WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University softball team opens its 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament run on Wednesday afternoon against Davis & Elkins. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.

The Hilltoppers (18-10) enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the North Division, while the Senators (20-10) are the No. 3 seed from the South Division.

Davis & Elkins swept the regular-season doubleheader between the teams on April 12 at the Hilltopper Softball Complex, winning 2-1 and 8-5. The Senators have won three straight in the series and six of the last seven matchups overall.

West Liberty heads into postseason play with a .275 team batting average—ranked seventh in the MEC—while averaging 4.4 runs per game. Davis & Elkins boasts the conference's second-best team average at .313 and scores 5.8 runs per contest.

In the circle, the Hilltoppers hold a team ERA of 3.44, third-best in the league. The Senators rank seventh at 4.90.

Defensively, both teams are evenly matched. West Liberty ranks third in the MEC with a .961 fielding percentage, while D&E sits close behind at .956.

Individually, Sydney Johnson leads the Hilltopper offense with a .410 batting average, the fourth-best mark in the conference. Isabella McKee leads the team with 25 RBIs, while Sara Simon and Jillian Morr follow closely with 23 each.

Davis & Elkins features three of the MEC's top eight hitters. Ashlyn Zapach leads the team with a .421 average, third in the conference. Linzey Allard (.396) ranks seventh, and Lina Gutierrez (.386) sits eighth. Zapach also tops the MEC with 46 RBIs, followed by Allard (6th, 38) and Gutierrez (10th, 31).

On the mound, Kadence Pettit leads West Liberty with a 2.90 ERA (9th in MEC), followed by Leah Alford (3.21) and Madison Angus (3.45). For the Senators, Sammie Jarvis leads the staff with a 3.49 ERA, while Saylor Kneeland checks in at 4.07.