WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team was defeated in both games of its Mountain East Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon at the Hilltopper Softball Complex.
Game 1: West Liberty 3 – Concord 0
Concord (10-26, 3-13 MEC) surrendered three runs to West Liberty (21-12-1, 11-3 MEC) in the bottom of the third inning and was limited to three hits in the game one loss.
CU's closest opportunity to score came in the top of the fourth inning. Senior third baseman/outfielder
Sarah Thompson was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame. Freshman pitcher/infielder
Rachael Koller reached first base on an error while Thompson advanced to third base. West Liberty managed to get out of the inning without any damage.
Freshman third baseman
Kylee Stacy, freshman shortstop/utility player
Courtney Raines, and Koller recorded one hit each.
Freshman pitcher/first baseman
Caitlyn Bauer (6-10) was the losing pitcher in the contest. Bauer struck out five batters in four innings pitched.
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Game 2: West Liberty 7 – Concord 6
Concord plated three runs in the top of the fourth inning and two runs in the top of the fifth inning. However, West Liberty slammed the door on CU's late-game comeback efforts to take game two.
Down 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning, senior pitcher/outfielder
Laura Thompson led off the inning with an infield single. Stacy singled on a bunt and L. Thompson advanced to third on an error. The next batter, S. Thompson cleared the bases on a three-run home run over the center field fence to get CU within one run.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, WLU scored two to extend its lead to 6-3.
Freshman shortstop/second baseman
Kayla McCraw led off the top of the fifth inning with a walk. Freshman second baseman/outfielder
Aubrey Matice followed with a bunt single. Stacy singled to load the bases. A passed ball allowed each runner to move up one base and cut the deficit to 6-4. Matice later scored on a groundout to get within a run.
Trailing 7-5 in the top of the seventh inning, Matice worked a leadoff walk, stole second, and advanced to third on an error. She scored on a sacrifice fly that was hit by L. Thompson to make it a 7-6 game. However, the Mountain Lions were unable to get the tying run back on base.
Offensively, S. Thompson had two hits, one for a home run, and four RBI. Stacy also recorded two hits in the contest.
Koller (4-12) was tagged with the loss in the circle. She tallied four strikeouts in her start. L. Thompson recorded four strikeouts in four innings of relief.
Concord travels to Wheeling for another MEC doubleheader Monday at 12:00 p.m. at JB Chambers I-470 Complex.
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