Baseball | 4/19/2014 6:25:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team split a Mountain East Conference doubleheader with regionally-ranked Shepherd on Saturday, bouncing back with a 5-1 win in the second game to avenge a 7-0 Ram victory in the opener.
Mike Reef hurled a complete-game gem to lead the Hilltoppers (22-19, 19-14) to victory in the finale. After giving up a run on two hits in the bottom of the first, the junior southpaw settled in to blank the Atlantic Region's No. 5-ranked team on just four hits the rest of the way.
In the opener, Shepherd (30-9, 28-6) broke up a pitcher's duel with a six-run uprising in the fifth inning and coasted to the win.
The Rams' Ryan Pansch spun a three-hit shutout, striking out nine without walking a batter. D.J. Busby had all three of the Hilltoppers' hits, a triple and two singles.
The road doesn't get any easier for West Liberty as the Hilltoppers return to action on April 26 with a 1 p.m. twinbill at Concord, ranked No. 7 in the region.
BASEBALL
Shepherd 7, West Liberty 0
West Liberty 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
Shepherd 000 160 x – 7 9 0
WLU: Pare lp (3SO, 2W), Fuscardo (5) (1SO, 0W) and Carranza. Busby T, 2S
Shep: Pansch wp (9SO, 0W) and Wolfe. Messina HR, S, 3rbi; Wolfe D, S, rbi; Lott 2S
West Liberty 5, Shepherd 1
West Liberty 002 200 1 – 5 7 0
Shepherd 100 000 0 – 1 6 1
WLU: Reef wp (3SO, 4W) and Francis. Johnson D, 2S, rbi; Mirandy S, rbi; Francis S, rbi
Shep: Hale lp (0SO, 2W), West (4) (5SO, 2W), Thomas (7) (1SO, 0W) and Hepple. Lott 2S
