WEST LIBERTY — West Virginia Wesleyan overcame an early deficit and capitalized on key West Liberty miscues to secure a 4–3 road victory in Game One of a Mountain East Conference doubleheader.
The game opened with West Liberty (21–22, 13–9 MEC) grabbing an early lead in the bottom of the first when Jaden Conrad singled home Sara Simon for a quick 1–0 advantage. That lead held firm for five innings behind a strong effort from Hilltoppers starter Leah Alford, who limited the Lady Bobcats to just one run through seven frames.
Wesleyan (14–30, 9–13 MEC) finally broke through in the sixth. After Lynzee Hague led off with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball, Alyssa Rohr’s RBI groundout knotted the score at 1–1. Alford, however, worked out of further trouble, and the teams traded zeroes through the end of regulation.
In the top of the eighth, the Bobcats capitalized on defensive breakdowns by West Liberty to mount a decisive three-run rally. Hague reached on an error, and with two outs, another miscue allowed her to score the go-ahead run. Ella Fournier followed with an RBI single, and pinch hitter Sydney Leadbetter added a key insurance RBI hit to push the lead to 4–1.
West Liberty refused to go quietly. Jillian Morr and Sydney Johnson each singled and came around to score on RBI hits by Johnson and pinch hitter Kadence Pettit, narrowing the gap to 4–3. But reliever Morgan Greene, who entered in the sixth and earned the win (4–5), shut the door with a groundout to strand the tying run.
Greene allowed three hits and two earned runs over 2.1 innings, striking out three in relief of Kelsi Brown, who gave Wesleyan 5.2 innings of one-run ball.
Fournier led the Lady Bobcats offensively, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Hague doubled and scored twice, while Rohr and Leadbetter each recorded RBIs. Wesleyan tallied seven hits but capitalized on three West Liberty errors—two of which came in the pivotal eighth inning.
For the Hilltoppers, Sydney Johnson went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored, while Simon and McKee each chipped in with two-hit performances. Alford (3–3) took the hard-luck loss despite allowing just one earned run over 7.2 innings with seven strikeouts.
After its extra-inning loss in the first game, West Liberty responded with a dominant pitching performance in the nightcap, shutting out Wesleyan 2–0 to earn the split in the MEC doubleheader.
Kadence Pettit was sensational for the Hilltoppers, twirling a complete-game one-hitter while striking out five and not issuing a single walk. Pettit retired the first six batters she faced and allowed just one base hit all afternoon—a sixth-inning single by Hallie Dinklocker.
The Hilltoppers provided all the offense Pettit would need in the first inning. After singles by Sara Simon and Jillian Morr, Simon executed a steal of home to give West Liberty a 1–0 lead.
They tacked on an insurance run in the fifth, with Morr again igniting the offense with a leadoff double. Following a walk to Pettit and a single by Sydney Johnson, Olivia Munoz reached on a fielder’s choice to score Morr and make it 2–0. Pettit also contributed at the plate, going 1-for-2 and stealing a base.
Morr led the Hilltoppers with a 2-for-3 effort, including a double and a run scored, while Johnson added two hits and Munoz chipped in an RBI and a stolen base.
Wesleyan had few answers for Pettit’s dominance. Their lone hit came in the sixth, when Dinklocker singled up the middle, only to be stranded after a pair of groundouts. The Bobcats also couldn’t capitalize on three West Liberty errors and had just four total baserunners across seven innings.
Kendall Stoffel turned in a respectable outing for Wesleyan, allowing two runs (both earned) on seven hits while striking out six over six innings. She worked out of several jams, including a bases-loaded threat in the second, but was ultimately let down by her team’s quiet bats.
