West Liberty, WV. - The Wheeling University softball team (6-18), (1-3) made a short trip up the hill to take on rival West Liberty. The Cardinals fell just short in game 1, losing on a walk off in the bottom of the 7th, and then couldn't hold back the Hilltoppers momentum in a game 2 defeat.
Game 1: West Liberty 5 Wheeling 4
Wheeling was unable to get anything going offensively in the first few innings but Kaylin Shields stranded 3 base runners in the bottom of the first and put West Liberty hitters down in order in the bottom of the 2nd. West Liberty then took advantage of two Wheeling errors in the 3rd inning, and scored 3 runs, all unearned. A couple free bases hurt Wheeling in the 4th, giving up 1 run, but they got that run back in the top of the 5th.
Taylor Walsh led the inning off with a double. Maria Harrison then moved Walsh over to third on a ground out, and Ava Kresak doubled to left to bring Walsh in. Walsh, Harrison, and Kresak came up huge again for Wheeling in the 7th, all getting hits and propelling the offense to 3 runs to tie the game at 4. Maria Clark and Eden Troxel were both walked with the bases loaded for an RBI each in the 7th as well. The Hilltoppers then walked it off after a couple hits in the bottom of the 7th.
Walsh, Harrison and Kresak were quite the 9-1-2 trio. Walsh was 2-2 with a double, Maria Harrison was 2-4, and Ava Kresak was 3-3, including a double, a walk and 2 RBI. Harrison and Kresak both stole a bag as well. Kaylin Shields pitched well enough for the win but the 4 defensive errors proved to be too many in such a tightly contested game.
Game 2: West Liberty 11 Wheeling 0
It was domination from start to finish from West Liberty. The Hilltoppers scored 2 in the 1st, added a run in the 2nd and 4th, and finished off the evening with a 7 run 6th inning and a mercy rule walkoff grand slam. Even more impressive was West Liberty pitcher Annaliese Davis, who pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 hits, with 3 strikeouts.
The Wheeling University Softball team returns to action on Saturday, March 28th, when they travel to Charleston with first pitch scheduled for 1 PM.
