CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team bowed out of the 2023 Mountain East Conference Tournament here Friday night with a 10-6 loss to Frostburg State in an elimination game played at the University of Charleston.

    The Bobcats led wire-to-wire after jumping on Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers for four runs in the top of the first inning. The Black and Gold mounted several comeback attempts but couldn't hold the Frostburg State bats at bay.

    West Liberty cut the lead to 4-2 with single runs in the second and third frames only to see FSU push three runs across the plate in the top of the fourth and add two more in the sixth for a 9-2 lead.

    The Hilltoppers fought back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth and added one more in the seventh to pull within striking distance at 9-6 but the Bobcats tacked on one more run in the top of the eighth and WLU was out of answers.

    Ryan Talbert doubled and singled as part of WLU's 11-hit attack. Zach Hawkins chased home two runs on a pair of singles while Will Balgo singled twice and drove in a run. Brad Goodyear had an RBI double to highlight the Hilltoppers' three-run sixth inning.

BASEBALL

MEC Tournament

(at Charleston, W.Va.)

GAME SEVEN

Frostburg State 10, West Liberty 6

Frostburg State       400 302 010 - 10  12  1

West Liberty             011 003 100 -   6  11  0

     FSU: Pippin wp (5SO, 0W), Vermillion (6) (0SO, 0W), Huyer (7) (1SO, 1W), Vok (8) (3SO, 1W) and Jimenez. Kiple 2D, S, 2rbi; Steen 3S, rbi; Campbell HR, D, 3rbi; Allison D, S, rbi; Jones D, 2rbi

     WLU: Harmon lp (1SO, 0W), Conley (2) (1SO, 2W), Clark (5) (0SO, 1W), Graebe (6) (0SO, 0W), Dobson (7) (1SO, 1W), Pennybacker (9) (1SO, 2W) and Z.Hawkins. Talbert D, S; Z.Hawkins 2S, 2rbi; Balgo 2S, rbi; Goodyear D, rbi