Paterson, Amend Combine for No-No
West Liberty takes down Battlers 7-0
WEST LIBERTY -- Annie Paterson and Makenzie Amend teamed up on a no-hitter and the surging West Liberty softball team ran its winning streak to eight straight games with a doubleheader sweep of Alderson Broaddus Sunday at the WLU Softball Complex.
Coach Herb Minch's two-time defending Mountain East Conference champions (12-8, 2-0) opened the twinbill with a 7-0 win on the combined no-hitter and came back to hand the Battlers (5-11, 0-2) a 5-2 loss in the finale.
Paterson worked the first six innings of no-hit ball to earn the win in the first game, striking out 7 and walking just one before handing the ball to Amend, who struck out the side in the seventh to complete the gem.
Paterson helped her own cause at the plate with a two-run homer and a single. Grace Swigart also launched a two-run circuit blast and added a single for a multi-hit game. Katelynn Blair chimed in with a solo shot and Jairika Baylor contributed a run-scoring triple.
Alderson Broaddus took a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning of the second game but that's when the WLU bats rumbled to life.
Beeman got things started with a two-run double and came trotting home to score on an RBI two-bagger from Paterson. Swigart capped the inning with an RBI single for a 5-2 West Liberty lead.
Taylor Bonnett came on in relief of winning pitcher Riley Bennington in the sixth and earned the save with two scoreless innings.
Kieran Johnson had two hits and drove in a run to put the Black and Gold on the board in the bottom of the fourth.
The Hilltoppers return to the WLU Softball Complex on Monday for another MEC doubleheader against Notre Dame (Ohio). First pitch is set for noon.
Wheeling 7-11
Notre Dame 6-18
Wheeling -- The Wheeling University Softball team (8-9, 1-1) opened up Mountain East Conference (MEC) play with doubleheader action on Sunday against Notre Dame College at the J.B. Chambers Softball Complex. They split the two games and brought the bats, scoring a come from behind 7-6 victory in game one before falling to the Falcons 18-11 in the second game of the day.
After an early outburst by both teams in the first, it was a back and forth affair in the first game of the day for the Cardinals.
However, they entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 6-5 and looking for a way to push that extra run across to win the game. Taylor Hradek singled to start the inning, but was caught stealing for the first out, and Makie Paxson picked her up with a one-out double to give Wheeling a runner in scoring position. That was enough as Brooke Slomkowski pushed a single to center scoring Paxson and tying the game at 6-6. Gina Fogle then stepped in and won the game with a walk-off RBI double to give Wheeling a big boost as they won 7-6.
Game two saw both offenses bring the bats in a game where Wheeling tried to go swing for swing with the potent Falcons lineup. Madison Macy got the start for Wheeling and things didn't go her way early on as Notre Dame put up six first inning runs. With the big blows being a three-run home run and a two-run double. Wheeling was unable to get on the board in the bottom of the first and the Falcons added two more in the second to make it an 8-0 game. However, the Wheeling bats got going in the bottom of the second as they began their fight back into the game.
BASEBALL
West Liberty Earns First Win
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. - Justin Pennybacker hurled a masterful two-hit shutout and the West Liberty University baseball team handed regionally-ranked Glenville State a 2-0 loss in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader at Kovalick Field.
The Pioneers (13-3, 1-1), No. 7 in the most recent NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings, got their bats going in the second game to earn a split with Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (1-14, 1-1) in the mutual Mountain East Conference opener.
Glenville entered Sunday's twinbill with six starters batting over .300 but never mounted a serious threat against the veteran West Liberty righthander.
Pennybacker, a junior from nearby Brooke High School, held the Pioneers to a bad-hop infield single in the second inning and a line drive single to right in the seventh. He needed less than 90 pitches to go the distance for the complete-game shutout win, striking out 5 and giving up only one walk. Glenville never got a runner past second base.
West Liberty was held to just four hits by Pioneer starter Diego Tamariz but also worked four walks and took advantage of the game's only error to stake Pennybacker to an early lead.
Kayne McGee led off the second inning for the Hilltoppers with a double off the base of the wall in center. After Jacob Probst drew a one-out walk, James Salvatori moved both runners up with an infield grounder.
With two out, Isaac Rine hit a slow roller toward the second baseman who whiffed on the pickup, allowing McGee to cross the plate with the first run of the game.
Pennybacker nursed that one-run lead into the sixth before a two-out RBI single by Ty Helmke provided a bit of breathing room before heading back out to finish off the win.
The Pioneers turned the tables on WLU in the second game with ace Adam Riggleman teaming up with Zach Bayor on a three-hit shutout.
Riggleman, now 5-0 on the season, struck out 11 and walked two before running out of gas in the seventh. Bayor came on to get the final two outs and complete the shutout. Helmke had two of West Liberty's three hits.
The Hilltoppers return to Kovalick Field on Monday for another Mountain East Conference doubleheader as Concord heads to the hilltop for a 1 p.m. twinbill.