Baseball | 4/30/2016 4:33:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Mark Smyth set a career record for pitching wins here Saturday afternoon as the West Liberty University baseball team split a Mountain East Conference doubleheader with Fairmont State.
Smyth hurled Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (24-19, 12-14) to a 7-1 win in the opener before the Falcons (18-26, 9-19) eked out a 2-1 nod in the finale.
West Liberty built a 7-0 lead over the first four innings in the first game, providing more than enough cushion for Smyth to cruise to his record-setting 22nd career win. The previous career record of 21 victories was held by Jim Monnot (1985-88).
The senior standout from Richmond, Ohio improved to 7-3 on the season by scattering six hits while striking out eight and walking only two batters. The 7 wins are tied for first in the MEC this year.
The Hilltoppers pounded out 13 hits in support of Smyth. Mike Adams had three singles and drove in a run while Ethan Estes added a double, single and RBI. Nolan Marcus and Jordon Meyer each donated two singles and an RBI while D.J. Busby and Justice Jackson weighed in with run-scoring singles.
In the second game, Fairmont ace Logan Johnson escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the top of the first and dodged several WLU bullets the rest of the way to win a pitcher's duel against the Hilltoppers' Greg Stagani.
West Liberty had at least one baserunner in every inning with the exception of the second frame but never had a better scoring opportunity than the first when the first three batters of the game loaded the bases with an error and back-to-back singles.
Johnson bore down to strike out the next two batters and closed out the inning with an infield grounder to keep the visitors off the board. The Hilltoppers spoiled Johnson's shutout bid in the top of the ninth when Ethan Estes doubled and came home on a two-out infield error but it was too little, too late.
Stagani was nearly as untouchable as Johnson, striking out eight and walking one in a complete-game effort. The Falcons parlayed a walk and back-to-back singles into the game's first run in the bottom of the fifth before tacking on what proved to be a crucial unearned run in the bottom of the eighth.
Estes had a double and a single for WLU while Meyer added a pair of base knocks in a losing cause.
The teams will close out the weekend series here tomorrow with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
BASEBALL
West Liberty 7, Fairmont State 1
West Liberty 122 200 0 - 7 13 0
Fairmont State 000 001 0 - 1 6 3
WLU: Smyth wp (8SO, 2W) and Carranza. Adams 3S, rbi; Estes D, S, rbi; Marcus 2S, rbi; Meyer 2S, rbi; Busby S, rbi; Jackson S, rbi
FSU: Opferman lp (2SO, 0W), Ransom (5) (1SO, 1W) and Levitan. Norman D, S; Levitan D; Whitmore S, rbi
Fairmont State 2, West Liberty 1
West Liberty 000 000 000 - 0 6 1
Fairmont State 000 010 01x - 2 8 3
WLU: Stagani lp (7SO, 1W) and Francis, Carranza (7). Estes D, S; Meyer 2S
FSU: Johnson wp (6SO, 2W) and Hessler. Rush 2S, rbi; Meeker S, rbi
