BUCKHANNON — West Virginia Wesleyan battled back in the opener and showed flashes offensively throughout the afternoon, but West Liberty claimed both ends of Friday’s doubleheader at Culpepper Field, taking game one in extra innings, 6-4, before completing the sweep with an 11-3 win in game two.
In the first game, the Lady Bobcats erased a four-run deficit with a three-run sixth inning to force extra softball, but the Hilltoppers answered with two runs in the eighth to pull out the 6-4 victory. West Liberty scored single runs in the second and fourth innings and added a two-run homer in the third to build a 4-0 lead before Wesleyan mounted its comeback.
Wesleyan broke through in the bottom of the fourth when Josi Fix doubled into scoring position and came home on Madison Austra’s RBI groundout.
The Lady Bobcats then delivered their biggest swing of the opener in the sixth inning. Fix opened the inning with a single and stole second before Reagan Winn launched a two-run homer to left, trimming the deficit to 4-3. Austra followed immediately with a solo shot to tie the game.
The Lady Bobcats threatened to steal the opener in the seventh after Trinity Nowicki singled and Lynzee Hague reached on an error, but West Liberty escaped the jam to send the game to extras. In the top of the eighth, the Hilltoppers put together the decisive rally, using a single, a sacrifice bunt, another single, and a run-scoring hit from Sara Simon before adding an RBI groundout for a 6-4 advantage. Wesleyan put the tying run on base in the bottom half on an Austra single, but West Liberty closed the door from there.
Austra and Fix paced the Bobcats offensively in game one. Austra went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including the game-tying homer, while Fix finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Winn added the two-run blast, and Giana DeSpirito contributed a pair of hits. Gracey Arnold also doubled as Wesleyan out-hit West Liberty 9-8, though the Hilltoppers capitalized on timely extra-base hits and drew four walks.
In the circle, Morgan Greene worked 7.1 innings and kept Wesleyan within striking distance deep into the contest before Mackenzie O’Brien came on in relief. West Liberty’s Kadence Pettit started the game, while Annaliese Davis earned the win with 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen after Wesleyan’s sixth-inning rally.
Game two got away from the Bobcats early, as West Liberty plated three runs before an out was recorded in the top of the first. Jillian Morr opened the scoring with an RBI double, and Jaden Conrad followed with a two-run homer to give the visitors a quick 3-0 lead. Wesleyan answered in the bottom of the second and briefly made it a one-run game. Austra doubled, Giana DeSpirito drove her in with a two-base hit, and Trinity Nowicki was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cut the margin to 3-2.
That was as close as the Lady Bobcats would get. West Liberty responded with a four-run fourth inning, stringing together five hits to stretch the lead to 7-2. The Hilltoppers added three more in the sixth and one in the seventh to create separation. Wesleyan scored its final run in the bottom of the sixth when DeSpirito singled, Arnold doubled, and Kali Vance brought home a run with an RBI groundout.
Wesleyan totaled 10 hits in the nightcap, with Fix and DeSpirito collecting two apiece. Arnold also had two hits, including a double, while Vance went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Austra doubled and scored, and Hague added a hit for the Lady Bobcats.
West Liberty’s offense was led by Morr, Conrad, Woody, and Paytyn Tucker. Morr scored three times and drove in two, Conrad homered and knocked in two, and Woody finished with three hits and two RBIs. In all, seven Hilltopper starters recorded at least one hit. Ashleigh Heiderschei picked up the win after working 5.1 innings, while Rylee Mangold handled the final 1.2 frames.
For Wesleyan, Avery Orille was charged with the loss after the first-inning surge, with O’Brien providing four innings of relief before Fix finished the game in the circle.
