Canton, Ohio - The West Liberty University baseball rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure a thrilling 6-5 walk-off victory over Pitt-Johnstown in Game 1 of their Saturday doubleheader at Thurman Munson Stadium.
The Hilltoppers jumped out to an early lead, plating a run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Luke Marsh that brought home Kobe Hill. They extended their advantage to 2-0 in the third when William Glick delivered an RBI single, scoring Jacob Sherman.
Pitt-Johnstown responded in the fourth with a groundout RBI from Nathan Helms to cut the deficit to 2-1. However, West Liberty answered in the bottom half of the inning when Noah Mildren singled to center, scoring Hill and pushing the lead back to 3-1.
The Mountain Cats took control in the fifth inning, putting up four runs to take a 5-3 lead. Calvin Iseminger came through with a clutch bases-clearing double, driving in three runs, followed by an RBI single from Helms.
West Liberty, however, refused to go down quietly. In the bottom of the seventh, they capitalized on a defensive miscue to inch closer, as Connor Huzicka scored on an error to make it 5-4. Hill then reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Adam Och to score the tying run. Marsh delivered the final blow with a triple to right field, bringing Hill home for the game-winning run.
Drake Dobson (1-0) earned the win in relief, tossing two scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out one. Pitt-Johnstown's Cole Sansom (0-1) took the loss, surrendering three unearned runs in 1.1 innings of work.
Game 2:
West Liberty's offense exploded early as the Hilltoppers completed a doubleheader sweep of Pitt-Johnstown with a 13-6 victory in Game Two on Saturday afternoon.
The Hilltoppers wasted no time setting the tone, plating seven runs in the first inning. Jacob Sherman got things started with an RBI sacrifice fly before Will Balgo added an RBI single. Luke Marsh delivered the biggest hit of the inning, clearing the bases with a three-run double, and Noah Mildren followed with an RBI triple. Sherman capped the rally with an RBI single to put WLU up 7-0.
UPJ managed to scratch across a run in the bottom of the first, but West Liberty tacked on three more in the second, aided by defensive miscues from the Mountain Cats. Sherman reached on an error that brought home two runs, and Ryan Talbert reached on another miscue to push the lead to 10-1.
West Liberty continued to extend its advantage with runs in the third and fifth, while UPJ added single runs in the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh, but it wasn't enough to overcome WLU's early surge.
Jacob Watson (1-0) earned the win on the mound, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits over four solid innings. Mason Chaney and Brady Harmon combined to close out the final three frames.
Offensively, Sherman led the way with two hits and three RBIs, while Marsh drove in three runs as well. Balgo, Mildren, and Adam Och also chipped in with RBIs as West Liberty pounded out 11 hits.
With the sweep, the Hilltoppers improve to 4-5 and will visit Shepherd for a doubleheader Tuesday.
