SALEM, Va. – In a rain-filled Friday, Wheeling Jesuit blanked on its scoring opportunities and suffered a tough Mountain East Conference Tournament opening defeat, 2-0, to West Virginia State.
 
The Lady Cardinals (20-19) left runners on third base in both the first and sixth innings, before they stranded two runners in the home seventh. The Yellow Jackets scored the game's lone two runs, both unearned in the top of the third.
 
Due to the wet conditions, the MEC tourney schedule had forced changes. Wheeling Jesuit faces No. 8 seed Shepherd in a loser's bracket contest starting at 9:30 a.m. With a win, WJU moves to play the loser of the opposite winner's bracket game at 2:30 p.m.
 
Morgan Stohlman doubled in the first inning as WJU's lone extra base hit. Kelsi Thompson, Angie Reddick, Lorian Tharp, Victoria Vuljanic and Cassie Holstein singled.
 
Ali Smith produced a solid outing in the circle. In seven innings, the Wheeling Jesuit junior allowed five hits and no earned runs, while she struck out two.
 
In the bottom of the first with one out, Stohlman doubled to right center field. She moved to third on a ground out, but was unable to score.
 
Starting in the top of the third, a Lady Cardinal error put two runners on base with no out. The Yellow Jackets' Sydney Kaplan lined a two-run, two-out single to put her team ahead, 2-0.
 
Thompson led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, but was stranded on third base.
 
Tharp and Vuljanic singled in the home seventh, but West Virginia State retired the side for the 2-0 shutout.