Softball | 4/5/2018 9:13:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

    WISE, Va. – Strong pitching and some timely slugging allowed the UVa-Wise softball team to sweep a Mountain East Conference doubleheader against West Liberty Thursday afternoon at Cavalier Field.
    The host Cavaliers (19-11, 8-6) got a no-hit gem from hard-throwing Taylor Brandts to take a 5-0 win in the opener before handing Coach Herb Minch's Hilltoppers (10-12, 4-8) a 7-5 loss in the finale.
    Brandts and WLU freshman ace Makenzie Amend turned the first game into a classic pitcher's duel. Brandts issued three walks but struck out a dozen West Liberty batters while holding the Black and Gold hitless.
    Amend was nearly as dominant, striking out 13 while giving up only one walk through the first five innings. Unfortunately for the precocious Hilltopper youngster, Nikki Smith broke up the scoreless tie with a 2-out solo homer in the bottom of the third and then put the game out of reach for the hosts with a 3-run circuit blast in the fifth.
    In the second game, WLU freshman Kat Donzella ripped a 3-run homer over the left-centerfield wall in the third and followed that up with a solo blast in the fifth but it wasn't enough as the Cavaliers' Alexis Miles had a grand slam and a 2-run double to account for six of the hosts' seven runs.
    Katie Beeman singled twice and scored a pair of runs for West Liberty while Allie Cook added an RBI single and Katie Higginbotham doubled in a losing cause. Amend had 5 strikeouts in 2.2 innings of one-run relief, giving her 18 strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work on the afternoon.
    The Hilltoppers continue their southern swing on Friday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Concord.
  West Liberty                                      000 000 0 - 0  0  0
UVa-Wise                                            001 031 x - 5  5  0
     WLU: Amend lp (13SO, 1W) Sieger (6) (1SO, 1W) and Donzella.
     UVW: Brandts wp (12SO, 3W) and Henzel. Smith 2HR, 4rbi
  West Liberty                                      103 010 0 - 5  8  1
UVa-Wise                                            040 201 x - 7  6  0
     WLU: Wright lp (1SO, 4W), Bosley (4) (0SO, 1W), Amend (4) (5SO, 1W) and Troggio, A.Meloun (4). Donzella 2HR, 4rbi; Beeman 2S; Cook S, rbi; Higginbotham D
     UVW: Spencer (3SO, 0W), Lapallo wp (1SO, 1W), Brandts (6) (3SO, 0W) and Lawson, Henzel (6). Miles HR, D, 6rbi; Ely HR, S, rbi