WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. (April 3) - The Wheeling Jesuit University softball team was defeated twice at West Liberty Wednesday afternoon. The Hilltoppers took game one 4-1, before closing out the day with a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals.
The losses drop WJU to 6-26 overall, 3-11 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Meanwhile, West Liberty improves to 10-4 in league play, 18-13 overall this season.
GAME ONE: West Liberty 4, Wheeling Jesuit 1
The Cardinals were limited to one run on three hits in the series opening loss.
WJU looked poised to take the lead in the first inning with runners on second and third with one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat.
The game remained scoreless until the third inning when a pair of Cardinal errors extended the inning and allowed two Hilltopper runs to score.
Wheeling Jesuit got one run back in the fourth when junior
Brianna Grimes (Mason, Ohio/Mason) connected on her first-career home run to slice the West Liberty lead in half.
The Hilltoppers extended their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth. The Cardinals followed in the fifth and put two runners on to start the inning, but a double play and a strikeout ended the frame with WJU still down by two runs.
West Liberty added another run in the bottom of the fifth and held the Cardinals without a hit over the final two innings.
Freshman pitcher
Madison Macy (Metamora, Mich./Lutheran Northwest) was saddled with the loss after she yielded four runs (two earned) on three hits over 4.1 innings of work.
GAME TWO: West Liberty 4, Wheeling Jesuit 3
The Cardinals were unable to recover from a four-run first inning deficit in their game two loss.
WJU entered the fourth inning trailing by four when it connected on a trio of singles to plate a run and make the score 4-1. Freshman
Taylor Hradek (Perry, Ohio/Perry) drove in a second run on a ground out, but the Cardinals were not able to do any further damage.
Wheeling Jesuit sliced the Hilltopper lead to one in the fifth inning with the help of an error and a two-out RBI-double by senior
Courtney Rogers (Hurricane, W.Va./Hurricane) that made the score 4-3.
The Cardinals connected on a pair of singles in the seventh inning, but both runners were eventually called out on the base paths to allow West Liberty to hold on for the win.
Freshman pitcher
Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings in the circle.
The Cardinals return home to the JB Chambers Complex on Saturday, April 6 when they play a MEC doubleheader against UVa-Wise at 1 p.m.
