The Rams continue to show their dominance with a sweep against the University of the Sciences on Thursday. A strong outing by the pitchers made the games easy wins for West Chester.
At the start of the first game, it looked bad for West Chester as there were back-to-back hits from the Devils. Soon after the third batter got hit by a pitch, bases were loaded with no outs. But pitcher Amanda Houck showed no sign of pressure with the bases loaded. Houck struck out the next three batters to get the Rams out of the inning. The bottom of the first came and West Chester scored with an RBI sac fly by Alyssa Herion.
The bottom of the second approached and Courtney Stump hit a single up the middle to knock in another run. West Chester added one more run in the third inning by Ashley Flesch hitting a double to knock in a run. West Chester had the advantage with a 3-0 lead.
Houck pitched a very impressive game giving up only four hits and striking out 11 to get the win. Houck was entertaining to watch as she showed much poise on the mound and ensured her team the victory with her brilliant pitching.
At the start of game two, West Chester looked strong again. The pitching was a big aspect during this game as well. The pitcher Brooke Harner had herself an impressive outing as she struck out seven and only allowed two hits.
West Chester’s offensive was quiet until the third inning, when they exploded for five runs. Sara Ercolani started things off with a two-RBI single to left to give West Chester the lead. Soon after, Madison Kelly hit an RBI single. Finally, Maseth came up to the plate and got a two-RBI single to extend the lead to 5-0.
The rest of the game remained quiet on offense and the run support was enough to win the game and give Harner a strong lead. The Devils could not get anything going against the Rams pitching. Harner finished the game with a shutout against the Devils.
West Chester looked like a strong playoff team against the Devils. The pitching was extraordinary and West Chester had an easy two wins. Looking towards the future and the PSAC tournament, West Chester looks like a team that will do well during playoff time. Throughout the season, they have had solid outings against many teams. West Chester has proved that they will be a force in the upcoming playoffs.
In order for West Chester to do well, they will need great outings by their pitchers. As seen during the double header against U Sciences, they have proven they will have good pitching.
Throughout the season, Houck has pitched incredibly and she is clearly the team’s ace. Someone like Houck with her shutout pitching will be the reason West Chester will make it far within the playoffs.
Ryan Bednash is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. ✉RB842278@wcupa.edu.