with East Stroudsburg's 11-7 win over Kutztown in the other semifinal, sets up the 2024 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Final for Saturday at Vonnie Gros Field.
- No. 7/8 West Chester Falls to Charleston (W.V.) 7-3 in NCAA Atlantic Regional OpenerWEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University baseball team (43-8) opened its 2024 NCAA Tournament campaign as the top seed in the Atlantic Regional for the second time in the last three years vs the University of Charleston (W.V.) (44-9) on a damp Thursday afternoon at Serpico Stadium. West Chester jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Charleston stormed back to post a 7-3 victory over the Golden Rams, thanks in part to a three-run fourth inning, which allowed the Golden Eagles to take their first lead of the game and never trail again.
- No. 2 West Chester Downs Seton Hill, 19-3; Stanislawczyk Ties School’s Goal Scoring RecordWEST CHESTER, PA – Sr., M Hannah Stanislawczyk (Mohnton, Pa./Gov. Mifflin) scored five goals, and So. A Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) potted a career-high eight tallies to lead second-ranked West Chester to a 19-3 victory over Seton Hill in the Atlantic Region semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Vonnie Gros Field Thursday afternoon.
- No. 2 West Chester Set to Host NCAA Atlantic Regional for Second Straight YearWEST CHESTER, PA – West Chester University worked its way through another undefeated regular season and picked up a pair of wins last weekend in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament to claim the school's conference-best 26th league crown, second straight and fifth in the past six years.
- No. 7/8 Baseball Set for NCAA Tournament Opener on Thursday AfternoonWEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following the team's ninth PSAC Championship and first since 2016, the No. 7/8 West Chester University baseball team (43-7) is ready to get the 2024 NCAA Tournament underway as the top seed in the Atlantic Region for the second time in the last three years. After breaking the program win streak record earlier in the season at Shepherd (21 in a row), West Chester is on a 10-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament, playing some of its best baseball of the year. The Golden Rams will be the second game of the day at Serpico Stadium on Thursday afternoon, squaring off against the loser of the Charleston/IUP game that will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
