Baseball | 3/1/2014 10:41:00 AM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team got off to a flying start in Mountain East Conference play Friday afternoon by sweeping a doubleheader at the University of Charleston.
    Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (4-1, 2-0) pounded out 22 hits and backed up some outstanding pitching performances with errorless defense in posting 9-0 and 3-2 wins against the Golden Eagles (2-2, 0-2).
    In the opener, Mark Smyth dominated UC hitters in a 5-hit shutout and West Liberty jumped on the hosts with 7 runs in the first two innings to give Smyth plenty of breathing room.
    Smyth struck out 7 and didn't walk a batter while scattering 5 singles. Taylor Snare led a 12-hit Hilltopper barrage with 4 RBIs on a pair of singles while Dylan Pounds chased home two runs on two base knocks. D.J. Busby and Jon-Michael Brunner also had multi-hit games and Jose Carranza chipped in with an RBI single.
    In the second game, WLU snapped a 1-1 tie with two runs in the top of the second and the mound duo of Dylan Grosul and Greg Stagani made those stand up to complete the sweep.
    Grosul earned the win with 5 strong innings of work, striking out 4 and giving up 3 walks. Stagani hurled the last two innings to earn the save, striking out the last batter in the bottom of the seventh with the tying run on third.
    Busby highlighted what proved to be the winning rally with an RBI double in the second and also had another single during the game. Jordan Meyer and Tim Mirandy each had two singles while Brunner had a single and an RBI.
    The teams will close out the weekend series on Saturday with another doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m.
 
BASEBALL
West Liberty 9, Charleston 0
West Liberty                     430 002 0 – 9  12  0
Charleston                         000 000 0 – 0    5  1
    WLU: Smyth wp (7SO, 0W) and Carranza. Snare 2S, 4rbi; Pounds 2S, 2rbi; Busby 2S; Brunner 2S; Carranza S, rbi
    UC: Austin lp (2SO, 4W), Hooper (4) (1SO, 1W), Yingling (6) (0SO, 0W) and Kirk. Johnson 2S.
 
West Liberty 3, Charleston 2
West Liberty                     120 000 0 – 3  10  0
Charleston                         101 000 0 – 2    7  1
    WLU: Grosul wp (4SO, 3W), Stagani (6) (2SO, 1W) and Francis. Busby D, S, rbi; Meyer 2S; Mirandy 2S; Brunner S, rbi
    UC: Hoyer lp (3SO, 1W) and Gunter. Foster 2D; Burnetti 2S, rbi