D-Town East edges D-Town West in pitcher’s duel

LIONVILLE—The Cougars’ Rachael Schumann got it done with both her arm and her bat Wednesday afternoon, getting the win in the circle and driving in the winning run with a sixth inning double as Downingtown East (4-1 overall, 4-0 Ches-Mont) picked up a 2-1 win over crosstown rival Downingtown West (3-1, 2-1).
“The girls never let down,” said East coach Peg O’Dwyer. “We let them tie it up, but the team just stayed focused, and knew they would put it together and come up with the run we needed.”

Both pitchers were on their game, and just one of the three runs scored in the game—the game winner—was earned. Schumann picked up the win with seven strong innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits, striking out 12 without issuing a walk. The Whippets’ Addison Carter took the hard luck loss, allowing two runs—one earned—on four hits. Carter struck out six and walked just one.

“Rachel is showing us this year that she’s not just a pitcher, but a complete softball player,” said O’Dwyer. “There’s a reason she’s hitting in the four spot; we trust her to come through with the clutch hits.”
The Cougars got on the board first, pushing across a run in the bottom half of the second. Schumann got things going when she reached on an error, and moved up 60-feet when Sam Wendig delivered a single to right. East loaded the bases with no one out when Steph Allesandro was hit by a pitch.
Carter dug in, and looked like she might get out of the jam, striking out the next two hitters to bring up the number nine hitter, Katie Cohen. Carter got ahead in the count, quickly putting two strikes on Cohen before she ripped a 1-2 offering down the left field line to bring Schumann home.
“I was just looking for anything I could poke into the outfield,” said Cohen. “I had my teammates pumping me up before my at bat to put me in the right mindset when I came up to the plate. With this team, the energy is always up. It’s always fun to beat West. It’s two really good teams, and it’s always a good time when we play West.”
West tied it in the top of the fifth. Ava Czarkowski led off the inning for the Whippets, and dropped down a bunt. The throw to first sailed into right field, and Czarkowski took full advantage, going all the way to third. Czarkowski came into score on a sacrifice bunt from Jordyn McIntire.

“It was great to see a freshman come through for us like that,” said West coach Joey Germani. “I thought Addy pitched a great game for us. They just had one more timely hit than we did. We know we can hit better than we did today, and we will. We’ll be all right.”
Tied in the bottom of the sixth, Lilly Waterer set up Schumann’s heroics with a lead-off single to right. Up came Schumann, who drove a ball to the gap in right center, and Waterer scored easily.
“I’ve been following the stats, and I knew Addy had been pitching really well,” said Schumann. “I knew she was getting good spins, so I wanted to get up in the box and get ahead of that.”
The Whippets threatened in the top of the seventh, putting the tying run in scoring position Jordan Toth reached on a one-out, bloop single, and Czarkowski beat out a bunt. But Schumann was able to strike out the next two hitters to put the game away.