BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team dropped both ends of a Mountain East Conference doubleheader against West Virginia Wesleyan Sunday afternoon at Hank Ellis Field.
    Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (3-17, 2-6) came out on the short end of a 7-3 tally in the first game and saw the host Bobcats (10-14, 3-5) hang on for a 9-5 win in the finale.
    West Liberty grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the opener but the hosts plated four runs in the bottom of the second and tacked on two more in the third to take control.
    Chad Harper drove in the first two Hilltopper runs with an RBI triple in the second inning and an RBI single in the fourth. Chad Matthus added an RBI single in the top of the seventh to close out the scoring.
    The Hilltoppers pounded out 10 hits in the second game but couldn't dig themselves out of an early 6-0 hole.
    Jason Schutte had a big game at the plate, lacing out a double to go along with two singles and scoring a couple of runs. Coby Eckstein had two singles and an RBI and Dalton Davis chipped in with a run-scoring double.
    Colton Coss and Eric Banal also singled and drove in a run in a losing cause.
    West Liberty returns home this weekend for a pair of MEC twinbills. The Hilltoppers will host West Virginia State on Saturday with the University of Charleston driving up Route 88 on Sunday. Both doubleheaders are set for 1 p.m. starts.