Baseball | 2/21/2020 6:32:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2     GREENSBURG, Pa. – The West Liberty University baseball team dropped a pair of one-run decisions here Friday in a non-conference doubleheader against Malone (Ohio).
    Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (0-5) saw the debuting Pioneers come from behind for a 4-3 win in the first game before taking a 5-4 extra-inning decision in the second game. The games were played at the Seton Hill University Baseball Complex.
    In the opener, Malone plated three runs on one hit in the top of the seventh to pull out the come-from-behind win. West Liberty loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning but the Pioneer bullpen sealed the win with a strikeout and infield grounder.
    Luke Nees held Malone to one run on just two hits through the first five innings but Malone starter Eric Mullet struck out 10 of the 20 batters he faces and carried a two-hit shutout into the sixth.
    Mullet left the mound after giving up a hit to the leadoff batter in the bottom of the sixth and the WLU bats rumbled to life. Bailey McGrath tied the game with a one-out RBI double to left. Brian Campbell singled home pinch-runner Jarrett Delbrugge for a 2-1 West Liberty lead.
    Campbell took second on the throw, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an infield error to give the Hilltoppers a 3-1 lead heading into the seventh.
    Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the opportunistic Pioneers took advantage of four walks, a balk, a wild pitch and an RBI single to push three runs across the plate and earn the win. Jason Schutte had two of West Liberty's five hits in the game.
    In the finale, the Hilltoppers scored three runs in the top of the fifth to snap a 1-1 tie only to see Malone bounce back to complete the sweep.
    The Pioneers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the sixth on a hit and two bases on balls. One run scored on a wild pitch but the Hilltoppers gunned one runner down at the plate for the second out of the inning before an infield error cut the lead to 4-3 heading to the seventh.
    The WLU bullpen retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh but a two-out walk followed by a wild pitch and stolen base put the tying run on third. The Hilltoppers were one strike away from victory when Clay Wisner ripped a 3-2 pitch down the left field line for an RBI double to send the game into extra innings.
    West Liberty got runners on first and second with one out in the top of the eighth but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat.
    Malone's leadoff batter was hit by a pitch to start the game-winning rally in the bottom of the inning. A stolen base, wild pitch and two intentional walks loaded the bases before Nate Cobb singled through the left side of a drawn-in infield to chase home the winning run.
    Colton Coss capped WLU's three-run uprising in the fifth with an RBI single while Isaac Rine singled and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Schutte. A pair of Malone errors pushed Eric Banal across the plate after he had led off the inning with a walk.
    Coss led the Black and Gold at the plate with three singles and an RBI while Tyler Ramsay doubled and scored a run. Campbell got West Liberty on the board with an RBI fielders choice in the top of the second.
    The Hilltoppers return to the SHU Baseball Complex on Saturday for a 10:30 a.m. game against Walsh (Ohio).
  Malone                                              000 010 3 – 4  3  2
West Liberty                                     000 003 0 – 3  5  1
     MU: Mullet (10SO, 2W), Cooper wp (6) (0SO, 2W), Stahl (7) (1SO, 1W), Kontur (8) (1SO, 1W) and Yoder, Eslich (7). Hite S, rbi; Crank D
     WLU: Nees (5SO, 2W), Sinisgalli (5) (1SO, 2W), Pennybacker lp (7) (1SO, 3W), Bolander (7) (1SO, 0W) and Rine. Schutte 2S; McGrath D, rbi
  West Liberty                                     010 030 00 – 4  6  4
Malone                                              010 002 11 – 5  6  2
     WLU: Blomquist (5SO, 4W), Orillion (6) (2SO, 1W), Geis lp (8) (1SO, 2W) and Rine. Coss 3S, rbi; Ramsay D
     MU: Walker (6SO, 1W), Jones wp (7) (3SO, 1W) and Eslich. Balzano D, S; Eslich D, rbi; Cobb S, rbi