Baseball | 5/14/2011 12:46:49 AM

BOX SCORE

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Pitt-Johnstown handed the West Liberty University baseball team its second straight hard-to-swallow loss in Friday night action at the West Virginia Conference tournament.

 Zach Vignero's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth snapped a 7-7 tie and kept the Mountain Cats unbeaten in pool play with an 8-7 win as Day Two concluded at Linda K. Epling Stadium.

Friday's game got off to a late start due to a 1-hour rain delay but Pitt-Johnstown struck quickly with a 3-run home run from Drew Westover in the bottom of the first.

The Mountain Cats appeared to be on their way to an easy victory as they carried a 7-1 lead into the sixth inning only to see the Hilltopper bats rumble to life.

Mike Johnson started the scoring parade by working  a bases-loaded walk and Carson Koontz followed with a sacrifice fly.

Ross Heath doubled home Dillon Mangino and Trent Chapman cut the lead to 7-6 with a two-run single, plating Heath and Johnson. Andrew Henry knotted the score at 7 with a double that brought Chapman sprinting all the way around from first.

The teams traded zeros until the fateful ninth inning.

West Liberty threatened in the top of the frame when Rudy Nagy laced a one-out double. Nagy made it to third base with two out but the Hilltoppers couldn't bring him home.

The Mountain Cats had runners on first and third with two out in the bottom of the ninth when Vignero singled up the middle to bring home the game-winning run.

Pitt-Johnstown can clinch a spot in Sunday's WVIAC Tournament championship game with a win against West Virginia State on Saturday's final day of pool play. The Hilltoppers, who dropped a 3-1 decision to State on Thursday, close out their tournament run on Saturday with an 8 p.m. game against West Virginia Wesleyan.

BASEBALL

WVIAC TOURNAMENT

Pool B

 (2 out when winning run scored)

Pitt-Johnstown 8, West Liberty 7

West Liberty                 010 006 000 –  7   9  2

Pitt-Johnstown              310 120 001 –  8 11  0

    WL: Graham (1SO, 5W), Stewart (4) (4SO, 6W), Triantafillo lp (8) (1SO, 0W) and D.Daugherty. Chapman 2S, 2rbi; Johnson 2S, rbi; Henry D, rbi; Heath D, rbi; Nagy D

    UPJ: Fees (8SO, 5W), Tunink (6) (0SO, 0W), Whiteman wp (6) (4SO, 2W) and Morrow. Westover HR, D, 3rbi; Shaulis 2S, 2rbi; Roy 2S; Barbera S, 2rbi