Softball | 4/13/2018 7:19:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University softball team scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to rally past West Virginia Wesleyan, 7-5, in the second game of Friday afternoon's Mountain East Conference doubleheader at the WLU Softball Complex.
    Coach Herb Minch's Hilltoppers (13-17, 7-13) came close to a sweep of the league-leading Bobcats (25-10, 16-4) but Wesleyan escaped with a 1-0 victory in the opener.
    That game was a classic pitchers duel between WLU's Makenzie Amend and Wesleyan's Hannah Vet, the reigning MEC Pitcher of the Week.
    Amend more than held up her end of the bargain, retiring the first nine batters she faced while striking out four and not walking a batter in six strong innings.
    Unfortunately for the Black and Gold, the Bobcats broke up the scoreless deadlock with a two-out RBI single in the top of the fourth and the hosts couldn't come up with the equalizer.
    The Hilltoppers didn't get a runner to second base against Vet until there were two out in the bottom of the seventh. The Bobcat ace struck out the next batter to finish off a four-hit shutout, earning her 16th win of the season against only three losses.
    The second game was a see-saw affair from the start as Wesleyan jumped out quickly with three runs in the top of the first only to see West Liberty counter with two runs in the second and two more in the third to take a 4-3 lead.
    The Bobcats went back on top with two runs in the top of the fifth but WLU scratched out an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth to knot the count again at 5-5.
    Amend, who had come on in relief during the fifth inning, struck out the side in the top of the sixth and the West Liberty offense went back to work.
    Katie Beeman and Skylar Fankhauser drew one-out walks and the Bobcats brought Vet into the circle to face Kelsi Johnson, who had already pounded out a couple of hits during the game.
    Johnson greeted Vet with a ringing double down the left field line, chasing home both runners for a 7-5 Hilltopper lead, and Amend slammed the door in the seventh to finish off the win.
    After being held to just four singles in the first game, West Liberty ripped out 10 hits in the finale.
    Johnson led the way with a double, two singles and three RBIs while Haley Collett added a pair of singles and drove in a run. Katie Beeman started the scoring with a two-run double in the second inning while Connor Assif singled and drove in a pair of runs.
    The Lady Hilltoppers will host Glenville State on Saturday in another MEC twinbill.
  W.Va. Wesleyan                              000 100 0 - 1  4  0
West Liberty                                      000 000 0 - 0  4  0
     WVW: Vet wp (4SO, 0W) and Scoone. Waggoner S, rbi; Bruce D
     WLU: Amend lp (4SO, 0W), Wright (7) (0SO, 1W) and Donzella, A.Meloun (7).
  W.Va. Wesleyan                            300 020 0 - 5    9  2
West Liberty                                   022 012 0 - 7  10  1
     WVW: Shires (0SO, 0W), Bourne lp (3) (1SO, 3W), Vet (6) (0SO, 0W) and Scoone. King 2D, rbi; Scoone 2S; Gutierrez HR, 2rbi; Waggoner S, 2rbi
     WLU: Sieger (0SO, 0W), Wright (3) (0SO, 1W), Amend wp (5) (3SO, 1W) and McConnell, A.Meloun (3), Donzella (5). Johnson D, 2S, 3rbi; Collett 2S, rbi; Beeman D, 2rbi; Assif S, 2rbi