Wesleyan's softball team was limited to four total runs across Saturday's doubleheader at Fairmont State as the Falcons claimed both ends of the twinbill, taking game one 5-1 before rallying late for a 5-3 win in game two.
 
In the opener, Fairmont broke through in the second inning when Avery Townsend singled and later scored on a two-run home run by Breonna Marietta, giving the Falcons an early 2-0 lead they would not surrender. Wesleyan threatened in the middle innings, including a third-inning chance after Jaelyn Riley singled and moved to third on Lynzee Hague's sacrifice bunt, but Fairmont pitcher Micah Wilson worked out of trouble to keep the Bobcats off the board.
 
Morgan Greene kept Wesleyan within reach for much of the game, going the distance in the circle while allowing seven hits and striking out two. Fairmont added an insurance run in the fifth when Paige Matteson doubled and later scored on an RBI groundout from Abbie Keilhoz, stretching the lead to 3-0. Wesleyan answered in the bottom half of the inning as Kali Vance singled off the bench, moved into scoring position on Riley's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Josi Fix's RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-1.
 
That was as close as the Bobcats would get. Fairmont tacked on two more runs in the seventh when Jaylin McGill doubled and Matteson brought home both runners with a two-run groundout. Wesleyan put two aboard in its final at-bat on singles by Ella Fournier and Hague, but the Falcons closed the door to secure the 5-1 win. Riley, Hague, Fix, Madison Austra, Emma Putman, Vance, and Fournier each recorded hits for the Bobcats, with Fix driving in Wesleyan's lone run. Austra added a double as part of Wesleyan's seven-hit effort.
 
Game two followed a more dramatic script. Wesleyan grabbed the early lead in the first inning after Riley singled and later came around to score on a passed ball sequence, putting the Bobcats in front 1-0. The advantage grew to 2-0 in the fourth when Reagan Winn launched a solo home run, and Wesleyan added another run in the sixth. Hague singled to begin the inning, Winn followed with a base hit, and Kali Vance reached on a Fairmont error that allowed Hague to score for a 3-0 Bobcat lead.
 
Josi Fix turned in a strong performance in the circle after entering immediately in the first inning, holding the Falcons scoreless through six frames while working around traffic and striking out five over seven innings. But Fairmont flipped the game in the seventh. After a leadoff double from Alexa Foresha, the Falcons loaded the bases and capitalized on a Wesleyan error that brought home two runs and tied the score. Later in the inning, Addison Nogay delivered the biggest hit of the game, a two-run single that put Fairmont in front, and Townsend followed with a sacrifice fly to complete a five-run outburst and give the Falcons a 5-3 lead.
 
Wesleyan's final chance came in the bottom of the seventh. Ella Fournier struck out, Trinity Nowicki popped up, and Riley singled to keep the inning alive, but Hague grounded out to end the game. Riley paced the Bobcats by going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, while Winn finished 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Gracey Arnold doubled, Hague added a hit and a run scored, and Vance drove in a run as Wesleyan finished with six hits in the nightcap.
 
Across the doubleheader, Riley reached base five times and scored twice, while Winn supplied one of Wesleyan's biggest offensive moments of the day with her fourth-inning homer in game two. Greene and Fix combined to cover all 14 innings for the Bobcats, with Fix's relief effort in the second game nearly enough to salvage a split before Fairmont's late rally.
 
Wesleyan faces Frostburg State University on the neutral field at Fairmont State University on Sunday, Mar. 22. First pitch is slated for noon.