Softball | 2/24/2019 6:40:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4     FLORENCE, S.C. – The West Liberty University softball team took on a pair of quality southern opponents in this weekend's Swamp Fox Sizzler but came away empty-handed.
    Coach Herb Minch's Hilltoppers dropped an 11-3 decision to host Francis Marion (S.C.) on Saturday morning before falling to Queens (N.C.), 5-3, in a Saturday afternoon contest. Francis Marion (13-3) took a 10-2 decision over WLU on Sunday before Queens (7-4) handed the Black and Gold an 8-2 setback in their final game of the tournament.
    Sunday's games were pushed back a couple of hours due to overnight rain but Kat Donzella got West Liberty (2-8) off to a fast start against FMU with a solo home run in the top of the first.
    The hard-hitting Patriots wouldn't be denied, however, slamming three home runs and scoring in every inning but the fifth to bring the 8-run mercy rule into effect after six innings.
    West Liberty finished with six hits. Katie Beeman singled and slammed a solo homer in the top of the sixth to account for WLU's other run.
    It was a similar story for the Black and Gold in Sunday's second game against Queens as WLU plated single tallies in each of the first two frames to open up a 2-0 lead and the Royals responded to the challenge.
    Queens picked up a run in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half and then put up back-to-back 3-run innings in the fourth and fifth to take the lead for good.
    Kate Meloun singled twice and drove in a run for West Liberty while Anna Paterson had the team's other RBI single. Skylar Fankhauser tripled while Donzella and Allie Cook chipped in with doubles in a losing cause.
    On Saturday, the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in their morning game against Francis Marion but couldn't hang on against the powerful hosts.
    Donzella got WLU started with a 2-run circuit blast in the top of the first and Cook made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the third but FMU batted around to score 8 runs in the bottom of the third before adding 3 more scores in the fourth to invoke the mercy rule after 4 1/2 innings.
    West Liberty also led for much of Saturday's second game against Queens but the Royals snapped a 3-3 deadlock with two runs in the top of the seventh to pull out the 5-3 win.
    Individual stats were unavailable from Saturday's second game due to technical difficulties.
    The Hilltoppers will be idle until March 8 when they head to Salem, Va. to compete in the Salem Invitational.
  West Liberty                100 001 –   2    6  1
Francis Marion           321 202 – 10  12  0
     WLU: R.Bennington lp (2SO, 1W), Paterson (3) (2SO, 0W), Amend (5) (1SO, 1W) and Donzella. Beeman HR, S, rbi; Donzella HR, rbi; Cook D
     FMU: Ellard wp (11SO, 1W) and Welty. Johnson 2HR, D, 5rbi; Welty HR, S, rbi; Buccilli 2S, rbi; Karacson S, 2rbi West Liberty                 110 000 0 – 2  6  2
Queens                            001 331 x – 8  7  0
     WLU: Amend lp (2SO, 4W), Bosley (4) (1SO, 1W), McConnell (4) (1SO, 0W), R.Bennington (6) (0SO, 1W) and Donzella. K.Meloun 2S, rbi; Paterson S, rbi; Fankhauser T; Donzella D; Cook D
     QU: Hunter (2SO, 1W), Pearson wp (4) (5SO, 3W) and Hunt. Hunt HR, 3rbi; McCullen D, S, 2rbi; Valchar HR, rbi; Patton D; Robinson D
Saturday West Liberty                     201 00 –   3  5  3
Francis Marion                008 3x – 11  9  2
     WLU: Amend lp (2SO, 4W), Paterson (3) (5SO, 2W) and Donzella. Donzella HR, S, 2rbi; Cook S, rbi
     FMU: Hemingway wp (2SO, 4W) and Welty. Je.Harney HR, S, 5rbi; Bucilli D, S, rbi; Ja.Harney D, rbi; Karacson S, rbi; Johnson S, rbi