Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

West Liberty University Athletics

Scoreboard

University logo on load main

West Liberty Clinches 2nd Place in MEC North

Baseball | 5/8/2017 7:16:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 WHEELING, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team locked up second place in the Mountain East Conference North Division here Monday with a 9-2 rout of Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit in the first game of a doubleheader at the I-470 Complex.
Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (28-19, 21-11) wound up taking three of four games from the Cardinals (7-35, 6-24) in the final series of the MEC regular season. After being swept on Sunday, Jesuit eked out a 3-2 decision in Monday's final game for its lone win of the weekend.
West Liberty came into Monday's doubleheader needing one win to clinch the North Division's No. 2 seed in this week's MEC Tournament and took care of business in a hurry.
Coby Eckstein gave WLU a quick 2-0 lead in the opener with a 2-out, 2-run single in the bottom of the first and the Black and Gold never took their foot off the gas.
Ethan Estes broke the game open with a 3-run double in the second inning and WLU wrapped up the scoring in the fourth frame. That's when Yale Hughes followed Mike Adams' 2-run double - his second 2-bagger of the game - with an absolute bomb over the right field wall.
Mitchell Viakley struck out four and walked one over the first four innings to earn the win on the hill. Nick Naumann and Trevor Stewart closed things out with three innings of scoreless relief.
In the second game, Jesuit scored twice in the top of the first but the Hilltoppers answered with a two-spot of their own in the third inning. The 2-2 tie held up until Jesuit scored to grab a 3-2 lead.
The Hilltoppers loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the frame but couldn't come up with the game-winning hit.
Eckstein and Justice Jackson each had a pair of hits for West Liberty while Adams drove in the Hilltoppers' only runs with a 2-run single in the third.
West Liberty heads to Epling Stadium in Beckley, W.Va. on Thursday for the opening round of the MEC Tournament. The Hilltoppers close out Thursday's first round action with a 7 p.m. game against an opponent to be determined.

West Liberty 9, Wheeling Jesuit 2
Wheeling Jesuit 000 200 0 - 2  4  0
West Liberty 230 400 x - 9  5  1
WJU: Finch lp (1SO, 4W), Luciano (4) (1SO, 0W) and Davis. Jacob S, rbi; 
WLU: Viakley wp (4SO, 1W), Naumann (5) (2SO, 1W), Stewart (7) (0SO, 0W) and Harper. Adams 2D, 2rbi; Y.Hughes HR, 2rbi; Estes D, 3rbi; Eckstein S, 2rbi

Wheeling Jesuit 3, West Liberty 2
Wheeling Jesuit 200 000 1 - 3  8  0
West Liberty 002 000 0 - 2  7  0
WJU: Sunnafrank wp (8SO, 1W) and Sancomb. Sunnafrank D, S; Sancomb 2S; Schickler D, 2rbi; Brake S, rbi
WLU: Taylor (2SO, 1W), Marcus lp (5) (1SO, 1W) and Rojas. Jackson 2S; Eckstein 2S; Adams S, 2rbi
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Coby Eckstein

#7 Coby Eckstein

IF
6' 2"
Sophomore
Ethan Estes

#2 Ethan Estes

IF
5' 10"
Junior
Yale Hughes

#16 Yale Hughes

P
6' 4"
Senior
Justice Jackson

#12 Justice Jackson

OF
6' 1"
Junior
Nick Naumann

#15 Nick Naumann

P
5' 8"
Senior
Trevor Stewart

#22 Trevor Stewart

P
5' 11"
Junior
Mitch Viakley

#43 Mitch Viakley

P
6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Coby Eckstein

#7 Coby Eckstein

6' 2"
Sophomore
IF
Ethan Estes

#2 Ethan Estes

5' 10"
Junior
IF
Yale Hughes

#16 Yale Hughes

6' 4"
Senior
P
Justice Jackson

#12 Justice Jackson

6' 1"
Junior
OF
Nick Naumann

#15 Nick Naumann

5' 8"
Senior
P
Trevor Stewart

#22 Trevor Stewart

5' 11"
Junior
P
Mitch Viakley

#43 Mitch Viakley

6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
P