GREENSBURG, Pa. – The West Liberty University baseball team saw its four-game winning streak snapped in frustrating fashion here Tuesday afternoon as host Seton Hill scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 12th inning to escape with a 6-5 decision.

    It was the ninth straight win for the Griffins (16-7), a perennial NCAA Division II Atlantic Region power, but Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (9-14) battled right down to the wire.

    West Liberty jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when Will Balgo launched a three-run home run over the left field wall in the top of the second inning.

    Seton Hill got two runs back in the bottom of the inning and tacked on single tallies in the third and fourth frames to take a 4-3 lead.

    That one-run advantage proved short-lived as Ty Helmke ripped a two-run circuit blast over the right field fence in the top of the fifth, putting the Hilltoppers back on top by a 5-4 count in the scheduled 9-inning game.

    The Griffins tied it at 5-5 with a run in the bottom of the seventh and the teams traded zeros until the bottom of the 12th. Seton Hill's Vincenzo Rauso worked a one-out walk and promptly stole second base. Rauso took third on a Logan Vietmeier grounder to the right side that was bobbled for an error.

    Another stolen base put runners on second and third so the Hilltoppers walked the next batter to load the bases. Unfortunately, a wild pitch allowed Rauso to come sprinting home with the winning run.

    Balgo and Helmke each had multi-hit games, picking up singles to go along with their home runs. James Salvatori had a pair of singles and Jake Sherman doubled as part of WLU's 9-hit attack.

    West Liberty hits the Mountain East Conference road on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Glenville State.

BASEBALL

Seton Hill 6, West Liberty 5

(one out when winning run scored)

West Liberty      030 020 000 000 - 5    9  1

Seton Hill (Pa.)  021 100 100 001 - 6  12  0

     WLU: Winter (1SO, 0W), Harmon (4) (1SO, 1W), Clark lp (8) (3SO, 3W) and Cottrell, Jackson. Balgo HR, S, 3rbi; Helmke HR, S, 2rbi; Salvatori 2S; Sherman D

     SHU: Vecchiolla (2SO, 0W), Dancu (2) (1SO, 1W), Laird (3) (1SO, 0W), Wetzler (5) (2SO, 0W), Marinchak (6) (3SO, 0W), Dowey (8) (6SO, 2W), Wood wp (10) (6SO, 0W) and Durham. Durham HR, D, S, 2rbi; Whalen 3S, rbi; Mandler 2S; Rauso S, rbi