WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team split a crucial late-season West Virginia Conference doubleheader with Charleston Tuesday afternoon at Kovalick Field.

Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (20-23, 17-14) held onto third place in the WVIAC North Division by coming from behind to win the second game, 9-3, after dropping a tough 5-4 decision in the opener.

In that second game, West Liberty overcame a 3-1 deficit with a four-run uprising in the bottom of the fifth – highlighted by Andrew Henry's three-run triple. The hosts put the game on ice with four more tallies in the sixth on matching two-run doubles off the bats of Tim Mirandy and Mike Johnson.

Henry drove in four runs with a single and a triple while Travis Denman added a double and a single and Josh Nagel had a pair of singles.

In the opener, Charleston (19-24, 15-16) scored all five of its runs in the top of the fifth, thanks in large part to an Igor Molina grand slam, and a trio of Golden Eagle hurlers held the Hilltoppers at bay. West Liberty got the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't bring them home.

Mirandy had a double and a single while Anthony Pierro smacked out a pair of singles. D.J. Busby singled and drove in a pair of runs and Henry chipped in with an RBI single.

West Liberty will try to lock up a WVIAC Tournament berth at home this weekend in a three-game series against Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit.  The teams will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday before closing out the regular season on Sunday with a 9-inning game at 1 p.m.

BASEBALL

Charleston 5, West Liberty 4

Charleston 000 050 0 – 5  10  0

West Liberty 200 020 0 – 4  10  0

UC: Ciolfi wp (4SO, 3W), Oldham (5) (0SO, 0W), Lakatos (7) (1SO, 0W) and Iacovone. Molina HR, S, 4rbi; Collin D, S; Foster 2S

WLU: Secore lp (1SO, 2W), Daugherty (5) (1SO, 1W) and Nagel. Mirandy D, S; Pierro 2S; Busby S, 2rbi; Henry S, rbi

West Liberty 9, Charleston 3

Charleston 000 030 0 – 3    6  0

West Liberty 100 044 x – 9  11  1

UC: Chiaramonte lp (2SO, 6W), Brunetti (6) (0SO, 0W) and Iacovone, Hathaway (7). Collin D, S, 2rbi; Itnyre 2S

WLU: Peterson wp (3SO, 1W) and Nagel. Henry T, S, 4rbi; Denman D, S; Nagel 2S; Mirandy D, 2rbi; Johnson D, 2rbi; Castilow S, rbi