Softball | 3/8/2016 8:44:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Savana Sieger picked up her first shutout win of the season here Tuesday, helping the West Liberty University softball team to a doubleheader split at Lynn University.
Coach Jim Bacca's Hilltoppers (2-8) rode Sieger's strong right arm to a 1-0 victory in the opener but the host Knights (9-15) bounced back with a 9-1 win in the second game. In the opener, Sieger didn't strike out a batter but kept the Knights off the board by scattering six singles and issuing only one walk. West Liberty managed only three singles of its own against Lynn's Francais Olexa but a little "small ball" combined with a clutch at-bat produced the game's only run in the bottom of the fifth.
Nicki Mihalik opened the inning by drawing WLU's only walk of the game. Julie Tenney sacrificed her to second and Mihalik stole third with Kelsi Johnson at the plate. Johnson flied out to left, not deep enough to score Mihalik, bringing Taylor Zeiger to the plate with two out and the tie-breaking run on third. Zeiger, who had delivered West Liberty's first hit in the top of the third, worked the count full against Olexa and then fouled off two straight 3-2 pitches before ripping a single up the middle to bring Mihalik trotting home from third.
Sieger made the lone run stand up, holding Lynn to just one single over the final three frames to complete the shutout.
The Knights jumped on the Black and Gold with four first-inning runs in the second game and never looked back.
Sieger had two singles and drove in the Hilltoppers' only run in the top of the third. Taylor Paladino also had a pair of base knocks while Kylee Ensign had a triple and Tenney added a double. West Liberty heads to Clermont, Fla. for a pair of games on Wednesday. The Hilltoppers take on Concordia (N.Y.) at 9 a.m. and follow that up immediately with an 11 a.m. game against Indiana (Pa.)
SOFTBALL
West Liberty 1, Lynn 0
West Liberty 000 010 0 - 1 3 1
Lynn 000 000 0 - 0 6 1
WLU: Sieger wp (0SO, 1W) and Mogielski. Zieger 2S, rbi; Mihalik S
L: Olexa lp (2SO, 1W) and Capitini.
Lynn 9, West Liberty 1
West Liberty 001 000 - 1 8 2
Lynn 410 031 - 9 10 0
WLU: Barr lp (0SO, 2W), Zeiger (2) (0SO, 0W), Higgenbotham (6) (0SO, 0W) and Collett. Sieger 2S, rbi; Paladino 2S; Ensign T; Tenney D
L: Key wp (0SO, 1W) and Rios. White 2D, S, 3rbi; Olexa D, S, rbi; Rios HR, rbi
