Box Scores: Game 1 / Game 2

West Chester, Pa. — In both games of Wednesday's PSAC Eastern Division softball doubleheader at No. 22 West Chester, the Millersville Marauders had a lead. Unfortunately —in both games— the Marauders came away with a loss. The Golden Rams rallied for 2-1 and 7-6 victories at South Campus Complex.

Jamie Motsko lifted Millersville (13-14, 2-6 PSAC East) to a 1-0 lead in game one with her fourth home run of the season. The dinger, which led off the top of the second, came off of WCU starter Brooke Muth (9-4), but ended up being the only run Muth would allow.

The Black and Gold got a solid outing from Sarah Signore, who was cruising along until the sixth inning. The junior ran through 6.2 innings, giving up just two hits and striking out five. Signore (6-4) was an out away from heading to the seventh with a 1-0 lead, but WCU power hitters Samantha Ingersoll and Megan Harbaugh drilled back-to-back homers to put the Golden Rams in front.

A pair of fly outs was all Millersville could muster against Muth in the seventh, as West Chester (22-6, 7-1 PSAC East) strengthened its hold on the division lead. Muth bent by allowing seven hits in the game, but she didn't break after allowing Motsko's home run. The nine-game winner struck out four and did not walk a batter.

Millersville took its frustration of the game one loss out in the first inning of game two. The Marauders offense torched Muth for six runs in the first inning (although only two were earned). Muth only made it through two-thirds of an inning before yielding the rubber to Missy Schwartz.

Lindsay Hosier and Ally Homa knocked out consecutive singles to start the game and Kelly Fitzgerald put MU on the board with an RBI single. Motsko quickly made it 2-0 on an RBI base hit of her own. Back-to-back West Chester errors gave Millersville a 3-0 lead and Allison Chew extended it to 4-0 on a run-scoring groundout.

Deanna Schneidderreit capped the scoring in the first with a two-run double to left field. Schneidderreit's double was her fifth of the season.

West Chester clawed its way back against Millersville's Alicia Hughes. The Golden Rams got a run in the first, two in the third and one in the fourth to make it 6-4. The homestanding Purple and Gold, selected to the NFCA Top 25 poll for the first time in school history earlier on Wednesday, snatched another win away from the Marauders with three more runs in the bottom half of the sixth.

Evelyn Anderson started the scoring with an RBI single, but it was Ingersoll who knocked in the tying run and Harbaugh that accounted for the winning run, both via sacrifice fly. Despite pitching only an inning and not giving up an earned run, Courtney Eckman (4-5) was saddled with the loss for MU. Hughes, the Marauders' starter, was hit hard. The freshman allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits. She walked two and struck out one.

Schwartz (6-0), meanwhile, was outstanding in relief. The West Chester pitcher allowed just one hit over the final 6.1 innings to secure the victory.

The Marauders travel to East Stroudsburg on Friday for another inter-division doubleheader. MU will play its next four doubleheaders on the road. East Stroudsburg emerged with a sweep of Millersville when it was at the Millersville University Softball Field back on Mar. 24. Game one on Friday is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.