Hilltoppers Advance in MEC Tournament
BECKLEY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team beat Alderson Broaddus, 10-4, here Friday to advance to Saturday's action in the Mountain East Conference Tournament at Linda K. Epling Stadium.
Coach Eric Burkle's scrappy Hilltoppers (21-19) will play in Saturday's 3:30 p.m. elimination game against West Virginia State (29-8). The Yellowjackets stayed alive on Friday with a 6-3 win against North Division champion Wheeling, eliminating the Cardinals from the tournament.
Alderson Broaddus (19-19) got to WLU starter Logan Grimm for two runs on a pair of hits in the first inning but Grimm – the reigning MEC Pitcher of the Week – blanked the Battlers over the next five innings while his teammates went to work at the plate.
The Hilltoppers scratched out a pair of runs on one hit in the top of the third to tie the score before breaking out the two-out lightning in the fourth.
With two out and two on, Isaac Rine ripped a two-run double into the left-centerfield gap for a 4-2 West Liberty lead. Colton Coss followed with an RBI laser up the middle - one of his four singles on the day - and the Hilltoppers were ahead to stay.
The lead hit 7-2 in the top of the sixth when back-to-back Alderson Broaddus errors allowed two more Hilltoppers to cross the plate. The Battlers scored twice in the bottom of the seventh but Sam Aulick came on in relief to pitch out of the jam.
West Liberty put the game out of reach with a three-spot in the top of the eighth and Tyler Blomquist picked up the final three outs in relief of Aulick to keep the Hilltoppers in Beckley for another day.
The Black and Gold raked out 11 hits against four Alderson Broaddus pitchers. Coss led the way, driving in two runs and scoring two more on a 4-for-4 day. Ross Salvatori added two singles and a double while Chad Matthus singled and drove in a pair of runs and Brian Campbell added an RBI single.
BASEBALL
Mountain East Conference Tournament
(at Beckley, W.Va.)
West Liberty 10, Alderson Broaddus 4
West Liberty 002 302 030 – 10 11 1
Alderson Broaddus 200 000 200 – 4 8 4
WLU: Grimm wp (6SO, 4W), Aulick (7) (2SO, 2W), T.Blomquist (9) (2SO, 0W) and Rine. Coss 4S, 2rbi; Salvatori D, 2S; Rine D, 2rbi; Matthus S, 2rbi; Campbell S, rbi
ABU: Derocher lp (2SO, 3W), Piontka (4) (6SO, 1W), Massad (8) (1SO, 1W), McSparren (9) (1SO, 1W) and Claus. Cook D, S; James 2S; Casto S, rbi; Claus S, rbi; Perez D