Photo by Cody Tomer Wheeling Park third baseman Hayley Thompson makes a throw to first base Friday.

WHEELING — Weir’s softball team took a 6-0 lead early on Friday but coach John Leary felt his team got complacent.

The Red Riders held on for a 6-3 win over host Wheeling Park but Leary is hoping his team can learn from the victory.

“We hit early on and I was happy about that,” Leary said. “But I was upset with the fact that I think we got content. I know it’s cold and we were playing a good team with good pitchers but we got six runs and just sat on it. I told them after the game, ‘That could come back to haunt you.’ I was getting worried toward the end.”

In the opposing dugout, Park coach Pat Durkin was happy to see his team’s late rally even though it fell short.

“I think our girls kind of woke up after the second inning,” Durkin said. “I was really proud of them. We were down 6-0, we were facing good pitching and it was cold. It could have been easy to give up but we put some walks together and some hits together and we didn’t quit.”

Weir opened up the scoring in the first as Mallory Rosnick delivered a RBI single and Mea Kaufmann garnered a two-run knock to give the Riders a 3-0 cushion.

That lead grew in the third as freshman Rayna Hoover belted a three-run home run over the left field fence to create a 6-0 advantage.

“I think that might have been her first career home run,” Leary said. “She had been struggling a little bit so she needed that. She’s been working hard. It’s quite an adjustment for a ninth grader coming in but she smacked that ball. She really got a hold of that one.”

Weir quieted Park’s bats until the sixth inning thanks to dominant pitching by Madison Angus, who finished with 11 strikeouts and only two walks.

“Madison is always around the plate,” Leary said. “She throws strikes and is very consistent. I’m very pleased with her.”

The Patriots jumped on the board in the sixth when Katie Kozlowski hit a grounder to third with the bases loaded but a throwing error allowed a pair of runs to cross the plate, trimming the deficit to 6-2.

Park added one more in the seventh when Mary Derrow collected a RBI single but the Riders slammed the door to earn the victory.

Durkin is hoping the Patriots use the late-game momentum to make a hot start in today’s doubleheader against visiting Bridgeport (WV).

“We have a good group of girls,” Durkin said. “They work hard and are pretty upbeat. Hopefully the weather holds off, Bridgeport comes in and we’ll be fine.”

Rosnick, Reagan Hoover and Angus all recorded two hits for Weir and Derrow recorded three hits for the Patriots.