Baseball | 3/1/2014 10:55:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team stretched its winning streak to six games on Saturday with their second doubleheader sweep of Charleston in as many days at Triana Field.
Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (6-1, 4-0) handed the Golden Eagles (2-4, 0-4) a 4-2 loss in Saturday's opener and followed that up with a 1-0 whitewashing in the finale.
In the first game, West Liberty used some quality situational hitting to put together a 3-run rally in the top of the fourth before tacking on an insurance run in the seventh.
The Hilltoppers' three fourth-inning tallies came on a bases-loaded walk followed by a pair of sacrifice flys. Tim Mirandy's RBI double capped the scoring in the top of the seventh.
That was more than enough offense to make a winner of Yale Hughes, who held UC to just 5 singles in a route-going performance on the hill while striking out 3 and issuing just one walk. Brunner and Jordan Meyer each had multi-hit games for the Black and Gold.
Hilltopper junior ace Mike Reef was even more dominant in the second game, firing a one-hit shutout to help West Liberty complete the sweep.
Charleston's lone hit was a single by Zach Gunter with one out in the bottom of the fifth. The Golden Eagles got runners to second and third in that inning but Reef flagged down a line drive up the middle and doubled the runner off second to end the threat.
The Hilltoppers scored the game's only run in the top of the sixth when Mike Johnson bashed a one-out double, took third on a wild pitch and jogged home on an RBI single off the bat of D.J. Busby.
West Liberty will look to build on its momentum Saturday when it heads to Buckhannon for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against West Virginia Wesleyan.
BASEBALL
West Liberty 4, Charleston 2
West Liberty 000 300 1 – 4 8 1
Charleston 001 100 0 – 2 5 2
WLU: Y.Hughes wp (3SO, 1W) and Carranza. Brunner D, S; J.Meyer 2S; Mirandy D, rbi; Carranza S, rbi
UC: Shreve lp (2SO, 2W) and Kirk. Itnyre 2S, rbi
West Liberty 1, Charleston 0
West Liberty 000 001 0 – 1 4 0
Charleston 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
WLU: Reef wp (3SO, 2W) and Francis. Busby S, rbi; Pierro D; Johnson D
UC: Chiaramon lp (4SO, 1W) and Gunter. Gunter S
