Softball | 3/6/2021 6:28:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2     COLUMBUS, Ohio – The West Liberty University softball team came up short here Saturday in the last two games of the Ohio Dominican Classic.
    Coach Herb Minch's Hilltoppers (0-4) opened the day with a 7-3 setback against Saginaw Valley State before bringing down the curtain with a 4-3 loss to host Ohio Dominican.
    Saginaw Valley's combination of the long ball and a strong performance in the circle proved too much to overcome in the first game.
     A pair of three-run homers by the Cardinals (7-1) provided more than enough breathing room for sophomore righty Jackie Groves, who carried a one-hit shutout into the seventh before the Hilltoppers broke through.
    An RBI single by Taylor Scott broke up the shutout bid and a two-run single off the bat of Allie Cook brought the tying run to the on-deck circle before Groves was able to end the game with her sixth strikeout of the day.
    West Liberty battled back from a 4-0 deficit to fall just short in the finale against the Panthers (3-5).
    Ohio Dominican appeared to have things well in hand, carrying that four-run lead into the sixth inning but that's when the Hilltopper bats rumbled to life.
    A single and an error put runners on second and third with one out and Katie Beeman brought them both home with her second double of the game. Connor Assif singled Beeman over to third and Annie Paterson brought her home with a sacrifice fly to left, cutting the lead to 4-3 before ODU wriggled out of the inning.
    West Liberty got the tying run to second base with one out in the top of the seventh but a groundout and strikeout ended the game.
    Beeman had two doubles and two RBIs while Assif added a pair of singles to pace the WLU attack. Paterson came on in relief to shut down the Panther offense, holding ODU to just one hit while striking out five over the final three frames.
    The Hilltoppers return home to host Salem University on Monday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at the WLU Softball Complex.
     Saginaw Valley State                         400 030 0 – 7  7  0
West Liberty                                         000 000 3 – 3  5  4
     SVSU: Groves wp (6SO, 3W) and Moyler. Moos HR, 3rbi; Gills HR, 3rbi; Salisbury D
     WLU: Bennington lp (3SO, 3W), Bonnett (7) (0SO, 2W) and Donzella. Scott S, rbi
  West Liberty                                         000 003 0 – 3  6  2
Ohio Dominican                                   030 100 x – 4  4  0
     WLU: Garcia lp (2SO, 3W), Patterson (4) (5SO, 0W) and Donzella. Beeman 2D, 2rbi; Assif 2S
     ODU: Smodilla wp (4SO, 1W). Rettke (6) (1SO, 0W) and Meents. Hackerd D, 3rbi; Stevens D