Gomez outduels Ebaugh as West Chester East tops Kennett for District title game berth

WEST GOSHEN—Friday morning’s District 1, Class 5A softball semi-final was a good, old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. For better than seven innings, Kennett’s Genevieve Ebaugh and West Chester East’s Jess Gomez matched each other pitch for pitch, strikeout for strikeout, shutout inning for shut out inning.

Finally, with one out in the bottom of the eighth, the Vikings’ Emma Pinto, hitting out of the ninth spot, connected with two strikes, smacking a hard ground ball through the gap between shortstop and third base, scoring pinch runner Haley Greco.

With the win, the Vikings move on to the District 1, Class 5A championship game for the second straight season. The Vikings were the 5A champions in 2019, and were poised to make another run last year but were thwarted by the pandemic. West Chester East will face Springfield (Delco) on Tuesday, June 1, at Springfield. Game time is tentatively scheduled for 4PM.

“This is truly a team game,” said Vikings’ coach Bobby Swier. “We have confidence that anyone in the line-up can get the job done for us. Emma coming up with the big hit as the number nine hitter just validates that point.”

Abby McCormick led off the eighth inning for the Vikings, and stroked a ball down the left field line for a single. It was just the third hit for the Vikings off Ebaugh, with Carey Werley credited with both of the others. Greco came in to run, and thanks a pair of passed balls, found herself on third with one out.

Pinto put together a great at bat leading up to the base hit, fouling off numerous balls, even running one ground ball all the way out before the Vikings picked it up went it drifted just foul.

“Obviously, she is a great pitcher, so I was really just hoping to make contact,” said Pinto. “I kept fouling off pitches, which was frustrating, but I knew I was at least making contact. So I just tried to stay calm, and I managed to get the hit. It is just great to get the win and get to play in district finals.”

The Vikings made a serious threat the inning before. Werley got things going with a one out single, her second hit of the day, dropping in a little blooper in short right, then moved up sixty feet on a stolen base attempt that did not attract a throw, then to third on a passed ball.

With runner on first and third, Gomez dropped down a bunt, and Werley took off for home. Ebaugh fielded it, threw home, and catcher April put the tag on for the out. Ebaugh then got a strikeout to escape the inning unscathed.

For seven innings, the game could barely have been more even. Neither team had an error. Both Gomez and Ebaugh each struck out 11. Each team had two hits—Werley with both for West Chester East, while Abby Adelman and Ella Schaub reached safely for Kennett.

“It just feels amazing to get back to the district championship game,” said Gomez. “It was an amazing run last time when I was a sophomore. Getting back as a senior feels really good.”

Ebaugh, still just a junior, crossed a milestone with her first strikeout of the day. The second Vikings hitter in the first inning went down swinging, and it was whiff number 300 for the season for the Maryland recruit. With still some of season two remaining, Ebaugh is just shy of 500 for her career, sitting at 487.

But Gomez picks up the pitching win for Wednesday, going eight strong innings. She did not allow a run, and just two hits. She finished with a dozen strikeouts, and did not walk a batter. Gomez has walked just one hitter in her last two games. 

“We knew what kind of pitching we would be facing,” said Swier. “They just beat the number eight seed and the number one seed to get here, and we know what she’s done in our league. But we know what we have in Jess, too. She’s pitched three straight days, and showed why she’s our captain. It can be tough to pitch so soon again after an intense game like yesterday, but nothing fazes Jess.”

Kennett isn’t done yet. They can still reach the state tournament with a win over Marple-Newtown on Tuesday.

“We just played a great game against a great team,” said Kennett coach Lauren Gottstein. “Gen pitched a great game, and the team played good defense behind her. They just got that key hit and we didn’t. We just have to do what we know we can do, win the game Tuesday, and get ourselves to states.”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E

Kennett 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
WC East 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 1

Kennett
Lineup AB R H RBI
H Slicer—2B 3 0 0 0
G Ebaugh–P 3 0 0 0
M Sears—3B 3 0 0 0
A Mcdonald–C 3 0 0 0
A Regestes–RF 3 0 0 0
A Adelman–LF 3 0 1 0
A Cicione—1B 3 0 0 0
E Schaub–SS 3 0 1 0
S Burns–CF 3 0 0 0
Totals 27 0 2 0

W.C. East
Lineup AB R H RBI
A Gomez–CF 3 0 0 0
Crump–C 2 0 0 0
Koberg–PH 1 0 0 0
Werley–SS 3 0 2 0
Hill—3B 2 0 0 0
Cuneo–PR 0 0 0 0
J Gomez–P 3 0 0 0
Kulp–DH 3 0 0 0
A Douglass—2B 3 0 0 0
McCormick—1B 3 0 1 0
Greco–PR 0 1 0 0
Pinto–RF 3 0 1 1
KDouglass—FX/7 – – – –
Totals 26 1 4 1


Pitching
Kennett IP H R ER SO BB
G Ebaugh (L) 7.1 4 1 0 11 1

WC East
Gomez (W) 8 2 0 0 12 0