Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Whippets win series over the Red Raiders
Big fourth inning carries D’town West to win over Coatesville
As we inch closer and closer to the end of the regular season, things are getting interesting at the top of the Ches-Mont National standings.
On Wednesday afternoon, Downingtown West (9-3), rode the momentum of the threerun fourth inning to top visiting Coatesville (11-3) by a score of 6-3. With the win, the Whippets win the season series over the Red Raiders.
“Every game in this division is tough,” said West coach Joey Germani. “So every win is a big win. We’ve really been playing well lately.”
The Red Raiders struck first, plating a run in the top half of the first on a walk from Ella Vetter and an RBI single from Payton Landis.
But West answered back, scoring in each of the next three innings. In the bottom of the second, Taylor Posner (2 for 3, 2B) led off with a single up the middle, but was erased on a force on a ground ball from Natalie Beebe. Beebe moved up to second on a ground out from Brooke Dailey, then came all the way around to score on a throwing error.
West scored another pair in the third, when the Whippets converted a couple of hit batsmen, an error and an RBI ground out from Posner.
“This was a great game,” said Posner. “We were hitting up and down the lineup and making all the plays we had to make on defense. Natalie always hits her spots and we’re play tough defense behind her.”
After Coatesville cut the lead to 3-2 with Vetter scoring on a throwing error, West broke it open with a three-run third, with all three runs coming with two outs. Dailey led off with a walk, and moved all the way to third on a groundout back up the box, and scored when Caitlin Coker stroked a double to the gap in left center.
It was the first of three straight RBI base hits, as Nina Gallagher followed with a double of her own, and Hannah Greider knocked in Gallagher with a single to right.
“It’s a great win, but we’re going to play every game like it’s the biggest game of the season,” said Gallagher. “We’re all hitting well right now and we’ve really been working hard on our defense, and it’s paying off.”
Beebe picked up the win in the circle, going the distance while allowing three runs and scattering eight hits. She struck out five and walked just one. “Natalie’s been pitching great,” said Germani. “And we’re
playing solid defense behind her. It doesn’t hurt to play games here, either. With these deep fences and the win always a factor and blowing in, she’s not going to give up homers.”
The loss belies a monster game from Coatesville’s Mackenzie Sherman, who was 4 for 4 on the afternoon.
Despite dropping its second straight game, Coatesville still sits atop the standings with a record of 11-3, with the Whippets, West Chester East and Avon Grove all even in the loss column. And it doesn’t stop there, with Bishop Shanahan just a game back at 7-4, and Downingtown East still in the hunt at 7-5.
“We’ve lost two games, but we still control our own destiny,” said Coatesville coach Bill Mendenhall. “We just need to get our feet back under us an play the way we can, and we can still reach our goal of winning the league, and head into the playoffs with a good seed. And I expect we will.”