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Box Score 2 WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Millersville University softball piled up runs Friday and swept West Chester on the road for the first time since 2002. Millersville won game one by a 13-6 score, and out-scored the Golden Rams 14-9 in a darkness-halted game two.
The game one win was Millersville's first over West Chester since 2016 and its first win at West Chester since 2008.
Faith Willenbrock hit her 15th home run of the season in game one and another in game two, breaking the single season record at Millersville for home runs which she set her freshman year. Five different Marauders hit home runs on the day, including a grand slam in both games.
With the two wins the Marauders are back to .500 in the PSAC East. The sweep moved Millersville's record to 17-11 (11-11 PSAC East).
GAME ONE (MILLERSVILLE 13, WEST CHESTER 6)
• West Chester started out the game by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Marauders answered back by taking the lead and holding on to it for the rest of the game.
Gabi Turner hit her first home run of the day. With bases loaded in the second inning,
Rebecca Blatt smashed a grand slam bringing home
Devan Masciulli,
Gabby D'Ottavio, and
Hunter Little, for a 5-2 Millersville lead.
• Willenbrock hit her 15th homer of the season in the top of the third for the school record. Willenbrock also singled to left field in the fourth, with two RBIs. With Willenbrock and
Aleese Angelo on base, Turner hit her second home, putting the Marauders up 10-3.
• The Golden Rams added three more runs in the last two innings, but Millersville held on to its lead and scored three more runs late.
GAME TWO ( MILLERSVILLE 14, WEST CHESTER 9)
• The Marauders and the Golden Rams traded the lead for the first four innings. Masciulli started the second game with a home run, but West Chester kept the game even with Courtney Stump flying a ball out to center field that brought Grace Aguilar home. In the second,
Savanna Kolenda singled up the middle to bring Turner home for the lead, and
Sam Fried singled up the middle to bring Little home. Both
Alyssa Stover and Kolenda scored on a passed ball to put the Marauders up 5-1.
• West Chester evened the score at 5-5 at the bottom of the third, but in the fourth, Willenbrock hit her second homer of the day, scoring Blatt. West Chester came back in the bottom of the fourth with home runs by Stump and Trisha Kopinetz for the 9-7 West Chester lead.
• Millersville answered in the fifth when
Alyssa Stover hit a home run.. With Millersville down 9-8,
Aleese Angelo smashed a grand slam, helping the Marauders regain their lead. Turner added another homer to push the score to 14-9.
• Millersville blanked West Chester in the bottom of the fifth, and the game was called after five innings because of darkness.
•
Maddie Guinane started out game two for the Marauders and pitched for the first three innings.
Alex Schaefer relieved Guinane to finish out the rest of the game.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH JEN PROBST
• On the importance of the road sweep: "Today is the first time we have had our full team back since week one and the energy of that showed. This is such a special group and those were two team wins."
• On offense's performance: "We had great intentional reps and focus this week at practice. We hit our goal of being aggressive and hitting strikes. We can't get grand slams without quality at bats to load them up."
NOTES
• Willenbrock boosted her career home run total to 43. She entered the day ranked ninth among active Division II players in career home runs.
• Masciulli has now hit three leadoff home runs this season.
• The wins snapped Millersville's 12-game losing streak to West Chester.
UP NEXT
• Millersville and West Chester meet back at Seaber Stadium Saturday to close the series. The games are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.