Baseball | 4/5/2018 8:44:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

    ASHLAND, Ohio – The West Liberty University baseball team dropped both ends of a marathon non-conference doubleheader at Ashland University on a bright but chilly Thursday afternoon.
    Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (9-12) came out on the short end of a 24-10 slugfest in the opener before seeing the Eagles (14-9) come from behind to take a 7-6 decision in the finale as dusk settled in on Donges Field.
    In the first game, Ashland batted around in the bottom of the first to grab an early 6-0 lead but West Liberty answered with a 4-run uprising in the top of the second. The Eagles responded with 7 runs in the bottom of the frame and the teams went on to combine for 34 runs on 33 hits in a 7-inning game that lasted well over three hours.
    Bub Haddox continued to swing a hot bat for the Hilltoppers, driving in three runs with a homer, two singles and a double while Justice Jackson also had a multi-hit game with a pair of singles. Coby Eckstein clubbed a solo home run and Hunter Westlake added a 2-run single while Tyler Ramsay and Tyler Cooley each had run-scoring singles.
    The Eagles got off to another fast start in the nightcap, scoring five times in the bottom of the first to erase an early 2-0 WLU advantage.
    Jackson highlighted a 4-run third inning for the Hilltoppers with a 3-run homer to put the visitors on top, 6-5, but Ashland scratched out single tallies in the fourth and fifth frames to eke out the win.
    Eckstein and Ramsay each contributed a double, single and RBI in a losing cause.
    West Liberty returns "home" to host Notre Dame (Ohio) in a weekend Mountain East Conference series at Wild Things Park in Washington, Pa. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are scheduled to play a Saturday night doubleheader with games at 7 and 9:30 p.m. followed by a Sunday twinbill at 2 and 4:30 p.m.
  West Liberty                               042 130 0 - 10  12  3
Ashland                                        672 504 x - 24  21  1
     WLU: Cooper lp (0SO, 2W), Stocklask (1) (0SO, 2W), Follina (2) (0SO, 1W), Taylor (4) (0SO, 0W), Blomquist (4) (4SO, 1W), Gruber (6) (0SO, 1W) and Davis, Cooley (2). V.Haddox HR, D, 2S, 3rbi; Jackson 2S; Eckstein HR, rbi; Westlake S, 2rbi; Ramsay S, rbi; Cooley S, rbi
     AU: Bewley (3SO, 3W), Rice wp (4) (3SO, 2W), Whitehead (6) (2SO, 1W) and Laikos. Berleben 3HR, 7rbi; Rogers HR, T, S, 5rbi; Mittermaier D, 2S, 2rbi; Ludwig HR, 3rbi; Allen D, rbi; Littrell 2S; Vanata 2S; Laikos 2S
  West Liberty                               204 000 0 - 6  8  2
Ashland                                        500 110 x - 7  6  0
     WLU: Sinisgalli (1SO, 2W), Marcus lp (4) (1SO, 1W), Nees (6) (2SO, 0W) and Cooley. Eckstein D, S, rbi; Ramsay D, S, rbi; Jackson HR, 3rbi
     AU: Teachout (5SO, 2W), Smith (3) (2SO, 2W), Allen (5) (0SO, 2W), Zorne (5) (1SO, 0W), Stover (6) (1SO, 0W), Hitchcock (7) (1SO, 1W) and Sosa, Hawley (4). Niecikowski HR, 2S, 3rbi; Allen D, 2rbi; Littrell S, rbi