Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

West Liberty University Athletics

Scoreboard

University logo on load main

Hilltopper Softball Opens 2024 with Doubleheaders in North Carolina

2/16/2024 6:15:00 PM

West Liberty, W.Va. – A new era of West Liberty University softball gets underway this weekend as Sara Pelegreen coaches her first games in the Black & Gold. The Hilltoppers are set to play a pair of Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders in Mount Olive, North Carolina, facing USC Beaufort and the hosts of Mount Olive once each day.

GAME DETAILS
  • Location: Mount Olive, North Carolina (Nancy Chapman Cassell Field)
  • First Pitch (Saturday): 10 a.m. first pitch against USC Beaufort and a 3 p.m. first pitch against Mount Olive.
  • First Pitch (Sunday): 1 p.m. first pitch against USC Beaufort and a 3 p.m. first pitch against Mount Olive.
WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES
  • West Liberty went 16-38 (12-20 MEC) during the 2023 season, finishing third in the MEC North Division and advanced to their fourth consecutive conference tournament appearance.
  • The Hilltoppers were picked to finish fourth in the North Division of the 2024 MEC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
  • As a team WLU hit .249 with 340 hits, 64 doubles, seven triples, 19 homeruns, 164 RBI, and 191 runs scored through 54 games played a year ago.
  • Key position players returning for West Liberty include Kayla Mancuso, who earned Second Team All-MEC honors as an outfielder, and Sydney Johnson.
  • Mancuso was second on the team in 2023 with a batting average of .314 and held an on-base percentage of .823, while tallying a total of 37 hits, eight doubles, seven RBI, and was 12-of-14 on stolen base attempts.
  • Johnson held a batting average of .272 and an on-base percentage of .736 a year ago, while tallying a total of 22 hits, six doubles, one triple, and six RBI. Additionally, she went 11-of-15 on stolen base attempts.
  • The Hilltoppers' pitching staff recorded an ERA of 4.37, allowing 464 hits and 129 walks, while throwing 154 strikeouts. Opponents held a .311 batting average against WLU pitchers.
  • In the circle the Hilltoppers return all three starting pitchers from a year ago, including Ashlyn Tapman, Madison Angus, and Leah Alford.
  • Tapman held the lowest ERA among starting pitchers at 3.76 and led the team with 63 strikeouts.
  • Angus recorded the most wins by a Hilltopper pitcher in 2023 with a 6-8 mark, posting an ERA of 3.80 and held a WHIP of 1.54.
  • After two stints at Wheeling where she compiled a 69-130 career record over four years, Sara Pelegreen enters her first season as the head coach at West Liberty.
USC BEAUFORT STORYLINES
  • USC Beaufort enters this weekend's games with a record of 7-1 on the season following a home doubleheader sweep of Savannah State in the "River Rivalry" where they downed the Tigers by scores of 9-0 and 10-1 on Saturday, February 10.
  • The Sand Sharks were picked to finish ninth in the 2024 Peach Belt Conference Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll in their first season as an NCAA Division II member.
  • As a team USCB has hit .425 with 85 hits, 25 doubles, three triples, six homeruns, 67 RBI, and 67 runs scored through eight games played this season.
  • Jaden Goodwin and Devon Weller are the top two batters for USC Beaufort, hitting .727 and .600 respectively on the year with 22 and 15 total at bats. Goodwin has a team-high 16 hits and five doubles.
  • Mariah Stephens has blasted a team-high three home runs in the early portions of the season while maintaining a .304 batting average.
  • The Sand Sharks' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 2.91, allowing 43 hits and 16 walks, while throwing 33 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .242 batting average against USCB pitchers.
  • Cierra Kinlaw leads the USCB pitchers with an ERA of 1.97 while holding opponents to a .213 batting average. She has posted a 3-0 record in four starts, including three complete games.
  • Codee Yeske is in her second season as the head coach at USC Beaufort where she has compiled an 18-42 career record with the Sand Sharks.
SERIES HISTORY
  • Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between West Liberty and USC Beaufort in softball.
MOUNT OLIVE STORYLINES
  • Mount Olive enters this weekend's games with a record of 8-2 on the season following a doubleheader sweep on the road at Cooker where they downed the Cobras by scores of 13-5 and 11-6 on Thursday, February 15.
  • The Trojans were picked to finish fourth in the 2024 Conference Carolinas Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
  • As a team UMO has hit .436 with 126 hits, 22 doubles, two triples, 15 homeruns, 102 RBI, and 114 runs scored through ten games played this season.
  • Laci Best and Kylie Emanuele lead the bats for the Trojans with batting averages of .667 and .600. The pair has four doubles apiece and two and three homeruns respectively.
  • Cana Shrock has posted a team-high five doubles and four homeruns.
  • The Trojans' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 4.43, allowing 63 hits and 23 walks, while throwing 57 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .263 batting average against UMO pitchers.
  • Leading the UMO pitchers is Hannah Killough with a 4.07 ERA while she has held opponents to a .217 batting average. She has posted a 3-1 record on the year with two shutouts.
  • After spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Mount Olive, Luke Shamblin is in his first season as the interim head coach and has posted an 8-2 record with the Trojans. Overall, he is in his fourth season as a head coach and has compiled a career record of 24-61 following three seasons as head coach at Alderson Broaddus.
SERIES HISTORY
  • West Liberty and Mount Olive have split a pair of doubleheaders over the past two seasons.
  • In the most recent match-ups, the Trojans won 4-3 on March 4, 2023, while the Hilltoppers bounced back with a 2-1 win on March 5, 2023.
Print Friendly Version