SALEM, Va. – The West Liberty University softball team dropped into the losers bracket at the inaugural Mountain East Conference tournament on Thursday with an 11-3 loss to Urbana in a first-round game at the Moyer Sports Complex.
    The Hilltoppers hung tough early, scoring three runs in the top of the second to forge a 3-3 deadlock, but the No. 5-seeded Blue Knights.
    Jenn Young got things started with a leadoff double and came around to score on a throwing error. Later in the frame, Emily Harvey tripled home a run and jogged home with the third tally of the inning on an RBI single off the bat of Damia Mogielski.
    Urbana went ahead to stay on Morgan Haer's three-run homer in the bottom of the third before closing out the game with a five-run uprising in the bottom of the sixth.
    Young led the WLU attack with a double and two singles.
    The Hilltoppers will try to stay alive in the double-elimination event Friday at 2:30 p.m. when they take on No. 3 seed Fairmont State in a losers' bracket game. The Falcons were upset by Notre Dame (Ohio), 6-4, in a winners' bracket game Thursday night.
 
SOFTBALL
MEC Tournament
First Round
Urbana 11, West Liberty 3
West Liberty            030 000 –   3    7  1
Urbana                     303 005 – 11  12  1
    WLU: Creamer lp (1SO, 3W), Mihalik (1SO, 2W) and Burke. Young D, 2S; Harvey T, rbi; Mogielski S, rbi
    Urb: Kolmerten wp (3SO, 1W) and Skinner. Skinner 3S, rbi; Edwards 2S, 2rbi; Braithwaite 2S; Martin D, 3rbi; Haer HR, 3rbi