Box Scores
L 3-2
L 8-1

WEST CHESTER – West Chester scratched out a 3-2 win in the opener, then won the nightcap 8-1 for a pair of PSAC East softball wins over visiting East Stroudsburg University on Tuesday afternoon.

ESU (18-16, 4-8) falls into a tie for fourth in the PSAC East going into the final two doubleheaders of the regular season. The Warriors host Kutztown on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and travel to Shippensburg for two games on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Shippensburg (27-8, 9-3) leads the division, followed by West Chester (31-16, 8-6), which was coming off two extra-inning wins at Shippensburg on Sunday. Kutztown (23-21, 7-7) holds a three-game lead for the third and final playoff spot, followed by ESU and Millersville (28-18, 4-8).

Junior catcher Rebecca Smith hit her seventh home run of the season, tied for third-most in school history, in the opener.

ESU took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a two-out RBI single by freshman OF Sierra Wagner after freshman 3B Kellie Mignoli doubled with one out.

West Chester scored twice in the bottom half before Smith led off the fourth with a homer to left. Her 11 career home runs are tied for sixth in ESU's record book.

The Warriors loaded the bases with nobody out on a single by sophomore 1B Cara McNeil, a West Chester error and a walk by senior Jennifer Denaro, but West Chester starter Devon Utterback got out of trouble.

The Golden Rams reclaimed the lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth, and it stayed 3-2 until the finish. ESU had two base runners in both the sixth and seventh innings.

Junior Laura Suits threw her ninth complete game of the season for ESU, allowing just one earned run in 6.0 innings of work. Suits was last week's PSAC East Pitcher of the Week after throwing a one-hit, 2-0 shutout at Lock Haven last Friday.

Utterback allowed two runs on seven hits in 7.0 innings for West Chester. Smith had two hits, her home run in the fourth and a single in the seventh.

In the second game, West Chester scored two runs each in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings to pull away. Kim Murl allowed an unearned run in the sixth and ESU had six hits in the contest.

The Warriors scored their run on a two-out RBI double by sophomore SS Cara Woods to score sophomore OF Kasey Meckes.

West Chester had 13 hits and Jessica Schuck was 2-for-3 with five RBI for the Golden Rams, including a two-run homer in the fourth and a two-run double in the sixth.

McNeil extended her hitting streak to eight games for ESU. Smith and Wagner have both hit safely in six straight games.