No. 20 West Chester Advances To PSAC Final With Win Over Bloomsburg

Box Score

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – Madison Kelly (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) led off the game with a home run for the second time today while Sarah Walasavage (Minersville, Pa./Minersville) was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a RBI to lead 20th-ranked West Chester to a 9-1 victory over Bloomsburg in the winner's bracket final of the 2017 PSAC Softball Tournament at Veteran's Park Thursday night.
 
With the win, West Chester (43-10) advances to the PSAC Championship Game for only the second time in school history and the first time since 2011. Bloomsburg (30-16) falls into the loser's bracket and will play Lock Haven on Saturday. The winner of that contest will have to beat the Golden Rams twice right after that game.
 
The weary left arm of Jr., Amanda Houck (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) kept the Huskies' hitters in check yet again. Houck (30-3) becomes just the ninth different pitcher in PSAC history to record 30 wins in a single season. She tossed a complete game, allowing one run on six hits while walking one and striking out four.
 
Cat Hammer's (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) two-run single in the bottom of the sixth ended the game due to the 8-run rule.
 
"We've focused on attacking pitchers and not letting up, and that has been working for us," Walasavage said. "You could just tell from watching our dugout that this team is excited. We were ready to play."
 
West Chester will play for the conference title on Saturday afternoon. The time will be determined Saturday, after the field conditions are assessed and the loser's bracket final is played.