Canton, Ohio – The West Liberty University baseball team avenged a pair of neutral site losses to Malone on Friday as the teams made the trip to Canton where they closed out the series with a doubleheader sweep by the Hilltoppers with scores of 6-0 and 10-2 on Sunday afternoon. WLU made their presence known at the plate throughout the day at Thurman Munson Stadium as they held a 10-1 advantage in extra base hits in the two games while the pitching staff limited the Pioneers two just seven hits on the day, including six hitless innings to end game two.

QUICK DETAILS – GAME 1
Final Score: West Liberty 6, Malone 0
Team Records: West Liberty 1-2, Malone 2-3
Attendance: 121
Pitching Decision: Win: Tanner Pelaez (1-0), Loss: Ayden Hall (0-2)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1

• After putting three runners on base during the first two innings of action, West Liberty was able to break through and score the first runs of the game in the top of the third as they scored a pair on three hits. Following a leadoff double down the right field line by Nick Mildren, James Salvatori connected on an infield single to put runners on the corners and proceeded to steal second to make it two runners in scoring position. Jacob Sherman hit a sacrifice fly to center field to advance the runners and bring home the first run of the game. Two at-bats later Will Balgo singled to the shortstop, allowing time for Salvatori to cross the plate and make it a 2-0 ball game.
• Tanner Pelaez held Malone without a hit until a 2-out single to center field in the bottom of the third.
• The Hilltoppers extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth as Brad Goodyear blasted the ball over the left field fence.
• Pelaez continued a strong performance on the mound as he sent a pair of Pioneers down swinging in the bottom of the fourth, as the Black & Gold extended their lead once again with two more runs in the top of the fifth. Sherman hit a leadoff double to right center and advanced to third on a ground out before being brought home on a double to right field. Balgo advanced to third on a throwing error and eventually crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to center field by Trevor Thomas to make it a 5-0 game.
• Malone loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a single, however once again Pelaez shut down the bottom of the fifth inning with a strikeout.
• West Liberty's final run of the game came in the top of the sixth inning as Salvatori knocked a triple to right center to bring home Goodyear who reached base on a walk.
• Jacob Watson made his Hilltopper debut as he entered in the bottom of the sixth inning and kept the Pioneers scoreless the final two innings as WLU pitched a 6-0 shutout win in game one.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS – GAME 1
Brad Goodyear: 1-for-2, 1 homerun, 1 walk, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored
James Salvatori: 2-for-4, 1 triple, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 stolen base
Will Balgo: 2-for-3, 1 double, 1 walk, 2 RBI, 1 run scored
Tanner Pelaez: 5.0 innings pitched, 2 hits allowed, 0 runs allowed, 3 strikeouts
 
QUICK DETAILS – GAME 2
Final Score: West Liberty 10, Malone 2
Team Records: West Liberty 2-2, Malone 2-4
Attendance: 168
Pitching Decision: Win: Bryce Winter (1-0), Mark Bunch (0-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2

• West Liberty was unable to score in the top of the first inning after James Salvatori drew a leadoff walk, opening the door for Malone to score the first runs of the game with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame. After gaining a base runner after an error the Pioneers brought home their first run with a triple to right center field. MU pushed the second run across the plate with a sacrifice fly to left center field.
• Brad Goodyear gave the Hilltoppers a base runner once again in the second with a double down the left field line, however WLU was still unable to crack the scoreboard until the third inning.
• After the defense turned a double play to end the bottom of the second, the first four batters in the WLU lineup reached base in the top of the third. On back-to-back at-bats, a double by Jacob Sherman found the turf in deep left center to score Nick Mildren while Ryan Talbert singled down the right field line to score Salvatori. The Black & Gold then continued to add two more runs as Trevor Thomas grounded out to the third baseman to score Sherman and a single through the left side of the infield by Goodyear scored Talbert to give the Hilltoppers a 4-2 lead.
• As West Liberty continued to tack onto their lead in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, Bryce Winter and the defense continued to hold the Malone bats at bay as the Pioneers were held without a hit the remainder of the game following the first inning.
• Following a leadoff double down the right field line by Mildren, he was brought home with a single to left field by Talbert to make it a 5-2 ball game.
• The Hilltoppers notched a second 4-run inning in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to 9-2. After Goodyear drew a walk, he advanced to second on a wild pitch and then was brought home on a single into right field by Kobe Hill. Later in the inning Salvatori collected his second triple of the afternoon with a hit to the left center fence to clear the loaded bases and score Hill, Luke Marsh, and Mildren.
• The Black & Gold scored their final run of the game with a leadoff homerun over the left center fence to push their lead to 10-2 in the top of the sixth.
• Evan Barnes entered in relief in the bottom of the sixth inning and notched a pair of scoreless innings to close the game for WLU.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS – GAME 2
James Salvatori: 2-for-4, 1 triple, 1 walk, 3 RBI, 1 run scored
Brad Goodyear: 2-for-3, 1 double, 1 walk, 1 RBI, 1 run scored
Trevor Thomas: 1-for-4, 1 homerun, 2 RBI, 1 run scored
Evan Barnes: 2.0 innings pitched, 0 hits allowed, 0 runs allowed, 1 strikeout
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will be in action next weekend, March 2-3, as they will face Pitt-Johnstown in a 4-game series. The Hilltoppers and Mountain Cats are slated to open the series with 1 and 4 p.m. first pitch times at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley, West Virginia, on Saturday.