WC East outlasts Coatesville in slugfest
CALN—Anytime you play under the lights at Caln Park, there are going to be runs on the board, and Wednesday night as Coatesville played host to West Chester East was no exception. The two teams combined for 15 runs on 22 hits, including three home runs, with a two-run shot by the Vikings Kayla MacLaughlin with two outs in the top of the sixth spelling the difference as East (6-1) topped Coatesville (4-3) by a score of 8-7.
“I was nervous on deck, but once I got in the box I calmed down,” said MacLaughlin, who finished the night 2 for 5 with three RBI. “We had a runner on, so I just thought to myself, ‘you’ve got this, just need a little hit. It feel great to get this win over a strong team like Coatesville.”
The Vikings jumped out quickly, pushing across five runs in the top half. After walks to Kinzie Thomspon and Kelsey McLaughlin to open the game, the Viking loaded the bases with an infield single from Paige Olson. Amanda Gomez (3 for 4, 3RBI) stepped up, and smacked a liner to the gap in left center to score the two lead runners. MacLaughlin followed with an RBI single, then Sam Gomez knocked in both runners with a double.
Down 6-1 in the second, Coatesville cut the lead to a run on a solo home run from Phoebe Clemens and a two run blast from Kayla Bock.
Clemens and Bock were each on fire for the Red Raiders, with Clemens finishing the night 3 for 4 with a HR and three runs scored, while Bock chipped in with a 3 for 4 night of her own, adding a double to the HR, and knocking in three run.
The pair figured heavily in a big fourth inning for Coatesville when they took a 7-6 lead on singles from Clemens and Ashley Dowlin, along with a double from Bock and a sac fly off the bat of Natalie Florschultz.
“This was a great game and I thought we played well,” said Coatesville coach Bill Mendenhall. “We had kind of a down game on Monday, and I think we bounced back really well and played a nice game. We hit the ball hard all night, and did a nice job coming back from being down big early, but West Chester East was just a little better in the end.”
In the top half of the sixth, Amanda Gomez sparked the two-out rally with her third hit of the night, setting up MacLaughlin’s heroics.
“This is one of the best games we’ve had working together as a team,” said Gomez. “We all had each other’s backs, and never let the downs were never as great as the ups. We just kept up the energy. This is a great group of girls that just loves playing softball and having fun doing it.”
