WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University softball team split a Mountain East Conference doubleheader with Ohio County rival Wheeling Tuesday afternoon at the WLU Softball Complex.
    The Hilltoppers (23-17-1, 13-8) coasted to a 6-2 win in the opener only to see the Cardinals (10-27, 3-19) snap their 18-game losing streak in the finale with an 8-0 shutout win.
    In the first game, West Liberty scored all six of its runs in the first three innings and Annie Paterson scattered seven hits in her sixth complete game of the season for the win.
    Sidney Little tripled, singled and drove in a run while Anna Welsh added a double and two RBIs and Lauren Garcia chipped in with an RBI single. Paterson had seven strikeouts and no walks in her route-going performance.
    In the second game, the Cardinals' Madison Macy fired a 3-hit complete-game gem and the visitors took advantage of some in shaky Black and Gold fielding to earn the split.
    Macy kept the Hilltoppers off-balance at the plate throughout, giving up just two singles and a double while walking two and getting only one strikeout as her teammates played errorless ball behind her.
    A pair of West Liberty errors helped Wheeling break the game open as six of the Cardinals' eight runs went into the books as unearned. Gina Fogle paced Wheeling's 8-hit barrage, driving in three runs with a home run, double and triple. Katelynn Blair doubled in a losing cause for WLU.
    The Hilltoppers will be back in action at the WLU Softball Complex on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Fairmont State.
  Wheeling                                000 002 0 - 2  7  2
West Liberty                          123 000 x - 6  7  0
     WU: Bumbico lp (1SO, 1W), Anderson (3) (1SO, 3W) and Florczak. Oehlstrom S, rbi; Fogle D
     WLU: Paterson wp (7SO, 0W) and M.Blair. Little T, S, rbi; Welsh D, 2rbi; Garcia S, rbi
  Wheeling                                002 020 4 - 8  8  0
West Liberty                          000 000 0 - 0  3  2
     WU: Macy wp (1SO, 2W) and Florczak. Fogle HR, D, S, 3rbi; Florczak D, rbi; Paxson S, rbi; Hradek S, rbi; Slomkowski S, rbi
     WLU: Amend lp (3SO, 0W), Bennington (6) (0SO, 1W) and Petrucci. K.Blair D