WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Virginia Wesleyan and West Liberty split a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. The Bobcats took game one, 6-1 but the Hilltoppers held off a furious Wesleyan rally in the seventh to win game two, 7-6.
With a sixth inning single in game one, Cory Flickinger moved past Lou Capolupo into first place on Wesleyan's all-time hits list with 220.
In game one, Mark Darlington put Wesleyan in front 1-0 with an RBI single in the first. The Bobcats would add a run on a balk to make the score 2-0 after one inning. Flickinger added an RBI double in the second to push the lead to 3-0. Flickinger notched his second RBI double of the day in the fourth and Mark Darlington tacked on a solo home run in the fifth, making the score 5-0. WL plated a run on an error in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 5-1. Franks drove in the games' final run with a groundout in the sixth to set the 6-1 margin.
Aaron Adams (7-3) worked his seventh complete game, giving up one unearned run on three hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
In game two, Darlington again started the game with an RBI single in the first. The Hilltoppers answered with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning. A Bobcat error in the second trickled into five runs for West Liberty to go in front 6-1. Spencer Webley worked a bases-loaded walk and Matt Edwards added a two-RBI single to trim the WL lead to 6-4. The Hilltoppers took advantage of a lead-off walk in the fifth, which led to an RBI single to push the lead back to 7-4. Wesleyan scored a pair of runs on a WL error in the seventh, but the Hilltoppers were able to hang on for the 7-6 win.
Nick Benges (2-1) tossed 4.2 innings allowing seven runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks. Cassey Defibaugh hurled 1.1 innings with one strikeout.
The Bobcats are now 20-13 on the year and 15-5 in league play. Wesleyan will look to get back on track Saturday as they welcome West Virginia State for a weekend series beginning at 1 p.m.
