Concord Splits Doubleheader at West Liberty

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team went 1-1 against West Liberty in a pair of Mountain East Conference games at the Hilltopper Softball Complex Sunday afternoon.
 
With the split, CU moves to 20-16 on the season and is 8-8 in MEC games, while West Liberty is 11-21 and 6-8 in conference play.
 
Game One: Concord 9 – West Liberty 5
Two timely base-hits from sophomore first baseman Morgan Cline and 14 hits as a team propelled CU to a game one victory.
 
CU answered WLU's two-run first inning with a run of its own in the second. After sophomore pitcher/infielder Madison Hollis singled to start the inning, Cline doubled to left center to cut the Hilltoppers advantage in half, 2-1.
 
Then, junior infielder Kylee Stacy singled up the middle with one out in the third. After a groundout moved Stacy to second, junior infielder Courtney Raines reached base on an error, and scored Stacy on the play to tie the game, 2-2.
 
After WLU regained the lead 3-2 in the bottom of the third, junior outfielder Kayla McCraw and graduate outfielder Jolie Privett hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth, giving Concord its first lead of the contest, 4-3. Later in the inning, senior outfielder Imani Campbell reached base on a fielder's choice that scored Privett, doubling the lead 5-3.
 
In the fifth, freshman infielder Kendall Morgan singled through the right side to begin the inning. Then, Cline hit a two-run home run two batters later to give CU a 7-3 advantage.
 
West Liberty answered with two runs in the bottom half of the fifth, but insurance runs by the Mountain Lions in the sixth and seventh secured a game-one victory, 9-5.
 
Stacy led all hitters in game one with three hits, growing her batting average to .436. Hollis, Morgan, Cline, and McCraw all collected multiple hits.
 
Freshman pitcher Josi Ervin (4-2) got the win in the circle, pitching five innings while allowing five hits and two earned runs. Hollis pitched the final two innings in relief.
 
Game Two: West Liberty 7 – Concord 1
West Liberty scored five runs in the first two innings and held Concord to three hits in the game to earn the doubleheader split.
 
Hollis picked up Concord's first hit of the game to lead off the second frame. Morgan reached safely on a fielder's choice the next at-bat, but was unable to come around to score as WLU led 5-0 after two innings of play.
 
The Hilltoppers scored two more runs in the fourth to lead 7-0.
 
Concord got on the board in the sixth, stemming from a fielder's choice and a stolen base by Campbell. Raines poked a ball through the right side to score Campbell.
 
Despite a double from sophomore catcher Morgan Gleason in the seventh, CU was unable to score any more runs and dropped game two by a final of 7-1.
 
Senior pitcher Nancy-Jo Roberts pitched 4.1 innings of relief in game two, holding WLU to three hits and no earned runs while striking out two Hilltoppers.
 
CU stays on the road, meeting Mountain East Conference foe Wheeling for a doubleheader Monday starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Highlands Sports Complex in Triadelphia, W.Va.